I have an AEM cold air intake on my 03 Ecotec 2.2, but the problem is that the kit says to put a little sponge looking breather at the end of the fuel pressure nipple.
I have seen that the line originally went into the stock intake.
I have been told by some people that it takes in ambient (non-pressurized) air.
I don't believe that.
The problem is, I just had the fuel pump die about 5k miles ago (at 95k miles).
This either points to the pump was old and just died or the absence of this vaccuum line is making the pump work harder than it should.
I am told that the nipple gets some vaccuum from the intake which regulates the fuel amount into the fuel rail.
Since it is just sitting there, with a breather, nothing would get regulated.
I am also told to take one of the capped nipples that is on the intake manifold and connect the line there.
The problem is, I would think since it is post throttle body, even in idle, the vaccuum is much greater there than on the pre-TB intake tube. As such, it would not give the proper response to the fuel line.
This AEM intake has no nipple for this line and it is aggravating to say the least.
I feel like my new fuel pump is probably already getting damaged by driving 5k miles like this.
Any one else deal with this problem?
My wife's 2003 Ecotec 2.2 liter Sunfire:
* 2 1/4 inch turbo muffler
* 2 1/4 piping to a 2 1/2 inch resonator
* 2 1/4 inch catalytic converter
* 2 1/2 inch down-pipe
* a match ported 4:2:1 RK Sports 'clone' header
* an AEM true cold air intake NOPI edition
* 8 gauge ground wire kit
* Toyz front strut brace
* Vibrant rear strut brace
* and Russell stainless steel brake lines all around.
Think about it. 0 vacuum to fuel pressure regulator stock(hose attached to intake pipe), 0 vacuum to regulator with foam breather. There is no difference. If you want you can connect the hose to the intake manifold if you like. the ecm will compensate for the fuel pressure drop when in vacuum.
Also, fuel pumps commonly go out.
i just stuck a small piece of sponge in mine, no problems ye
should i expect some?
Mine is attached to extra nipple off intake manifold, I don't see any issue but you got me thinking now...
Don't buy from MANTAPART!!
There is no easy ways to get HP, no magic box or gizmo... And if you get more hp, there's no way to make your car still behave and sound like a stock one. More hp usually makes your car louder, more vibrations and harder to drive...but still people hope or think maby there's some magic way to have it all, comfort, stock sound and drive.
The vacuum line off the fuel pressure regulator SHOULD be hooked up to something... otherwise the pressure regulator can't do it's job (which is to maintain a constant pressure on the injectors at all times).
While I suppose this could kill a fuel pump... I would think, probably not on its own... since the pump runs all the time with the car on anyway... excess fuel not sprayed by the injectors will still return to the tank. The short and long term fuel trims might have been thrown off by having the regulator disconnected... but not enough to throw a code (which is what would happen if the car picked up a lean or rich condition it couldn't fix by itself...). You'd need a real scan tool to see that effect though...
If your pump was already on its way out, I would suspect this might help kill it faster. Since our pumps are in-tank and cooled by the fuel in the tank, follow my Mom's advice and never go below a quarter tank of fuel!
John Lenko wrote:The vacuum line off the fuel pressure regulator SHOULD be hooked up to something... otherwise the pressure regulator can't do it's job (which is to maintain a constant pressure on the injectors at all times).
While I suppose this could kill a fuel pump... I would think, probably not on its own... since the pump runs all the time with the car on anyway... excess fuel not sprayed by the injectors will still return to the tank. The short and long term fuel trims might have been thrown off by having the regulator disconnected... but not enough to throw a code (which is what would happen if the car picked up a lean or rich condition it couldn't fix by itself...). You'd need a real scan tool to see that effect though...
