How-To: Diagnose Motorcycle Vacuum Leaks
What is a vacuum leak?
A vacuum leak is caused by extra air introduced into the fuel/air mix produced by the carburetors, which will lean out the mixture and cause poor running conditions. Vacuum leaks occur between the cylinder head and carburetor slide/butterfly, where the low pressure will draw in air through the leak area. Vacuum leaks are very common in older motorcycles.
What are sources of vacuum leaks?
The most common area of vacuum leaks are the carb holder (rubber boots). The rubber degrades over time, dries out, and can begin to crack or become brittle. Sometimes the boots look fine until you bend or stretch them, which can reveal cracking. The images below show a carb holder from a Polaris that looks fine until you bend or stretch the boot. While this particular boot was not cracked all the way through, it was replaced as preventative maintenance. You don’t want to lean out a 2 stroke due to vacuum leaks! Kiss that engine goodbye!
Throttle shaft seals can also cause vacuum leaks and are the most difficult to replace. The leak can be caused by either worn throttle shafts, bad seals, or both. Some carbs rely on the tight clearance between the throttle shaft and carb body to minimize air leaks. Below, a Keihin carb from a Nighthawk which has felt installed on the throttle shafts, is not to be mistaken for a seal. I’ve replaced the felt and only reduced the vacuum leaks by about 50%. If you run into a situation like this, I would recommend replacing the felt with an O-ring.
Fuel pump diaphragm and/or tubing leading to intake can also be a source for a leak. The fuel pump diaphragm can also leak fuel through vacuum tubing causing the motor to stall on deceleration. The video below will show you how to check a fuel pump diaphragm.
There are several other areas where vacuum leaks can occur, I mentioned the most common above. Please refer to diagnosing methods below to thoroughly check your motorcycle.
What are symptoms of vacuum leaks?
• Loss of power.
• Runs better with choke on, and in some cases the only way it will run.
• Erratic idle. You’ll never be able to set the idle. Sometimes it will idle higher or lower.
• Runs better at higher RPM.
• Sounds “boggy”.
• Do not mistake vacuum leaks for out of synch carbs. Never attempt to synch carbs without verifying that there are no vacuum leaks.
The video below takes you for a test ride on an 81’ Honda CB750 with severe vacuum leaks in the carb holders and throttle shafts. This will give you an idea of what symptoms to look for.
Diagnosing vacuum leaks
Luckily, diagnosing vacuum leaks are pretty easy, at least when the leak is fairly large and greatly affects performance. Listed below is what you’ll need to find your leak (listed in order of preference)
• Carb clean or starting fluid (these will remove paint, wipe it up immediately & blow dry with compressed air. Also keep fire extinguisher nearby)
• Propane (take the tip off and attach a long rubber hose)
• WD-40
• Water
To find your vaccum leak, choose one of the above and spray or point in the suspect areas while engine is idling. Any change in idle RPM, whether up or down indicates a vacuum leak. Below is a video on how to find vacuum leaks.
Has this information been helpful? Tell me your story below!
Hey Matt,
Great site…
I own 4 older bikes and all have symptoms of vacuum leaks and or have been improperly jetted or not jetted at all to compensate for the change in exhaust of air box to pods…
Thanks for all the great info…really learning alot.
I’m working on a website to share my bike repair adventures…
http://mybikes.ca it’s still under construction…
Regards,
dave
Hi Dave, yes vacuum leaks are to be expected with older bikes. I’ve bookmarked your site, looking forward to some posts!
I have done this test with starter fluid. I can not the leak. I did just change the #4 mixture screw hoping that would help. it did a lil bit. when attempting to synch the carbs. #4 comes and goes. when coming to a stop the rpms idle high then level out. Any idea as to what I might be missing? o’yeah when I temped the exhaust #4 was a easy 60 degrees hotter than the other three. I am nervous to pull the diagram cover but is this the next step you would take?
