Making TOOLS??? November 05, 2012, 04:50:39 PM Well one of my most used tools has broken (smoke machine) and will not be fixed for a couple of weeks. So my brain was shifter in to Over Drive. Anyone that has followed me on some of my MODS knows i am CRAZY about making stuff and mods. So without a smoke machine i am DEAD IN THE WATER WITH EVAP TROUBLES!!! So i made a smoke machine!!! To all that are interested here is how it is dun.Got a can from the body shop fitted it with 2 60G glow plugs hooked up in series. The 60G glow plugs are 6 Volt units so you have to make sure they were wired in series. Drilled a couple of holes in the side close to the bottom and sealed them with BRAKE WASHERS And a dab of silicone on the threads. Filled the can with baby oil to the top of the electrodes and no further. Hooked a set of alligator clips to the end of a lamp cord and used a couple of crimp connectors to hook the plugs to the wire. Drilled 2 holes in the cover and installed 2 bolts that i drilled a hole in and sealed them with brake washers. Got a pressure regulator and set it to 1-2 lbs pressure and hooked it to shop air. Installed some 1/4 inch hose and installed a tapered fitting on the end. Presto a smoke machine that works great until i get mine back from the repair shop. Hope this is something you might like. If not OK!!! I will live!!!WARNING Make sure you do not put the can on the car. It gets very HOT and the can is also electrically hot to ground if it contacts the body. 6 Volts to body ground will get your attention rather fast. Thanks!! Quote Selected
Making TOOLS??? Reply #3 – November 06, 2012, 05:07:32 PM Vacuum leaks and EVAP LEAKS!! Quote Selected
Making TOOLS??? Reply #4 – November 06, 2012, 05:20:03 PM Quote from: 86cougar;402067What is it used for? Aim smoke at potential problem spots, see where smoke is sucked into motor, fix. Quote Selected
Making TOOLS??? Reply #5 – November 06, 2012, 05:26:46 PM NO Hook machine to intake manifold and see where the smoke comes OUT. Then fix it. Or hook to evap fitting and see where the EVAP LEAK IS!!! Then fix it!!! Quote Selected
Making TOOLS??? Reply #6 – November 06, 2012, 11:48:34 PM Quote from: TOM Renzo;402097NO Hook machine to intake manifold and see where the smoke comes OUT. Then fix it. Or hook to evap fitting and see where the EVAP LEAK IS!!! Then fix it!!! All the leaks I've had issues with have been so minor that I've never had luck with such a thing. When spraying areas didn't help, blocking the fan's airflow and smoking up around the engine has shown where the air is getting sucked in at. Little puffs along the spots where gaskets and vacuum lines run, with eyes up close.What kind of leaks show up with smoking the intake when it needs strong pressure or vacuum to create the leak condition, as when the engine is running? Other than a severe leak I had with the lower intake gaskets, other leaks haven't caused driveability issues, but they were there and showed up as odd behavior in datalogs. I assume the leaks that the smoke machine can find with the engine off are the more severe ones that are of improper installation, or LONG gone hoses/gaskets. Other than the loud whistling of the intake gasket, I haven't had other big vacuum issues on a car yet. Quote Selected
Making TOOLS??? Reply #7 – November 11, 2012, 06:02:39 PM SEEK clearly you dont know much about smoke machines. And i am willing to bet you never used one. Evap leaks are small. As the matter of fact that is how the SES light comes on. On OBD2 cars leaks above .015 will set a code. So the smoke machine will identify them. If need be i will post videos of how small a hole a smoke machine can find. Once again either you miss understand how they work or you never used one!!!http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhuejt_vacuum-leak-automotive-emission-detection-machine-find-vapor-leaks-smoke-wizard-video_auto Quote Selected
