Hiss coming from a Merc' Tracer

exhaust leak???

Hmm, I don't know. I'll look closely at the possibility. Would the hiss sound as prominent as it does from the top of the engine if it might be exhaust? Come to think of it...when it idles, I think I do smell exhaust....

Liam

"el lobo" wrote

And if you can't see anything, get a piece of rubber hose (vacuum hose works nice) a couple of feet long, stick one end in your ear, and wave/poke/prod the other end around the general area of the hiss. Shouldn't take more than a minute to zero in on it.

"> And if you can't see anything, get a piece of rubber hose (vacuum hose works

That reminds me of the old broomstick in the ear tool. Listening for strange mechanical sounds.......

"MasterBlaster" nice) a couple of feet long, stick one end in your ear, and wave/poke/prod the

Thanks! Great idea. =) Will give that a try. Liam

Would you believe I can't find a darn piece of hose to use? Except maybe one from the engine somewhere. =)

Anyway, I've closed in on it otherwise, I think to just to the passenger side of center along the back of the engine area. Just barely closer to the firewall than to the engine I think. And if it matters, the hiss seems to last about 2-5 seconds after the engine has stopped. Think that can indicate anything?

Thanks for any suggestions. =) Liam

I'm thinking vacuum or air leak (from the air intake). Check all of these. If it really is an air leak or vacuum leak it should be affecting your idle, but unless you have a tach you might not notice so easily.

Looks like that's it. (Pardon my lack of proper termanology) There's a hose of some sort that comes out the top of the...engine I have no idea what part of it) and makes a 90-degree angle before heading off somewhere. There was a little slit in the hose right at the 90-degree bend. Can't afford a hose right now, so I did as good a job duct taping it as I could...and that stopped the hiss. AND, the other problem I indeed was having was that it was constantly sputtering and dying when idling in Drive or Reverse. That's stopped now. It still seems to idle a little low...but at least it no longer threatens to stall. (Perhaps changing the air filter will help?)

Thanks for the reply!! Liam

Definitely check the air filter if you aren't certain it is good and clean. It only takes a minute to check or replace, and only costs a couple dollars for a new one. A dirty air filter will only hurt, not help, the engine.

-D

They're actually $10-15 on 3rd gen models.

Good thing I bought a bunch for $1.25 each when Kmart unloaded them :)

It's possible that the computer was compensating for the vacuum leak, so now that you sealed it (or lessened it), it'll have to figure out what to do to adjust the idle to what it should be.

BTW, they tend to idle at 600-650 at in drive...not sure if that's what you're getting.