FIND VACUUM LEAKS FAST with this $15 DIY SMOKE MACHINE 

"You guys know I wasn't vaping. I have a BMW, not a Subaru." Hahahaha, I am that Subaru owner.

Just tried this on my father's 307 hdi. Worked amazingly well. Found a leak from the air box behind the engine while outside on a windy day. Cheers dude this video just saved us loads of money and is definitely something I'll use again.

i don't even have a vacuum leak, i just wanna make a smoke machine lol

I made one of these. With a couple of tweaks. I used a valve stem with the valve removed as the inlet side, used a barbed fitting with a nut on the bottom and used epoxy on the fitting and around the soldering iron. So pretty much the same idea but with the tire valve stem I can put a lock on chuck on.

Made one 15 minutes ago :-) Awesome, but you could have warned us about the smell. This is no small potato, I threw up from the smell after 15 minutes. What a stench :-) But the leak is found ! Thanks men !

I have the check engine light on my car, thanks for the video saves a ton of time and locates it quickly.

I will give this a try...i expect to have smoke coming out from everywhere because it's all sorts of messed up lol

that subaru joke never gets old. love the videos!

Great smoke tester!! I need to make me one. Thanks for sharing.

I can't believe this actually worked. I was sceptical in the beginning like "no way it works" lol. This is great, I'm gonna have to make this and try it myself on my daily driver

“Looks like we got 3:50 so at 3:40 we’ll turn the engine back on” wait what

Running Seafoam through the intake also does something called a "carbon bust" (or blast, depending upon who's tree you're under) andcit busts lose the carbon build-up in the combustion chambers. If you have an older Ford/car that won't pass emissions because of "Nox" then this will fix it. It'll do a lot to restore the overall condition of your intake and combustion parts. Just feed it a little slowly. An AC "tap-a-can" a clear plastic hose and a brass waterline valve will let you see/control the amount going through. And hold the throttle steady, don't rev it hard, until the smoke clears and all the mosquitoes are dead.

Barry's Chemtool B12 is 1/3rd the cost of Seafoam and is designed for 4 stroke engines (Seafoam originally designed for 2 stroke). Another tip/trick I got from an engineer is to add 8 ounces diesel fuel to every 7 gallons gasoline in the fuel tank. It ups the octane (stops pinging) and lubricates cylinders and valves. I also run 10% ATF in my crankcase. It's an excellent sludge preventer/ remover. Keeps rings & valves from sticking, clears oil passages. 246K miles and a finger swipe in tailpipe comes out clean and dry.😊

I also recommend using an aquarium pump (air) to power it. It can't build much pressure maybe .5 psi but it worked for me.

Thanks for making this video. It enabled me to design and make a similar smoke machine. Used it today to find two vapor leaks on a Cherokee. One suggestion: don't use a micro fiber cloth. I tried one but it did not create much smoke. Ended using a cotton sock. It worked great.

Oh man... from your method, I found that my vacuum hose is leaking profusely at the point it reconnects to the intake... no wonder my car stumbles upon low load accel. Great video man. Thanks a bunch! (the hose that goes to the brake booster)

This is the best vacuum leak tester DIY on youtube!

Psh. I use a cigar like Scotty taught me. lol. Seriously though, nice job man! -Glen

It's crazy that the 2 cars that I owned for the last 10 years are a BMW and Chevy Colorado lol....and I am going to use this method. Thanks for the video

If you're running carbs on a vehicle take a bottle of transmission fluid. Remove the breather and air filter start the vehicle. Used one hand to raise the RPMs by moving the throttle linkage. Raise the rpm to 1500 and try to hold steady. With your other hand hold the transmission fluid bottle over the opening in the carb. Trickle the transmission fluid down into the carb adjust the throttle as needed to keep it running. Run the vehicle u til the transmission fluid is gone. It will smoke the neighborhood up. It will also clean the carburator, valves,intake manifold heads and pistons.

Although many months after the video was published, still thank you a lot. You are a very smart person.

HEY...That was a GREAT build and on the cheap...I am going to try it. Thanks

love the glove on the intake idea, simple and universal.

This will work perfectly for me. I love working on vehicles, I have done a lot of work, but the number one thing I can’t stand to do, is find vacuum leaks. I hear it here and there. But can’t find it. Tried with brake cleaner so it would mess with the idle and show me where it is but didn’t help at all. Can’t wait to try this.

Totally awesome solution. I'll be making one of these vacuum leak tester this week. Thanks again.

LMAO!!!! Holy Shit!!! This takes Mcguyver to a whole new level!! I died when he hooked up the glove!

