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....Adrenalinejunky...congratulations on your work and particularly your description. I have wanted to know the steering rack drill that you so thoughtfully provided...thanks again..JimB
A quick note on clamps, on the smaller hoses I used a mix of crimp on and fuel injection clamps... some were changed after pics that was just a mock up I remove and painted the lines and re did the clamps. But with this "non removal of engine" method on a couple of the connections I could not get crimpers in there. On the larger lines they did not have fuel injection clamps in that size so I used the best quality ss screw one I could get . They are marine ones and I have used them on some really high hp and boosted engines sch as twin big block Supercharged 1200hp racing boat motors. I have never had a problem with them. I would have perfered all crimp style ascetically but in this case it just isn't possible but I feel confident having a past history with theses clamps and they are not the $1 ones in the blister pack at autozone...
Split factory end Copper ferral approx 1.5 " long inserting into hose, snug but goes.., Ferral inserted fully in the now shorter hose Rubber connection just like the factory does on other connections... Completed, you can see the factory hose connection just on the other side of the nipple...
Last edited by Adrenalinejunky; 04-18-2017 at 09:17 PM.
....Thanks to Johnny, ZaOs and now AJ...you all have unlocked the mystery of the "dreaded engine out hoses"
....I have one other unresolved issue on this subject...the book calls for "engine out"...I understand the various factors that might mitigate to go "rack out" not the least is the added expense, but what a disaster if after going through all this effort another part went bad in area where engine out is a must. With engine out you can cover most all potential issues...
....Nothing but applause for this wonderful tutorial on "rack out" method...
JimB
....AJ...your very first statement is that a lift is necessary...if lift not possible...anyway this job could be done with car up on blocks i.e.. 2 foot off floor...I ask because very few DYI's have lift available...JimB
I gave the " engine out " option and potatial " not working out" & additional time factor some thought. And in my opinion you have to do all of the same things if your removing the engine with the exception of the 3 steering rack bolts. So factor in a possible extra 3 hours a alignment and $30 bucks in bolts. Actually I believe you still drop the suspension on the engine out that should include alIgnment anyways.... would take that "chance" all day long in Vegas . There are several factors you don't have you don't have to deal with such as to evacuate and recharge the Ac system. No coolant loss or replacement. Also I can say I'm My opiniionn on My setup with the soloniods @ the back of the manifold I was able to get to every vac line and all connections along the firewall including the ones that go up to the intake manifold. As a matter of fact I had all the pieces laying on the floor so that i could mimic the bends of the hose's before hand. But.... if you have the above tranny soloniods such as a pre 06 I don't think you could get to them still requiring a engine out if you have leaks at the soloniods vs at the firewall, My Leaks were at the firewall, I can say I did touch & replace the entire line that goes from left to right across the firewall, and the three hoses between there and the intake manifolds.
. Wg if your leak is behind the rack I believe a lot of consideration,
Originally Posted by jim2331
....Thanks to Johnny, ZaOs and now AJ...you all have unlocked the mystery of the "dreaded engine out hoses"
....I have one other unresolved issue on this subject...the book calls for "engine out"...I understand the various factors that might mitigate to go "rack out" not the least is the added expense, but what a disaster if after going through all this effort another part went bad in area where engine out is a must. With engine out you can cover most all potential issues...
....Nothing but applause for this wonderful tutorial on "rack out" method...
JimB
I'm a pretty hardcore diy guy for several factors, but I can say I'm in my early 40's and theres No way I could do it without a rack. And let me say I have Done several engine outs without a rack before. Such as. 2001 Ferrari F360 (clutch, belts and other associated replacement parts), Both vintage and newer Porsche. Also I have done quite a bit of work on a Audi TT I had and this felt like working on the TT so much, lol so I felt right at home working on it. I would say this ranks pretty far up there on the difficulty factor, I was very particular and took my time since it's not a everyday car for me. I would say if i started with a plan and did it with more of a purpose I could 100% complete it in approx 18-20hours. That would be removal, fab up lines, check for leaks, check for leaks again, put rack in, check for leaks, then reassemble car including under belly and engine cover type of stuff, and then a couple hours to run & it get it aligned. Then clear the codes.... So there's still a big time factor there. Plus you have to diagnose the leak first... This isn't a weekend job for sure lol But it is possible without being a Bentley place. So maybe helps out the next guy in this situation, or at least now they can wrap their head around the time and work involved in order to to make these repairs.