If your pump was already on its way out, I would suspect this might help kill it faster. Since our pumps are in-tank and cooled by the fuel in the tank, follow my Mom's advice and never go below a quarter tank of fuel!
really.... so, answer to the original question
could be just put a vacuum line from the regulator into the CAI? I have the same AEM intake on my 2005 sunfire. It would be easy to put a hose into it. maybe next to the sensor by the throttle body?
really.... so, should we just put a vacuum line from the regulator into the CAI?
I have the same AEM intake on my 2005 sunfire. It would be easy to put a hose from the regulator into the plastic tube .
Sure, you could connect it to the intake tubing... but you'd have to take the extra step of making a hole and ensuring it doesn't leak.
It's easier to take one of the rubber caps off the existing spots for this though.
I got my intake used, and in the manual said that if you have a vacuum line hooked up to you fuel pressure regulator, you should install a 'filter' that was supposed to come with the intake.
obv, mine didn't come with a filter. BUT there is a vacuum line for the crankcase vent. in the plastic tube section. i think i'll put one of those small cone filters on my crankcase, and use the existing vacuum line for the regulator
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l29/rare5spd/DSCF1259Small.jpg
like that. (not my car)
Anyone have a picture of the setup? I just had a newer (03+) motor put in and the guy that put it in has it setup different than what I had prior.
Bottom line: It doesn't matter
Fuel trim will correct themselves, it's nothing to worry about.
Like I said, it was originally hooked onto the intake and as such there is some vaccuum in there from the TB opening up.
The vaccuum is probably nowhere near what the intake manifold will produce.
The guy at the service center at Chevy said it should be on the intake so it can produce a little "suck" when the demand is created from the throttle, it will in turn give the correct amount of fuel.
I have had no problems other than the fuel pump dying, and that could be just from age.
My wife's 2003 Ecotec 2.2 liter Sunfire:
* 2 1/4 inch turbo muffler
* 2 1/4 piping to a 2 1/2 inch resonator
* 2 1/4 inch catalytic converter
* 2 1/2 inch down-pipe
* a match ported 4:2:1 RK Sports 'clone' header
* an AEM true cold air intake NOPI edition
* 8 gauge ground wire kit
* Toyz front strut brace
* Vibrant rear strut brace
* and Russell stainless steel brake lines all around.
I forgot to mention that the guy at AEM didn't even know.
That got me worried.
But at the same time I might have just got someone there that isn't Ecotec savvy.
My wife's 2003 Ecotec 2.2 liter Sunfire:
* 2 1/4 inch turbo muffler
* 2 1/4 piping to a 2 1/2 inch resonator
* 2 1/4 inch catalytic converter
* 2 1/2 inch down-pipe
* a match ported 4:2:1 RK Sports 'clone' header
* an AEM true cold air intake NOPI edition
* 8 gauge ground wire kit
* Toyz front strut brace
* Vibrant rear strut brace
* and Russell stainless steel brake lines all around.
I am a future tech attending a local tech school and I had the oppurtinity to study the fuel system on my 04 cavi in class one day. One of the tests we did was try and manually apply vacuum to the regulator and observe changes in fuel pressure. When I did this i noticed very little if any change in fuel pressure when i applied vacuum up to 30. This tells me that vacuum has little to no effect on these regulators and they are actually designed for without vacuum assist. So whats the deal with the vacuum line? One of our instructors is an experienced GM certified master tech and he said that the regulator is designed so that if the diaphragm inside were to rupture(somewhat common on all GMs) the fuel will leak into the intake and burn off inside the engine. So more or less this line is just a safety precaution.
On a side note. I just ordered the AEM intake from aplusperformance.com. They didnt have it in stock so its going to be awhile before i get it. How do you guys like it? (Besides the whole lack of vacuum nipple for pressure regulator issue.)
what are the turbo guys doing for their fpr?
think about it... your fpr would see positive pressure with boost if it's run to a vaccum source either in the intake or the intake mani.
i have my vac line run to the extra nipple on the intake mani. I've had it run like that for at least 3 years now with no issues whatsoever....