I saw some videos on making DIY smoke machines but I like this design the best. I made one myself with a shop vac and a cigar and it worked but this is waaayyy better.

Brilliant idea. Made almost exactly the same thing, however I used smoke pellets as the smoke source

Putting the original filler cap on would have been cheaper. But you wanted a Chinese one

Make sure you change your oil after the seafoam people!

This is pretty genius. Might try it myself.

that (smoke tester)machine: nothing short of mcguyver

Jokes on you mr bmw owner, when I vape into my vacuum lines i can decipher any boost leaks i have ;)

"I drive a BMW, not a Subaru." - that was a damn funny vaping joke, and I drive a Subaru!!!!

this is the more easy/accesible/usefull one i have seen, there is others that make the heating element and all and i didnt think that i didnt need to get it to red for it to work, i found this bcs my sister wanted a small smoke generator and i kew there exited for cars bcs i wanted to test a long time ago if my intercooler was leaking

I have found that using berrymen solvent in the can works just as good if not better than Seafoam. The cost is half price too. Worked for me many times. Nicely explained video too.

watched a few vids on vacuum leak testing methods and this one definitely seems the most effective. hope it works, my skyline is idling like shit lol - thanks!

You've just earned a new sub. with that smoke machine, dude!

What an excellent idea. I have an exhaust leak somewhere at the front of my car and can’t find it. Hopefully I will with this ingenious setup. Thank you from the UK.

I use a similar set up when checking outboard motors for vac leaks in the intake systen , I dont use hose clamps i find them to sharp and cut the memberane ( Your glove ) (great trick by the way) i use rubber bands they hold tight and dont chop into the latex cover ,, 10 out of 10 ,,,,

Going to build one of these for my E90 tomorrow. Thanks!

Looks like it's 3:50 so at 3:40 we'll turn the engine back on❓❓❓ Back to the Future🕐🕛

Thank you. I will do this but with a valve stem for the bike pump to actually attach to with valve seal removed lol

I did seafoam on my camaro in my apartment complex it smoked so much someone called the fire department an they came 4 trucks an said if I do it again I should call it in but im try it your way .great vid

Only BMW owners would pretend to have a vacuum leak just to marry their car😂 (i.e. the glove and the so called "ring-hose" clamp).

Beautiful job on the video, i’m really excited to see people benefiting from my smoke machine. I’m really glad that you were able to find that leak so fast in the oil cap. Just curious did you end up having to get a new oil cap To fix the leak? I’m always looking for creative people to collaborate with. Creating RU-vid videos is so much fun, again great job with the video.

Thanks man! Car ran rough and got running lean code. Got everything I need but bic pen! Doing it now and fix my e46!🎉 Was going to do Amazon but don’t want to wait til next weekend.

That's a very smart idea. I am a mechanic and I never thought of that cheaper than the original$$$$$😊

Umm that oil cap was rattling loose! How did you never see engine fuming from there and somehow there is no oil vapour on the cam covers? Should have been clanking away on idle it's so loose. Make sure you always rectify leak and then retest further for others.

I watched the ads just to support u dude❤

Thats such an ingenious idea. Thanks a bunch. Need to check intake manifold on my mums Forester for leaks! Typical.

So far one of the best You Tube video I've seen! I need a smoker to find an irritating vacuum leak in my truck. Great Job!

Try using a small Disco smoke machine, comes with scented smoke too...

This guy is awesome. Makes videos that are fun and well informed.

Clever use of materials. That's what my grandfather would have called a 'Rube Goldberg job'. He was a cartoonist a few generations back who drew complex combinations of everyday materials arranged in a certain way to do a job.

Great video...i do the same. I usually take the breather hose off and open the throttle plate and spray some on te back side of it and clean it with a toothbrush. Depending on engine also the IDLE air control motor pintle. Ive found it to really help as well. Cheers!

I’m going to try this on my other car that’s having the same code. Great video!

Great DYI tool tip bro! Cost is the reason that i haven't purchased a smoke machine & im a a professional tech. I was looking at the the Ready Smoke @AESwave For $599 but this works for me until i gather up the funds. Again great tip.

Cool and useful contraption, thanks !

Nice Beemer! I need to make this for my e36 pretty sure I'm going to find more than one leak

I just took dabs and blew into the hose heading towards the brake booster. No extra tools needed LOL

As a e36 owner I would love to see some DIY videos!

YOU SIR are a genius!! Im gonna try this soon! Thank you!

