vacuum leak in steering column

[corey85TC]

Greetings all; I am a new TC owner (85' light blu/grey vinyl, 4dr with 40K miles) and recently stumbled onto your forum which I hope will be a source of good advice for someone like me who does his own tune-up and minor repairs. I have a number of questions; maybe it is best to post them one by one.

The first being what must be a vacuum leak in the steering column which hisses until I jiggle the shifter a bit. I think it is the auto-door lock and I'd rather not pay $90 bucks an hour for the local dealer to take appart the steering column. By long practice I lock the doors before that kicks in anyhow, I would just as well disconnect it, maybe by plugging the hose under the panel or in the engine compartment. Any suggestions or directions for an easy fix?

 

[thamarkman]

I'm sure plugging it wouldn't hurt. Are you sure its in the steering column? I have not heard of this before. I do know that a common problem with vacuum leaks in that area is with a half moon shaped thing that controls the parking brake. It is located on the steering column above where your feet would normally be.

 

[Black87LSC]

:I I used to have the same thing happening on my old mark, and if I put it in drive and pulled up a little on the e-brake release it would stop the hissing.

 

[gadget73]

my 86 did that. I pulled the line and plugged it. I'm sure replacing the part isnt all that hard if you really wish to retain the auto parking brake release function.

 

[corey85TC]

vacuum leak 2

yes, parking brake, not door locks (I believe those are electric).
No I'm don't particularly want to keep the auto-brake release as I do that manually as well.

Can you specify exactly where you disconnected the hose?
What size and color it is?
Did you plug it with chewing gum, duck tape, or some special cap?

Thanks

 

[thamarkman]

I remember two hoses, you might have to plug both, but disconnect them when the car is running and you will know which ones need to be plugged.

 

[gadget73]

Look up under the column, there is a white half-moon shaped thingy near the firewall with two hoses on it. One has a one-way valve, and when disconnected with the engine running will pull a vacuum. I actually just spun the one-way valve around and re-connected the thing, but you can use a screw or whatever you like. I think the line is black and is the one towards the passenger's side of the device, but don't quote me on that.

And yes, your door locks are electric

 

[corey85TC]

problem solved

thanks for the info guys
I traced the vacuum hose back thru the firewall to the (I don't know what it is, a canister the size of a soft ball) and capped off the oppropriate Y coming off it.

No more hiss coming from the steering column and no more redundant parking brake release. I'm hearing something new for a second when the brakes would have released, but haven't had time to analyse it yet.

 

[thamarkman]

I think its the half moon shaped thing bolted to your steering column, it has to do with your automatic brake release.

 

[rkingtxtx]

I'm sure plugging it wouldn't hurt. Are you sure its in the steering column? I have not heard of this before. I do know that a common problem with vacuum leaks in that area is with a half moon shaped thing that controls the parking brake. It is located on the steering column above where your feet would normally be.

I had the same problem with my 86 t/c. It is a simple fix. Just takes a little time.

 

[edwin10]

Your are correct, this vaccum hissing is from the white plastic
parking brake actuator. It is attached to the gear shift shaft,
so it knows when to switch on the vaccum to the parking brake.

It is an easy fix, if you want to keep it operational. I would
put a screw in both hoses if you disable it.

 

[corey85TC]

what's the fix

>>It is an easy fix, if you want to keep it operational.<<
right now I have it disconnected and manually release the parking brake. what is the fix?

 

[thamarkman]

Get a new part, they're not very expensive. Its a common problem, my dealership had one in stock for me.