Wayne Werbelow wrote:I am a future tech attending a local tech school and I had the oppurtinity to study the fuel system on my 04 cavi in class one day. One of the tests we did was try and manually apply vacuum to the regulator and observe changes in fuel pressure. When I did this i noticed very little if any change in fuel pressure when i applied vacuum up to 30. This tells me that vacuum has little to no effect on these regulators and they are actually designed for without vacuum assist. So whats the deal with the vacuum line? One of our instructors is an experienced GM certified master tech and he said that the regulator is designed so that if the diaphragm inside were to rupture(somewhat common on all GMs) the fuel will leak into the intake and burn off inside the engine. So more or less this line is just a safety precaution.
interesting... so still a good idea to have it attached. i'm going to run the vacuum line today.
Quote:
On a side note. I just ordered the AEM intake from aplusperformance.com. They didnt have it in stock so its going to be awhile before i get it. How do you guys like it? (Besides the whole lack of vacuum nipple for pressure regulator issue.)
I really could tell a positive difference with this intake. It helped all across the board.
AEM made an excellent CAI for the Ecotec.
Quote:
I am a future tech attending a local tech school and I had the oppurtinity to study the fuel system on my 04 cavi in class one day. One of the tests we did was try and manually apply vacuum to the regulator and observe changes in fuel pressure. When I did this i noticed very little if any change in fuel pressure when i applied vacuum up to 30. This tells me that vacuum has little to no effect on these regulators and they are actually designed for without vacuum assist. So whats the deal with the vacuum line? One of our instructors is an experienced GM certified master tech and he said that the regulator is designed so that if the diaphragm inside were to rupture(somewhat common on all GMs) the fuel will leak into the intake and burn off inside the engine. So more or less this line is just a safety precaution.
I am glad to hear this, this alleviates the worry.
I will just keep the sponge like attachment on.
My wife's 2003 Ecotec 2.2 liter Sunfire:
* 2 1/4 inch turbo muffler
* 2 1/4 piping to a 2 1/2 inch resonator
* 2 1/4 inch catalytic converter
* 2 1/2 inch down-pipe
* a match ported 4:2:1 RK Sports 'clone' header
* an AEM true cold air intake NOPI edition
* 8 gauge ground wire kit
* Toyz front strut brace
* Vibrant rear strut brace
* and Russell stainless steel brake lines all around.
Wayne Werbelow wrote:I am a future tech attending a local tech school and I had the oppurtinity to study the fuel system on my 04 cavi in class one day. One of the tests we did was try and manually apply vacuum to the regulator and observe changes in fuel pressure. When I did this i noticed very little if any change in fuel pressure when i applied vacuum up to 30. This tells me that vacuum has little to no effect on these regulators and they are actually designed for without vacuum assist. So whats the deal with the vacuum line? One of our instructors is an experienced GM certified master tech and he said that the regulator is designed so that if the diaphragm inside were to rupture(somewhat common on all GMs) the fuel will leak into the intake and burn off inside the engine. So more or less this line is just a safety precaution.
Perhaps you should read the service manual on them then, because you are missing out on the rest of the equation. I've seen those regulator lines pop off with very little change in pressure (with nitrous use) - there is no f'n way in hell that a ruptured regulator diaphragm will put that fuel into the intake without causing a fire when the line pops off and sprays fuel all over the hot engine.
On another GM engine? Maybe it would work... if the line was secured... but no engine in a J-body. Sorry, but I think your master tech needs a refresher course.
The vacuum/pressure changes are minute, yes... but unless you're actively watching the fuel trims with a scan tool of some sort, you're not going to see any difference. You need to be measuring the O2 sensor readings and the pulse bandwidth changes... not just the change in fuel pressure - as I said, it's minute. We're talking 2-3 pounds at most.
I was asking for a pic because this might be part of my issue. If you have time, please check out this topic and let me know if the way its hooked up should be fine.
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