Boycott vacuum go electric!!!
 

I hate vacuum leaks, with a passion. I've started wondering just what it would take to convert most of the vacuum actuators over to electic.

vacuum pump
brake booster
transmission modulator
door locks
shut off valve
HVAC
seat back locks
reservoir

Can't reasonably get rid of the brake booster, so we need to keep the vacuum pump too.
The tranmission modulator turns throttle position into a pull. Sounds like you'd need a rheostat, controller and position sensitive motor. Little involved, so probably keep it vacuum.
Door locks - can you say solenoid? Add one switch in place of the master vacuum switch and your set.
Shut off valve - solenoid.
HVAC - lotsa solenoids. 5 micro switches.
seat back locks - 2 solenoids.
reservoir - who needs it?

Anyone made an attempt at this yet?

I am all electric on my locks and all manual on the HVAC
Jake

Can you post a few pics of the locks? I'd love to see your solution.

I installed a solenoid on the drivers door for my alarm, the rest of the doors are controlled by the vacuum, which is controlled by the drivers door. It was a pretty easy job. Probably even easier if you remove the vacuum things on the locks so you have more room to mount the motor.

Just re-read.... manual ac? Now you've got my attention. Please tell me you documented and photographed that?

I hate vacuum locks! (That's because I am having trouble with it right now.. All the doors will not lock or open when the engine is off) I want to know how to convert them!

It was a European car, it came with it I believe.

It also has a Ford engine. I don't think you'd want to do that too? :P

Not so much, I like the 617. Only exception being it's a touch low on power.

How about going with hydroboost brakes and switching to a manual transmission? :D

Vacuum leaks > Grounding/shorts


I'd MUCH rather replace a few vac connecters/lines/pods than have to troubleshoot an entire electrical system.

When I got my 500SEL the vacuum pump was missing from the trunk. The replacement I needed was unavailable (cost wise). The car has orthopedic (sp) seats which use the same pump. I ordered a door lock kit from JC Whitney which is designed for cars without power locks. I forget the cost but it was less than $100.00 for a 4 door car. The conversion was fairly easy as the actuators simply replaced the vacuum pods. I latter added keyless entry and every thing works great. I know this doesn't solve all your problems but it will make a good start.

So the JC Whitney item also fixed the orthopedic seat?

No, it didn't fix the seats. I only gave that information so you would know why the pump was so expensive. The orthopedic seats are just disconnected. When you buy a car for $500, you can't expect everything to work.

That's what I've done too, it gives you remote entry without hacking up the entire car. The vacuum system is really pretty simple if you just spend a little time fixing the little things when they fail. The cause of failure is almost always a connector of an actuator, they are both cheap and easy to fix. The only hard part is spending an hour finding the leak. If you don't want to deal with it, pay someone $100 to do it for you.

I live in North Texas. It's so hot and dry that corrosion rarely causes grounding problems. It does kill vacuum hoses, dashes, seats, paint, and weatherstrip regularly though.