[mcduvall2000]

I broke a nipple off of one of my vacuum canisters when replacing my valve cover gasket. I know some say they aren't needed, but I thought it'd be fun to make one. I drilled 1/2" holes in each cap with a stepped drill bit, I was worried it might catch and crack with a regular drill bit. The stepped drill bit worked perfectly. This should work temporarily until a new one gets here. I bought unions as well in case this doesn't work. I attached a picture of my receipt too if anybody else needs to make one.

[wwwROLL TIDEwww]

That’s pretty cool right there!
How did it perform?
Thanks for sharing.

[LessIsMore]

I hate to rain on a DIY parade, because I applaud the ingenuity and DIY approach.

But there is a risk associated with running PVC plastic in the hot engine bay:

a) it has a low (212-500* F) melting point. Most engine will be over 212* temps, and N54's run hotter than most other engines - especially right above the turbos where the vacuum cans are located.

b) when it does melt, it releases poisonous hydrogen chloride fumes. These fumes could easily pass through the HVAC vents behind engine while driving.

You don't actually need the vacuum cans anyway, TBH. And if you're still concerned, could just run one. we have a very redundant boost control system on the N54.

[rcpro88]

Agreed. I like the fact you tried to make your own, I guess if you really needed the car and you had the parts lying around, then it would be fine for a few days until a replacement arrives but vacuum canisters are like $30-$40, its not even worth trying to make one for that price.
Personally, I go to car meets, I'm not sure many people would take me seriously with PVC fittings under my hood...

If someone breaks the nipple off their vacuum canister, this is what I'd recommend you do to repair it:
Drill a hole for a 4mm-5mm tap, tap the hole.

Take a 4mm-5mm bolt that has part threaded/part non threaded shaft.

Cut the bolt so there is 12mm of non threaded shaft and 12mm of threaded shaft.
Run a die over the threads after you cut them to make sure they didn't get dis-formed.

If you don't have a die, BEFORE you cut the threaded part down to size, thread a nut(preferably stainless steel) or two on the bolt and after you cut the threaded part, remove the nuts and they should fix any damaged threads.

This part might be hard depending on the tooling you have, but drill a hole length wise through the center of the cut bolt. Start with a small drill but to make sure you're straight, then drill out to a final diameter of 2.5mm-3mm.

Test fit the part in the vacuum canister, if it fits well, then apply a tad of epoxy to the threads then screw the part in to the vacuum canister. You might be able to use thread sealer if you don't want to wait for the epoxy. Let the part epoxy fully cure before installing the vacuum canister in you car/drive.