Hi,
What year make model? Butterfly or slide carbs? Have you cleaned the carbs? What is the overall tune of bike (valve adj, timing, etc)?
Awesome effort on the vacuum leaks.
having loads of “fun” with my 250 bandit and the above will help me to look at a few things.
I’ve already stripped carbs down and cleaned them out (they weren’t particularly dirty)
bike will (sometimes) idle but after a while will then rev up
I’ve already sprayed carby cleaner round the carb boots and that did help me at one point identify the carbs where slightly out of line when put back in as a block of four.
I did notice that the little O rings that sit under where the vacuum gauge plugs in are missing. perhaps that’s my problem? will try plugging these for now to see if that helps. got me thinking re fuel lines. did have to cut 10mm off the end that connects to the petrol tank when I noticed that had a bit of a tear (maybe the whole line needs replacing?)
anyway thanks for the tips and I will be having a play with the bike when I get home (only had it a month but already missing it after one week of not being able to use it (I’m brand new to bikes and currently on my L’s and need the bike to practice!!)
cheers
Owls
Raymond, don’t forget to check the vacuum actuated petcock. They can form a vacuum leak as well. What do you have your fuel screws set at?
Hi, I have a Honda XL 250.It’s been sitting a few years. Starts fine but over revs like crazy( even with no throttle ) then dies down to a normal idle. If engine is warm it doesn’t over rev when I start it, so this appears to be when engine is cold. Returns about 30mpg or less when it should be doing 60-70mpg. Have cleaned out carbs twice? Wondering if it could be a carb boot leak…any other suggestions very greatfully recieved!!!!
Hi Tim,
Does the over rev happen when choke is on/off?
What is the overall tune of bike? Compression? Point gap and timing? Check for timing chain stretch?
I have a video on how to easily check for vacuum leaks.
I have a 2006 suzuki gs500f I got it in a trade when I was riding home it ran alittle rough but not too bad so I pulled the carbs and cleaned them I am also motor motorcycle tech so I know a good bit on what I am doing lol. So, after I put it all back together I have a hanging idle when revving the throttle the butterfly’s were off so I adjusted them evenly. The bike idles great with very little backfire if any but as soon as I pull my throttle it revs high and will eventually go back to normal the throttle cables and fine and theres no issues with that hanging up. So I thought ok vacume leak so I test the carb boots with starting fluid I’m good. No leaks. Now I have a vacume actuated petcock today while riding the bike for a test the petcock knob fell off and of course leaked all my gas on to my leg. Let me tell you fun times. So, nownmy question is could that have been my vacume leak and could that have been my rev problem I’ve been catching as the bike didnt do this till I pulled that carb and pulled the lines from that petcock any advise or knowledge would be greatful
Sounds like you need a new petcock. However you can test for petcock vacuum leaks by applying vacuum and see if it holds vacuum.
For now, you can plug the vacuum tube, and run an aux tank. Did you adjust fuel screws?
Hanging idle is lean.
Matt
Hello,
I have been looking for the felt O-rings for the Choke shaft and carb body of a Honda CB900 with no luck; I have also tried replacing them with rubber O-Rings but cant seem to find a size that will not cause the shaft to hang-up, leaving the choke stuck open or closed. Any chance you have a source for the felt ones?
Godffery
Hi Godffery,
I bought the felts from motorcyclecarbs dot com. Search for “felt seal”. They are expensive for what they are.
I know you mentioned choke shafts. I bought new felts to seal up a vacuum leak at throttle shaft and it did OK for 3 carbs. It did not seal up #3. Next time I will try O-rings. Go to applerubber dot com, they have a ton of o-rings and sizing calculators.
BTW, are you the same Godffrey from WI that built Cafe Overkill featured on Bike EFIX? Beautiful bike, very nice work! I did some work on that bike and need to post the vids.
Thanks for the leads Matthew, I’ll check them out.
Yes, I’m “That Guy”. You can see the complete build in my website as well as others.
