I, dumbass
 

I was bored and fooling around with a spare transmission vacuum control valve which had previously held vacuum(with a very very slight leakage) at 18" and diminished with the lever to around 4" at the stop, when I broke the thing I think. Now it only pumps to 16" and leaks down slightly quicker. The lever arm does take it down to zero though which is what I understand is normal operation. Is it supposed to hold vacuum indefinitely, and what is the max vacuum it should hold? I may have ruined a perfectly good valve but at least I know how it works now. Maybe.

Let the healing begin
 

Humbleness is the beginning of healing... :) Live and learn eh?

minor leakage
 

Is probably okay as the vacuum pump will overcome minor leaks due to the volume of air it can move.

You are correct though that it should go to zero at the stop and in reality should probably hold vacuum forever if brand new...

The test would be to put it on the car (or just attach it) and test it with your cars vacuum supply. Use a tee like the current setup to the tranny and you can read it's bleed characteristics on the tranny side as it is moved from closed (resting, full vacuum) to fully open at the stop (no vacuum).

Seeing the title of this thread, I wondered "Is this Will Smith's next movie?"

Yeah, don't feel bad, we've all been there. I remember snapping that dinky little tube that runs between the water pump and the block of my 617. Fortunately I was changing the pump at my friend's house and he had a spare. D'oh!

just did that myself. idiots anonymous? :D

.............run the rear brake reservoir out of fluid and think the master cylinder has failed............... :(

Are you making fun of me? :mad: :D

Is that a challenge?! ;) you're on!

...................nah, making fun of myself...................... :D

Can I blame it on the German design of the reservoir (they purposely tried to trick me). :eek:

how about tracing a vacuum leak with a leaking vacuum tester and thinking all the actuators were leaking. been there done that.

Did I ruin a $180 part? The valve will hold approx. 17" of vacuum maximum, and begin to slowly leak down immediately, in a linear fashion. Total time it takes to leak to 12" is 40 minutes. Are these things supposed to hold vacuum forever?

You are talking about the vacuum modulator no?

I had a spare from my old 123, and when I thought my 124 was leaking, I replaced it with the spare. I took the replaced one and disected it and found the diaphragm material they use to be quite durable and in good condition. I didn't have a MityVac at that time to test it, but it did not appear to leak. The spare I put in seemed to correct my hard shifts, so there must have been something leaking with the old one, maybe the plastic body, or bad sealing of the diaphragm.

I broke the plastic rod that the modulator pushes inside the tranny! Very brittle and warn anyone to be real careful of that!

How about looking for a water leak in the cabin and spending an afternoon in search of only to find that someone [we won't mention names here but we're married if thats any clue] spilled water from a cup and didn't tell anybody?

How about wringing off a bolt only to find it's left hand threads? Worst thing is I've done that more than once. Uh, not the same bolt....

Anybody need their car worked on? :D

Cheers,
Bill

that reminds me...
once took apart almost a whole dash on an ML trying to trace the source of a water leak. damn a-pillar trim is plastic on the inside...water was running down it from the sunroof and dripping out from behind the dash...oh well, I learned what to look for next time...

I once fixed a " :furious: f&^*#!! " plugged galley sink...

by removing the stopper...

in front of the first furious then humble owner of a 2 million dollar yacht :mgwhore2:

(not that I haven't done some dumbass moves, but this it one of my all-time favorites)