Vacuum Ball

[Bray D]

After the SAS, I removed my inner fenders. This ball was mounted on the inner fender (not my rig)

I didn't really want to relocate it so I just placed it on top of my coil bucket. This worked fine but one day wheeling my tire grabbed it, pulled the lines off of it, and crunched the ball.

It didn't affect its performance, so I just placed all the lines/hoses out of the way.

Now that winter is here, I find that if I hit a big drift (enough to get the lines/hoses covered in snow), I lose fire on one cylinder. I tucked my head under there, and touched one of the lines, and it shocked me haha. After the snow melts off from the engine heat, the cylinder fires again.

Sooo I guess my question is, what are the lines that attach to this ball and what do they do? If I could, I'd like to just deleted the ball if possible, since it doesn't seem to hinder performace (other than losing a cylinder in wet conditions). No emissions to worry about either.

 

[IlovemybroncII]

I may be wrong but that ball is your vacum reserve and it helps with all he vacum demands such as pulling the doors on your heat ac and defroster doors and things may not work right if you remove it

 

[naford]

I agree it looks like the vacuum reservoir. If it leaks and you don't care you could run without it but somethings might not work or work well. If it isn't leaking mount it better then look at your wires for cracks thats why you were shocked.

 

[snake]

That's all it does, it moves the vents from defrost, the factory default when vacuum isn't present. If you don't need the vents in any other position, you don't need it. Oh, and it also runs the "max A/C" thingy as well, which is just a recirculate door if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Bray D]

Awesome, that would explain my crazy vents too haha. I thought they were unrelated. My floor vent and everything works fine unless I'm on the throttle pretty hard, then it defaults to defrost.

Anyways, what is the electrical portion? Why does it cause me to lose spark? That's my main concern. The ball is entirely gone - I'm just dealing with everything that was attached to it.

 

[TheBeast]

Throw one back in it and I'd bet it solve the problem. Vaccum related gremlins are horrible. It may be your finding the wet snow conducting electricity from a plug, shorting a cylinder out.

 

[AllanD]

Bad spark wire.

They don't live forever.

If you got shocked that means the electricity is getting out

Electrical energy follows the path of least resistance and salt
water is a good conductor

Replace your spark wires.

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[LearjetMinako]

Bad spark wire.

They don't live forever.

If you got shocked that means the electricity is getting out

Electrical energy follows the path of least resistance and salt
water is a good conductor

Replace your spark wires.

AD

+1

Keeping the vacuum ball would be a good idea. As said, its a vacuum resiover when you start pushing the skinny pedal harder.

Most every Ranger has 1x vacuum ball. But I got 2x of them. Installed it to keep up with the vacuum demands from the EATC and cruise control. But I think a vacuum check valve is also needed since it doesn't keep full throttle on cruise control.

 

[Bray D]

Bad spark wire.

Spark plug wire? The thing that is shocking me is something that was connected to the vacuum ball.

 

[IlovemybroncII]

the vent switching from floor to defrost I dont think is all related to ball my 05 ford 250 had the same problem it would be on vents then switch to defrost with hard accelration it turn out it had a diffrent control mounted on fender that had vacum lines and power going to it replaced it and solve problem not sure if rangers have this same type of control or not

 

[feellnfroggy]

Spark plug wire? The thing that is shocking me is something that was connected to the vacuum ball.

Replace the spark plug wire because the saltwater/snow is getting in your old wire and causing misfire. That sugegstion wasnt having anything to do with your vacuum ball. I would replace the vacuum ball too.

Thats said my dads 85 chebby van had one that hung from the hood when you lifted it. I always thought it held washer fluid. Ive learned alot since I was 6 but never thought to question that little brainfart. LOL

 

[Bray D]

Replace the spark plug wire because the saltwater/snow is getting in your old wire and causing misfire.

I'm not getting shocked from a spark plug wire. I'm touching one of the wires that came off of the ball. It shocks consistently with RPM though haha.

I can drive through all the slushy, salt watery roads I want; I only lose spark when I hit a big drift. That makes me think its sucking snow into the vacuum or something. BUT, I can cover the vacuum line with my finger, and it doesn't start to misfire. Its all a mystery. Maybe I'll take some pics of what I'm working with.

 

[IlovemybroncII]

you need to put it back on and plug the wires back on to it or when summertime comes your ac wont work worth a damn and slove all the other issues your having

 

[Bray D]

It doesn't exist. It was ripped off and run over wheeling one day. I was trying to avoid having to buy another.

A/C is for women anyways

 

[IlovemybroncII]

ok then tie all vacum lines togeter and stop vacum leaks and fix wires where they do not short out or ground out and see what happens