What work did you do on the bike and I assume you must know Richard C. then?
Godffery
Godffrey, I don’t know why I did not see your reply until a year later. Weird. Yes, I know Richard and attempted to rejet the CB550. I should be posting the videos soon so you can see what I ended up with.
I got a 93 YZ250 2 stroke and it revs out early or bogs out at high RPMs .is this cuz of a air leak ?
You can certainly test for vacuum leaks, however a pressure test would be more thorough.
Have you cleaned the carb?
Reeds in good shape?
Compression?
Matt
I have a 1984 cb 750 sc Nighthawk just rebuilt carbs all Honda ( ouch $ ) parts. Went to sync cabs bike fired righ up with a little choke then seemed to run fine.Put vacum gauges on and all four cylinders at low but even across the board. Spray brake clean not increase in rpm , But bike runs fine?? Good throttle response? No coke needed to keep running?
Sean,
Sounds fixed to me!
Hello Matthew,
I have a similar problem with my 99 Honda CBRf4–It is Carbureted.
So here’s the problem. My Idle will go crazy haywire after i ride the bike for a while and when the bike gets hot, the fan will turn on and the idle will start fluctuatiing erraticilly until the bike just bogs down and shuts off. This only seems to happen when the bike gets hot and the fan turns on in very warm weather while im in stop n go traffic–but only when i come to a light or a stop–otherwise i can be in the highway ripping it with no problems…. I replaced the fuel filter the other day and the tubes on the fuel filter, i also replaced the fuel pump 2 seasons ago,–I use all parts from HONDA (oem parts)– I put Sea foam in the fuel tank regularly and that helps a little but the problem still persists big time when the bike get up to Temp.. Do you think this is a Vacuum leak also? Or is there any way i can rule out a vacuum leak or Carb claeaning/synching? Any advice would be helpful and appreciated. This has been driving me nuts!
Have you tried to inspect for vacuum leaks? When the problem occurs, turn the choke partially on and see if problem persists. If it does not, you are lean for some reason.
Hey man thanks for your reply..So i thinkk i have narrowed this issue down to an electrical problem because this only happens when the fan comes on–otherwise the bike runs fine at all times– it feels like the bike cant handle the power surge from the fan motor when it turns on because thats where i noticed the voltage on my meter drops when i put it to the battery. It goes from 12.67-13Volts at idle then down to 12.20v-12.40v when the fan turns on–so today i will be checking resistance on the Rectifier –i will test the voltage coming out of the stator and the diodes on the rectifier–will keep you posted
Alright, let me know what you find.
How can you replace manifold boots and air box boots. I want to replace all of them, but do not know where to get them
Tyler,
What year make model are you working on?
Matt
It’s a 1980 Honda CB900 custom
I contacted a repair shop, and they said Honda only manufacturers the manifold boots, not the Air box boots anymore. I want to remove the air box and go to pods anyway, I just need to know how to get the right jet replacment
Tyler,
Yes, go with OEM boots.
If you go with pods, you will probably need to increase pilot jets 1-2 sizes up, raise needle by one clip or use a washer to shim them up, and increase mains 2-4 sizes. These are general guidelines that have worked well for me.
Here is more info: https://howtomotorcyclerepair.com/how-to-size-your-pilot-jet-pilot-screw-explained/
Matt
Thanks for the reply ! And yes I wouldn’t mind keeping the Air box but finding new boots for it is turning to be a hassle and expensive. So I want to go to air pods just for easthetics and ease of working on carbs. , — so, is there a jet kit that’s set up for what I’ll need?
Dynojet makes a jet kit for your bike:
http://amzn.to/1QK5Fpa
Keep in mind that one area that this kit does not cover is the pilot jet. You can source some of these separately. Read this on how to determine if you need larger pilots:
https://howtomotorcyclerepair.com/how-to-size-your-pilot-jet-pilot-screw-explained/
Matt
Thanks for all the help.