Originally Posted by jim2331
....AJ...your very first statement is that a lift is necessary...if lift not possible...anyway this job could be done with car up on blocks i.e.. 2 foot off floor...I ask because very few DYI's have lift available...JimB
....So to sum up...A serious split vacuum hose repair that unfortunately is common on early CGT's is not a DIY project unless you have a lift...Depending upon the geographical area, a Bentley Dealer will charge between $6000 to $10,000 to do an engine out job. With all the work you aptly described, a good reliable Independent Shop may charge $4000 to $6000 for the job. Thanks again to Johnny, ZaOs and Adrenalinejunky for taking the mystery out of the "Dreaded Engine Out"....JimB
just a update, the vac line repair is holding up strong, I just put the Gt up on the lift and gave the car a thorough once over, even breaking out a inspection mirror to peak at my repairs. I Can’t hardly wait to bring her out of winter hibernation! Now I’m on the search for a new set of tires.
Hi Adrenalinejunky very interesting reading your write up.
Ive just bought 2 days ago a 2004 GT which is making a hissing sound at the top of the engine like yours, it sounds as if it’s at the top of the dashboard I’ve no warning lights on at the moment.
With you’re experience with this replacement job would you smoke test first then if possible to get at just repair the parts of the pipes that are broken, from what I’ve read it looks like that on my model the engine might have to come out.
Ive only had the car 2 days but absolutely love it.
many thanks
Gerry
Red circles are where my split lines were found. Location # 2 is where I had to remove the steering rack. It was a small line and split at a connection pictured earlier in the thread. Arrow is the 06 and up soloniod locations. 04 05 and some 06 were located on the top of the transmission. Circles are two locations that commonly split and we’re repaired. Vac reservoir location
Hello Gerry,
The good news is other than a few minor correctable issues these are Solid and reliable cars in my opinion. I Still love mine, As owners we are getting Absolute steals on these cars considering what they are.
I have owned, modified , and worked on several Audi’s & Porsche’s, and now the Bentley the brittle vac line lines they all share as a concept just get brittle with age and split. People repair them everyday, some owners in their garage. It is a decent sized project.
Your 04 has the soloniods mounted on the top of the transmission. (See above pictures) which I believe is even More prone to cracking due to the placement. In 06 they moved the soloniods to the top rear of the engine bay.
Yes I would smoke test it, it’s easy and will tell you or your mechanic later where there are issues...
You can easily tie in at the vac resevior it’s a blue colored multi egg shaped bottle inside the drivers wheel arch. Attach your smoke machine and see where it’s coming from. I had several splits on a 06 under 30k miles that was stored temp controlled. I bet you will find some leak.
Our cars have a electric vac pump. That’s not really a common feature, the vac pump makes up for and masks small vac issues that would normally pop up earlier. My understanding is Bentley did it fit butter smooth idle.
Also so check your cold start up and watch the rpm and listen for that vac pump that I described earlier in thread. You can tell from how it cold starts if it has a fairly major vac leak. Let me if you need more help you can pm
Originally Posted by gerryfh
Hi Adrenalinejunky very interesting reading your write up.
Ive just bought 2 days ago a 2004 GT which is making a hissing sound at the top of the engine like yours, it sounds as if it’s at the top of the dashboard I’ve no warning lights on at the moment.
With you’re experience with this replacement job would you smoke test first then if possible to get at just repair the parts of the pipes that are broken, from what I’ve read it looks like that on my model the engine might have to come out.
Ive only had the car 2 days but absolutely love it.
many thanks
Gerry
Last edited by Johnny Hotspur GT; 12-12-2020 at 03:44 PM.
Reason: Fix quote [
Brilliant thanks very much for your reply, I repeatedly pressed the brake pedal yesterday with the engine running but couldn’t hear the pump running but this morning when I started the car I could hear the pump running for the 1st time since I’ve owned it (5 days)
i can definitely hear a vacuum type leak but the car runs perfect, it’s idle is silky smooth, I own a Toyota Service Centre in South Wales England so were used to working on all types of vehicles and I’m pretty hands on myself, we had a engine and gearbox out of a 2 year old Land Cruiser Amazon last month with a big strip down due to a DPF problem and that was a major undertaking.
I initially bought the car to sell on, but after using it for the 1st few days I can’t see me getting rid of it, I’m thinking of reasons just to go out in it, when I arrive home from work I’m driving the long way round to get home not wanting the journey to end.
Of course my car is right hand drive so I’m making allowances where you refer to the drivers side etc on your descriptions
I am in the process of this repair as well. Getting the rear driver's rack bolt started is where I finally gave up today. Did a smoke test after repairs and found smoke coming from a sensor in the passenger intake manifold. Looks like it may be an intake air temp sensor? Was that your #3 leak in the picture?
Yes # 3 was near the AIT it was a smaller line that split and was o e of the easier ones to get at and repair. Keep running the smoke test till you see no smoke if you see smoke there’s a vac/boost leak
04-18-2017, 10:00 AM
if you see smoke there’s a vac/boost leak