vacuum leaks

[bimmerted]

I would appreciate a link, address, or attachment (diagram) of vacuum connections for a '98 Z3, M44, 1.9 engine. The label under the hood is a joke.
I am only seeing a couple of lines from top side of engine.

Also, location of breather valve. Can this be cleaned or checked? came up as possible fix for stall problem.

Finally (for now), idle valve hoses came up as another "check for DIY". Are these easily accessible?

Someone suggested a spritz of carb cleaner around vac lines could detect leak. Also WARNED of fire igniting if cleaner gets into alternator.

[darkhorse737]

what is your idle speed, warm engine, and all accessories OFF?

if you are running 800 +/- 50rpm. and idle is smooth, you can almost rule out vacuum probs.(that is not set in stone... but it is a good base to start from)

If the above applies, then train your sights on the vacuum lines that come into play with open throttle catch the drift? ... and there aren't many

*the beauty of BMW engines is they do not use a lot of vacuum as a measure for engine performance, unlike japanese and american cars. The EVAP vacuum lines of course are there because the law and "clean air" acts requires it... and unless the leak in that area is an obvious leak where u can audibly hear a *hissing noise, that will not be cause for stall.

for DIY... the brake or carb cleaner trick is prolly the best way to check for leak/s. a change in idle speed whle u are spraying will point to the leak. There are no vacuum lines anywhere near the alternator; so yes, training a stream of ANY type of liquid on a running altrernator is a downright foolish thing to do ;-)

[bimmerted]

Sorry for starting a new thread. when i hadn't heard from you, I thought I'd start a "Vacuum leak thread" - per you suggestion.
The idle on warm engine is around 750. It is not silky smooth like it once was. Last summer I noticed a slight tremor only noticeable by me. I ignored as it was not giving CEL or effecting driveability.
To date:
-I spayed carb cleaner where ever I saw rubber hoses. No change in idle.
-I removed bellow and checked throttle butterflys. Saw very slight carbon on bottom rim of upper butterfly. Otherwise, both barrels seemed very clean. I sprayed upper with Gum-out carb cleaner and wiped with cotton cloth. Ironically, when I put it back togther, the CEL was off. I drove for about 10 minutes and the car was doing its stall thing -but, CEL never came on again.

Please let me know which thread you would like to communicate from.
TED

[darkhorse737]

any thread to commuciacte from is fine, Ted ... i'm a social butterfly on bimmerwerkz, you see;-) nyahahahaha...

"visible rubber lines"... there's a couple invisible lines you may have missed. the control valve under the intake manifold. (In the illustration it's labelled Y6131) behind the valve is a rubber line that is prone to fail.

After you've looked into that and feel confident that it isnt a vacuum prob(or a mechanical one)... we'll look into electricals ;-)

it takes a little bit of patience but you'll get there

P.S. after this, i shall post my replies on the "posting and seraching" thread you started. It's becoming more obvious your prob isnt in fuel or vacuum

[bimmerted]

Reporting back. Moved to "posting threads..."