If you have a second: what are some things that would cause this carb pop?
https://youtu.be/3VaB_8lluj0
Sounds like a lean spit/pop to me. Looks like the carbs are jumping out the boots, can you tighten the clamps anymore? Are the carbs clean? What are fuel mix screws set at? Are the carbs synched?
The carbs have just been cleaned and only a bench synch. I’m still waiting for new boots to come to vacume synch because i know the boots are letting a little air in. All the screws are set at 3 turns.- this is full choke. I can’t take choke off without dieing. Also , a little throttle will send it from 1k to 5k and stay there.
Have you checked for vacuum leaks with carb spray? I’m assuming you have major leaks since they jumping out! You have symptoms of it running lean. The hanging idle is because it is lean. I wouldn’t do anything else until you get new boots on there followed by a good synch. Bikes in the 80’s were lean from the factory. I’m guessing your pilot jet is probably 1-2 too small even in stock form.
It’s a 1980 Honda CB900 custom.
I contacted a repair shop, and they said Honda only manufacturers the manifold boots, not the Air box boots anymore. I want to remove the air box and go to pods anyway, I just need to know how to get the right jet replacment .
I just rebuilt my Polaris scrambler quad carboretor. When I installed it I forgot to tighten the clamp around the rubber mounting neck. Would this cause it to idle high
Yes. Did you happen to remove the idle screw during rebuild?
“If you run into a situation like this, I would recommend replacing the felt with an O-ring.”
Rubber O-ring???
Will the throttle shaft run normally with rubber spining “dry” on the axis?
Sorry about my basic english.
It will be very hard to find a correct oring that will both seal and not cause excess friction.
What carbs are you working on?
Hey Matt!
Working on a 1974 CB350F – just replaced the cylinder head and base gasket. Bike ran fine before , only change I made to the carb was raise the needle to the middle (stock) position which should not affect the idle. It idles with what sounds like the slight lean pop you described above, and runs strong in the rest of the RPM range. Idle is erratic, and gauge synch shows #1 and #4 pulling 14-16 Hg (close to factory setting) but #2 and #3 fluctuating between 0-10 Hg clearly indicating a problem. I’m suspecting the coil might be causing this, as the bike runs when #1 and #4 wires are pulled, but not #2 or #3 even individually. Confirmed all cylinders getting spark, valves are adjusted, good compression, and timing is set. Thanks for your thoughts and help if you are able!
Bill,
Pull the carbs and see where the slides sit. Bench synch if they are way off. I just went through this on CB750 and #4 slide was all the way down and caused symptoms you describe.
https://howtomotorcyclerepair.com/synchcarbs/
Matt
Matt,
Thanks for the help! I bench synched and all are set w/ about 1/8″ gap at the slides. Before I did the work, the carbs were gauge synched as well and all fell into the correct range easily. Still running the same – wondering if leaking float valves could be causing the inside carbs to flood out and cause issues. I’ll make sure plugs are good as the rest of the ignition seems fine and pull the carbs and ensure everything is clean. Let me know if you think of anything else and I appreciate it!
Bill
Yes check the float height:
https://youtu.be/HfnGyS1Al40
Double check all you work. Keep me posted.
Hello.
I’m working on a 1981 Honda cb650. The bike wouldn’t idle without the choke out, I noticed that cylinder 1 isn’t firing, it has spark, compression and fuel. When I remove the vacuum port screw on the carb, the cylinder will start firing. I tried adjusting the air-fuel ratio with the screw but it still won’t fire with the vacuum port screw installed. could a vacuum leak cause this?
If it idle w/o choke, then it is running lean due to vacuum leaks and/or carbs are dirty.
Spray the boots and check for vacuum leaks. Then remove the carbs and fully rebuild/clean them.
Cody from Motorcycle MD has a good video on how to rebuild your style of carbs: https://www.themotorcyclemd.com/Honda-CB900f-carb-cleaning-workshop-
Matt