You could read an entire book about the various parts of your engine, and still not cover all of them. One of the parts that you probably have never heard of is the vacuum reservoir. This small component can actually be something that causes a lot of problems if it rusts and goes bad. If you were to try and find a problem without knowing about the vacuum reservoir, then you might find yourself going around in circles looking for a way to try and fix the mechanical error. If you know that the vacuum reservoir can cause problems with the operation of the vehicle then you can work faster on trying to repair your vehicle.
Apparently the vacuum reservoir system is known to cause problems frequently in older model diesel engines, and people find that they generally have to go through a troubleshooting checklist whenever they think that they are experiencing a vacuum reservoir problem in order to find where the leak in the system is coming from. If you are going to try and do this, then you will want to make sure that you have a repair manual for your vehicle, and that it provides a detailed list of all of the vacuum lines that go in and out of the vacuum reservoir and where those lines go. Next, you will want to make sure that you have a vacuum pump that you can use to diagnosis the entire vacuum system to make sure that everything is working like it should.
Once you have these things in hand, then you will be prepared to search out the vacuum reservoir and find out if it is working as it should be. You can find all of the information on the system in the repair manual. You might be able to look up the relevant information online as well if you need to because you cannot find a manual that is specific to your type of car. If you are not familiar with working in the car's vacuum system then you should probably find a way to let someone who is work on the vacuum reservoir. This is one of those parts of a vehicle that you might get in and muck things around if you are not positively sure of what you are doing and how to fix the problem.
If you suspect that you have a problem with a leak or a broken seal in your vacuum reservoir, then you probably need to go ahead and take the vehicle into a qualified mechanic who can check everything over and make sure that there aren't any problems. The reason for this is because there are a lot of small components that come and go from the vacuum reservoir, including the three solenoids which the vacuum reservoir feeds. These solenoids in turn work to make sure that the Pulse Air and Sol-Vac valves are working the way that they should. If you make one small misstep then you might find yourself having a lot more problems than you originally experienced.
So, if you want to make sure that your car is not having any serious issues with the vacuum reservoir then you will need to check with a certified mechanic who will be able to look at and properly diagnose the problems. Make sure that when you choose your mechanic you check into them to be sure that they are capable of working on your vehicle type, and don't be afraid to ask them if they are familiar with vacuum reservoirs and how they operate because this can make a lot of difference when it comes to choosing the right mechanic.