Making TOOLS??? Reply #8 – November 11, 2012, 06:55:10 PM Quote from: TOM Renzo;402387SEEK clearly you dont know much about smoke machines. And i am willing to bet you never used one. Evap leaks are small. As the matter of fact that is how the SES light comes on. On OBD2 cars leaks above .015 will set a code. So the smoke machine will identify them. If need be i will post videos of how small a hole a smoke machine can find. Once again either you miss understand how they work or you never used one!!! I do know how they work, and have SEEN one used a few times, including a shop that was trying to fix a new vacuum leak after taking it back after they had to pull the intake off for a job, but I don't have the need to spent $1000+ on a machine for my own personal use (although it'd be nice to have). There are vacuum lines with check valves that may not allow the smoke to get in from the engine and I've found that if spraying hoses and gaskets didn't show a leak, creating smoke or steam on the OUTSIDE of the motor (or in the cabin) would show the spots where it is being sucked in. It may not be the most time effective approach for most setups.I agree that my initial statement was wrong as I wasn't thinking since they are designed to be used INSIDE the motor, but I've had better luck in my OWN troubleshooting creating smoggy-air OUTSIDE the engine (with electric fan disconnected) and seeing where it was sucked in. I don't have a fog machine either which is much safer to be used externally - I've only rigged something together using parts from a relative's garage. It did the job though. The problem was somewhere in the vacuum line going to one of the smog solenoids (TAB or TAD).I'm VERY glad I don't have to deal much with vacuum leaks anymore since hoses get replaced by me religiously. BUT any issues I have now days with cars are MUCH more complicated to find sadly, such as the MAF table in the EEC causing erroneous numbers to be calculated, making the EEC command 100% duty cycle injector flow when hitting tip-in throttle. Every time it would flood the motor out UNLESS it was floored from a stop. I may still have an example of that around here somewhere. Finding bugs in official Ford algorithms isn't a good thing...I may have to take some ideas from your custom built machine, modify some things, and make my own. While it wouldn't be used often, a cheap purpose-built smoke machine would make life easier with a few cars that roll through my driveway. As long as people change their fluids, the next most command problems seem to be electrical corrosion and vacuum leaks. The next one I'm fixing is the standard 100k mile leaking head gaskets on a 2.5L Subaru. The head gaskets aren't the only thing leaking...it's getting $850 in new parts. I'm not very fond of that manufacturer. Quote Selected
Making TOOLS??? Reply #9 – November 11, 2012, 07:27:00 PM Nice job on the smoke machine. What are the drive shaft measurement pictures for? Quote Selected
Making TOOLS??? Reply #10 – November 12, 2012, 05:50:38 AM I have no idea how that shaft photo got in their??????? For some reason i posted it on another section of the site and it wound up here??????? I must have messed up. That is a Mustang shaft!!!SEEK just for the record we also use the smoke machine for TURBO LEAKS when we make a front mount ETC!!!If you are going to service Modern Cars for evap codes a smoke machine is mandatory. Other than that if you dont like it ignore this post and move on. I thought i would share this with you guys because smoke machines are as you say a GRAND or better. This is the cheapest way i could find to make one untill my unit is repaired. I hope some like it and thanks bryan for the nice words on the cheap smoke machine i made. Quote Selected
Making TOOLS??? Reply #11 – November 12, 2012, 07:41:02 AM Wow. I didn't know I needed this until now.I'm gonna be making one up when I get a chance! Thanks Tom Quote Selected
Making TOOLS??? Reply #12 – November 12, 2012, 07:11:25 PM Thank you 45 i appreciate that!!NOTE some of the glow plugs are now 10.5 volts. They replace the fast start units i used. If so you just put them in PARALLEL!! Quote Selected
Making TOOLS??? Reply #13 – November 19, 2012, 09:02:31 PM Tom, you never cease to amaze. Good work. I noticed a bottle of baby oil next to it. Why baby oil? Is your smoke machine oil with the machine? Still trying to figure out where the driveshaft attaches...... lol Quote Selected
Making TOOLS??? Reply #14 – November 19, 2012, 09:42:03 PM The baby oil is used to make the smoke!!! That shaft snuck in. That is used if the whole mess does not work. Then you can use the shaft to pound the OUT OF IT!!!Thanks Tom Quote Selected
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