br@wucs.UUCP (Bill Ross) (03/10/86)
I have recently bought a 1986 Honda civic sedan. I've heard that a vacuum gauge installed in the dash (for permanent, rather than tune-up use) is a good thing to have. Supposedly a gauge will tell you alot about how well your car is running. What are the pros and cons of getting one of these? Are they expensive? How are they installed? Any thoughts will be appreciated.
rls@ihu1g.UUCP (r.l. schieve) (03/10/86)
> > I have recently bought a 1986 Honda civic sedan. I've heard that a > vacuum gauge installed in the dash (for permanent, rather than tune-up use) > is a good thing to have. Supposedly a gauge will tell you alot about > how well your car is running. What are the pros and cons of getting one of > these? Are they expensive? How are they installed? Any thoughts will be > appreciated. I tried a direct response but it did not make it, so excuse the posting to the entire net... Permanent dash mounted vacuum gauges are not a new idea. My 1965 Impala Super Sport had one as part of its factory instrumentation. It was used as a type of fuel economy gauge, the more the carb's throttle plates are open, the less the engine vacuum. You had to remember that it differed from a mile per gallon gauge as some of the new cars have. A vacuum economy gauge says you are doing great sitting at a stop light, but of course you are actually getting 0 miles per gallon. If you know what to look for it can be a great aid when finding some engine problems. I put a combination vacuum boost gauge in my turbo Mustang and could easily notice when my intake manifold gasket cracked in several places as my vacuum at idle would not get as low as it used to. Of course if I would have skipped the @#$%? turbo it would not have been needed. Get a J. C. Whitney catalog, they have a good selection and there is usually not too much difference between one vacuum gauge and the next (of course the one with the boost range for the turbo was way over priced). Rick Schieve ...ihnp4!ihu1g!rls