Thanks! I think you hit the nail on the head.
My car is an SRT-6 roadster, but I had the original IC pump replaced back when I first bought it, used, off a dealer lot and discovered it was intermittently cutting power on the highway, on the drive home from Chicago to St. Louis (where I lived at the time).
I know what the failing IC pump feels like .... and I don't think it has anything to do with this issue because I was feeling this power loss as soon as I started to drive out of my driveway and down the alley to exit my street. There was no surging or cutting in and out of the power. It just felt like the car was dragging a boat anchor behind it or the e-brake was on or something.
I'm sure nearly all the hoses on the car are the originals. I didn't see any obviously hard/brittle ones while giving it a quick once-over, but I didn't even look at the one in front of the manifold that I see several threads discussing/warning about. For all I know, that one might have a crack in it. There's lots of engine heat given off in that whole area.
Will definitely try that oil cap test though.
I also decided to take out my K&N drop-in air filters over the weekend and clean then, and "recharge" them with the K&N filter charger kit. They looked a little dirty, but not necessarily bad enough to be ready to clean and re-oil. But I figured it couldn't hurt. During that whole process, I noticed one of the large rubber hoses pulled lose that goes from the driver's side air box to the engine. It looked like it was originally glued in place, since I saw some residue around the end of it? The passenger side hose from the air box seemed to still be attached/glued in place. I made sure to push it back in as well as I could when putting the filter back in and screwing the lid shut, but wasn't sure if there's something I should have put back on it to help seal it?
I haven't noticed any oil smell again (drove the car to and from work today, just to see how it did -- and that's about an hour's trip both directions). And no more power loss issues during that whole trip either. I think once, as I was braking to a stop at a red light, I did momentarily feel the engine "flutter" and saw the RPM gauge dive from the 600RPMs or so it usually sits at, at idle. Looked like it just momentarily jittered between maybe 400 and 700RPM right when I felt the quick shudder, and then stayed rock solid at 600RPMs again. That was a small enough issue so I'd almost write it off as "normal" for one of these cars though. Or is that maybe the sign I still have a small vacuum leak, but possibly found the bigger one if that airbox hose was loose all along?
Originally Posted by
pizzaguy
Start car. Let it idle. Remove oil cap - if the engine kinda surges and burps - you have no vacuum leak. If you can't tell that you took the cap off, there is a big leak besides the one caused by taking the cap off.
My bet is that one of the hoses is deteriorating and leaking. When I did mine, I used hose clamps where they go on the nipples of the breathers - there were no clamps there before, but after breaking the seal and goofing with it, I just knew I"d have leaks without the clamps.
(The above advice applies to N/A's - I can't say if it applies to SRTs)
As to how long to let it sit? I used Max's (I think it was his) procedure:
I took my valve covers off and then separated the breathers from them. I used gasoline to clean all surfaces of old RTV. I then used Purple power to clean all four pieces and then let them all dry overnight in front of a fan.
Next day, I applied the RTV. Put things together and tightened bolts to finger tight, waited 1/2 hour. Tightened bolts to 7 ft-lbs and let them sit in front of a fan overnight.
I then put the complete assemblies on the car - all is fine over a year later.
The oil smell could be just left over spill from his work - if it does not continue and you see no leaking oil - it's fine.
As to running rough, I think a hose is bad - the car is at or over ten years old. You cant disturb those old hoses and expect them to seal if you don't use hose clamps. I bet he didnt' use hose clamps.
That's my two cents.