Quote Originally Posted by a4darkness View Post
Wow dude. Harsh.

Threads like this will keep noobs from asking ridiculous questions in threads just like the one below, hence why I started this. And since I have asked many a ridiculous question, it seemed a fitting project for myself as a Stage II Noob. Okay, maybe Stage II+... when my vac lines and other b/s are working properly.
True story. Perhaps "increasing engine reliability while preserving arguably important components" would be a better title? I envision this thread to turn into more of a parts shopping list than a how-to. As others have remarked, those diagrams are a clusterfuck at best, and finding part numbers can be impossible for parts you can't see or identify. Also, improving plastic components with metal ones, and finding cheaper/newer/better versions of OEM components (check valves, suction jet pump, etc) will help a noob figure out exactly what he needs to do to replace those components.

My thoughts these days are that we should assume that 6-7 years represents the time to failure for many parts of the vac system. If you know what the total cost of all the parts is and can source it cheaply (looks like maybe $200-300 total, if you're patient) then just changing the WHOLE SYSTEM as preventative maintenance is probably a good idea. even if you paid a shop a few hours of labor to do it all for you, you're looking at $400-600 for something that eliminates what is arguably one of the most frustrating sources of problems for our cars. That's a good investment, imo.