What are the symptoms of a slight intake manifold leak?
2 Answers
Intake manifold slight leakage can cause incorrect air-fuel mixture matching, which may trigger the engine exhaust warning light. Below are the relevant details: Function of the intake manifold: The intake manifold is a component of the engine's intake system. This pipe distributes air to each cylinder. The inner walls of the intake manifold are usually smooth to reduce resistance. Solution for slight intake manifold leakage: When installing the air filter element, it must be properly installed; otherwise, it will affect the filtering performance. When replacing the air filter element, check whether the surface of the old filter is very dirty. If the surface of the old air filter is clean, it indicates that the air filter did not perform its filtering function.
After driving my old car for years, the symptoms of a slight intake manifold leak include noticeable engine shaking at idle, as if the car body is wobbling, weakened power output, struggling when going uphill or accelerating, and an unnoticed increase in fuel consumption—about 10% higher than normal. Additionally, you might hear a continuous hissing or air-leaking sound under the hood, especially noticeable in quiet environments. These symptoms also affect the air conditioning cooling, with unstable idle speed fluctuations, and in severe cases, the check engine light may come on. I once encountered this issue and initially thought it was a spark plug problem, but after much hassle, I discovered it was an air leak. The repair wasn’t expensive—just replacing the sealing gasket—but ignoring it can worsen engine wear, shorten its lifespan, and compromise daily driving safety.
