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Vacuum canister. Do I need it?

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Old April 7th, 2009, 12:26 PM
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Vacuum canister. Do I need it?

So I found my vacuum leak. My vacuum reserve canister had about a one inch hole rusted out on top. Don't know how I missed that one.

So the temporary solution was to remove the big hose going to the canister, and plugging the port. There is a t-valve coming off of the carb...one side goes to the power brake booster while the other went to the reserve canister. So after I plugged that side of the t-valve, my vacuum went from around 5 to 20. The brakes felt the best they ever have, and the idle dropped a tad. It felt like a new car!

So anyway, I went to remove the canister last night to see if I could repair the hole, but it's pretty much trapped in there. I would have to remove the passenger side hood hinge to get it out, and I don't feel like doing that.

So can I just leave the reserve canister bypassed?

Or should I replace it. If I replace it, here's my question...

My existing canister has one port, that goes to a tee valve that splits off to the carb and the power brake booster. A lot of the nice aftermarket canisters (Summit, Jeggs, Crane, Comp, etc) have two ports. How do those connect to my system? Or should I avoid those and find one that has only one port like the original? What's the difference?



Thanks!
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Old April 7th, 2009, 05:11 PM
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Yes you need the canister it gives you spare vaccum when under acceleration or loss of engine power. No you can't use a modern canister. Yours is a remote unit and the modern ones work directly of of the brake pedal. I see these from time to time on e-bay or a good welding shop could patch it
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Old April 7th, 2009, 06:11 PM
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Most newer cars have plastic vacuum reservoir canisters. They come in single and two port and yes, they are different. Find a single port version and you can use it temporarily until you find a correct metal one. For example, most of the 1980s Olds Custom Cruisers with cruise control have one. These cars also have a two-port canister that is used in the HVAC system.
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Old April 8th, 2009, 08:01 AM
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I don't care about it being "correct", as long as it works.

Well, repairing it isn't an option, and finding an exact replacement isn't an option either, since both would require me to remove at minimum the entire hood hinge assembly, which I don't want to do right now.

So I guess I'm gonna have to get a new one and mount it somewhere else. I found some on ebay that look similar. Same basic size, and one port. Should that be the only criteria? I found one that looked similar, which was for an older Mitsubishi Eclipse, I think. No problems with using that right, as long as it is about the same size and has only one port?

I've also heard you can just make one. My dad told me to make one out of a coffee can, but I don't know if he was messing with me or not.

Again, it doesn't have to be original or look pretty. I just want to make sure if I get an aftermarket or a junkyard one off of a different car, I'm getting the right thing.

This is the one I was going to get. Looks about the same size, and only one port from what I can tell. Will this work...?http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Eclip...6#ht_500wt_976
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Old April 8th, 2009, 09:17 AM
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Originally Posted by Steeb
I don't care about it being "correct", as long as it works.

Well, repairing it isn't an option, and finding an exact replacement isn't an option either, since both would require me to remove at minimum the entire hood hinge assembly, which I don't want to do right now.

So I guess I'm gonna have to get a new one and mount it somewhere else. I found some on ebay that look similar. Same basic size, and one port. Should that be the only criteria? I found one that looked similar, which was for an older Mitsubishi Eclipse, I think. No problems with using that right, as long as it is about the same size and has only one port?

I've also heard you can just make one. My dad told me to make one out of a coffee can, but I don't know if he was messing with me or not.

Again, it doesn't have to be original or look pretty. I just want to make sure if I get an aftermarket or a junkyard one off of a different car, I'm getting the right thing.

This is the one I was going to get. Looks about the same size, and only one port from what I can tell. Will this work...?http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Eclip...6#ht_500wt_976

Approximate size and single port are really the only requirements. There is no rocket science here, it's just a can to provide additional volume for vacuum storage.
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Old April 8th, 2009, 09:18 AM
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Originally Posted by joe_padavano
Approximate size and single port are really the only requirements. There is no rocket science here, it's just a can to provide additional volume for vacuum storage.
Cool Thanks. That's what I thought, just wanted to confirm.

Thanks again!
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Old April 8th, 2009, 06:06 PM
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here's a photo of it withou the fender so you can get aprox size
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