Thanks for this, I have a boost leak on my BMW 135i and was going to buy a smoke tester for like £200. Now I'm going to try this

Thank you! Another BMW vacuum leak hack in my bag. If you search for e46 vacuum leak test you get an air compressor fabri-cobbled solution. I can work with a bike pump and soldering iron. The BMW brotherhood will eventually solve all of the factory problems with oil and coolant. Last time I used SeaFoam the PoPo showed up.

Omg dude, u saved me a ton of time breaking my head on how to find a vacuum leak hahahaha

Smoke machine aside, that engine bay was clean 😲

You Rock! My initial reaction. Dope, simply Dope. Thanks

The two o2 sensor codes could also be caused by low fuel pressure !

I just happen to have almost everything to make this laying around... woot!. I believe this may save me a lot of time and money. I'm gonna give this a try to locate the source of my evap leak. Thank you very much

With help from this video I learned to make my own smoke jar and eventually repaired my engine. However I have two big caveats to share: Use urethan caulk, not epoxy to seal the jar. It takes a few days to dry/cure, that's true, but epoxy does not create a reliably airtight seal at the joints at all. Second, don't use the glove seal or the air intake port, that's ridiculous, you can't get anything like decent pressure. Simply use one of the air intake hoses that Treats used earlier in the video to introduce seafoam to the system. I used the hose between a rocker-arm cover and the brakes' vacuum booster cylinder. A 2" x 1/4" pipe nipple bridged the gap between that hose and my smoke jar's output hose perfectly, no need for a hose clamp. Once I'd made those modifications to Treats On The Streets' design, it worked great!

Thank you so much for this video! This is exactly what I've been searching for online. You've really elucidated this. ❤❤❤

Nice video, and if you ever think about picking up one of those code readers for yourself, I’d recommend the FIXD reader. Bought it as a Christmas gift for myself and it’s pretty nice because I can leave it plugged in at all times and when the check engine light comes on I can just pull out my phone and figure out what’s going on

Did your check engine light go off after replacing the Oil Cap??? (fellow M3 Owner here)

You're fucking genius. Instant subscribe and a very hearty thank you very-very much! Also, Seafoam is incredible. On old cars I put it into the crank oil 150-300 miles before my oil changes. Do this maybe once or twice a year and run it through the intake every 6 months to a year depending on usage. Once a month i try to add a can to the tank if its a frequent driver. I have saved old cars, passed emissions after failing, and kept Jetski's, Subaru's, and 2-stroke engines alive for decades. LONG LIVE SEAFOAM!

That intro is sick 🤣

I’m surprised that that actually worked. I’ll have to try that out

Absolutely Positively Fantastic!

how do u know which one is a vacuum hose or are they all vacuum hoses in there, or its actually just best to use the intake port anyway?

finally someone who knows for sure that seafoam really cleans the intake manifold, throttle body and intake valves, that's awesome. If you haven't done it yet you should post a video showing all the empirical data you gathered from comprehensive testing you did on seafoam........

I would like to know if the oil cap engine can cause the vacuum leak?

Vacuum leak into the case? Seams more like a bad PCV valve than just a bad oil cap. You should be able to take the cap off and it still run the same.

Stumbled on your channel, this DIY smoke tester is genius. Subbed.

I love people like u that make something outta nothin! Nice work G

Wow.. Thats pretty awesome. I am a professional tech, i use the smoke machine at work when i need it. But you gave me an idea on how to save the 1k for my own and build one (more heavy duty of course) for use at home should i ever need it outside of work. Great tip. Be sure to check out my chanel.. I am eventually going to be doing an LS swap on my e36.

that engine bay is pure porn

Nothing like the rev-up-tune-up at the church parking lot, haha.

This is awesome. Saw smoke comming out your oil cap and i thought wait a second. As it turned out i didnt put my oilcap on properly so that was the problem xD. Thx so much

Oh man your the real mvp 😁😁 just saved ya boy

How about using the chevy as smoke machine LOL

I used a professional smoker when I was a tech. Im retired and often wish I had one...now I do!

Dude. Amazing . You just saved me 100 bucks on a cheap one. Thank you!!

Now after you replace your catalytic converter your car will be great

Did you know fixing vacuum leaks increases your gas mileage by at least 10 percent

i subbed purely cause that subie joke was hilarious

If you used vegetable glycol (one of the bases used in vape juice) it would produce ALOT more smoke

Bad news is that... "there is no vacuum inside the valve cover" So you have an internal leak, that should not be happening.

Light a cigar. It’s easier and cheaper vacuum leak finder

how much oil do i put in the container and do i touch the solder gun to the oil or the sock? bit confused about it

People like you are awesome.