Is this normal? If not what is wrong? I have a light layer of oil coming out of my breather cap. Attached are pictures of both valve covers. The driver side has the breather cap, the passenger side has an EGR valve (isn't that what it is called? or is it PCV?) with a hose going to the front of the carb. This is the first engine I have set up, and I have run it this way for 2 years. I recently added a slightly bigger cam and the carb spacer, and just recently got the oily film. It runs really good, 40psi oil pressure when cruising @ 3500 rpms. Any suggestions?
If you mean baffles under the hole where the breather goes in, YES. Are there other baffles I should know about? Baffles=small plate of steel under the hole to prevent backwash.
Check to make sure the pcv hose is not crimped or collapsed in any way. Also, go ahead and replace the pcv. While you are at it, replace the breather cap as it might just be full. You have a pcv in the valve cover,, egr is a different thing all together. Dan
Uh, Full? (said in Beevis and Butthead "tone of voice") Full of what? Do I need to swap out the breather cap periodically? If so, K&N makes a nice one with a re-cleanable filter. Go with something like that?
Is it possible you have an oil leak someplace else and it is being blown up onto your engine? Is there oil on your firewalls or the bottom of the hood?
Mine does that as well. 30 year old compression rings that blow by when driven spiritedly. If I drive normal, very little oil. If I floor it and really get it rolling, I can pull over and stick the dipstick tube back in. btw, all compression tests were normal, 138-142psi on every cylinder... its just worn out. I wish you luck, but I bet we share the same fate. At the very least, a rering is in your future.
A buddy of mine had a (very powerful) engine that did the same thing. He bought a valve cover filter and cut out a Tupperware container to catch the oil (shown in the attachment). He'd empty it ever so often. Summit has plenty of breathers to fit your valve covers. see http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=esearch.asp&N=110&Ntk=KeywordSearch&Ntt=crankcase+vent&x=0&y=0 Also, the one I used is from Ford Motorsports ($20) fits the standard 1-14" opening. (PN M-6766-N303). I don't need the cup though. :confused: Dunno is this filter is more dense than others?? If you go this route, you can plug off the PVC ports - or not.
The PCV is fairly new, within the last 500 miles. I did not know which one to buy, so I just got one with a 90 degree turn, and it fit in the hole, and fit on my large fuel-line being used as the vacuum hookup on the front of the carb. Is this the correct part, and setup? My Edelbrock signature breather cap has a circle of small holes underneath. It feels heavy, and the filter inside the holes appear full of oil. Is this (relatively) normal wear and buildup? I have used this breather for about 3000 miles. Half of my driving is "to the floor" then cruising at 60-70 mph (currently, with the new 3.80 gears, that is 3250 rpm). The other half is putting around town. Then engine has approx 55,000 miles, all original block, pistons, rings assembly. It sounds like I need to replace the breather. Should I go with a higher flow K&N? I have the K&N recharge stuff. Is this a "clean with each oil change" type of part?
I have the same problem. Always have. I built my motor loose, so it's my own fault. I might be tearing down this winter at which point I might be able to tone it down a bit with different rings. Might be time for you to do the same.
If it's heavy and appears full of oil, change the filter. In regards to going with the K&N about the only advantage is that you can wash it out rather than replacing it. There isn't a whole bunch of air flow to be concerned with here over a chrome one like you had. This type of driving will greatly increase the amount of blowby that gets past the rings and thus accelerate the amount of oil that will gather in this filter. The pcv system can only handle so much and then the rest will be vented, thru the filter. Thye pcv valve only works at lower rpm as it is operated off of manifold vacuum and at wide open throttle there is no vacuum at all to the pcv valve. When the engine is hot and at idle, pull the breather out and just see how much blowby is coming out of the hole, should be very little as the pcv valve should be catching most of it.
I have had the same problem. I was told it was blow-by because my engine was worn. My engine was rebuilt by me and when I did it was my first engine and I doubted myself but I my engine eats no oil and runs strong so I did some experimentation and I have seen other prefectly good engines do it worst than mine so I am of the belief its not my engine and I also know more now than when I first built it. I am not running factory valve covers either and my first set did not have any baffles so it was really bad. I changed to the same valve covers you have that have the baffles, that helped but did not cure it. Things I think contribute to this 1. Heat and higher RPM -- I noticed it to be at its worst in the summer and when I was really on it. It would really show itself when I did a 75-100mph blast. Oil is thinner hot and high RPM moves a lot more air inside the crankcase, lifter gallery, valve covers because all engines have some blow-by. Short trips that create water vapor to carry vapor out too don't help either. I also have a numerically higher set of gears than factory which brought up the RPMs. I tried running heavier oil and it helped some but did not stop it. 2 High compression also does not help. Things I have tried to help it. 1. Heavier oil -- helps but does not cure it and have to remeber to take it out over the winter even though I don't drive it much I still do start it 2. I got valve covers with baffles. That helped a lot but did not stop it 3. Tried different push in breathers. Edelbrock had the oil vapor pretty bad. The KN were the worst thay seemed to draw the oil vapor even higher. You could clean them out and retreat and it was back in no time. It also would literally blow some of the K&N treatment oil around too. My combination I have now will have just a little oil vapor only if I stand hard on it and it is pretty warm outside. I just wipe any off when I notice it but its nothing like my first setup on this engine was. Right now I am running: No PCV valve -- I lost that years ago when my problem was real bad. Its only an old polution control method and only contaminates your fresh intake air with oily engine vapor. Edelbrock valve covers with baffles. Spectre push it valve breathers. They are cheap but are chrome, look good, and have worked the best for me. This is their 3rd year and I noticed they are putting out a little more oil vapor this year-- they may be loading up with oil but still they is so little oil vapor I just been wiping it off but I only drive mine on weekends and there has been barely any oil there. I am just running my regular oil which is staight 30w. When I was running heavy oil I was running 20w 50 but have not been running that lately. Thats my combo and its working for me. The best race scenario for the PCV system is your rings will seal better if you create a vacuum in your crankcase. Many racers do this by attaching a draw hose to their headers to suck vapor out of the air space in the engine throught the valve covers but I am not currently doing that. By doing that you can create a better ring seal and lots of racers do this. Sorry this was long. Hope it helps.
74 Mav, sometimes you have to be long-winded to get your point across. I know I am, and sometimes, I STILL don't get the point across... Did the K&N just let more air flow through, causing more oil on the valves? Also, does the PCV valve stop oil from blowing into the carb, or what? What does it do?
I forgot to add, mine does the same thing. My motor is built loose, puffs oil too. If you just bought a pcv that fit that could contribute to your problem. Pcv's have different spring rates in them for vacuum pull I am told. Try and find the correct one from a parts store that has some knowledge of older vehicles. Hard to find any parts stores that will even know what one of these cars is nowadays. Dan
I would try first changing the oil to a 20/50 type with you living in Texas you can get by most of the season with that, take your breather cap and just wash it out with gasoline or carb cleaner, it will come clean..... and reuse it and find a PCV valve correct for your application, try a NAPA store if you have one, they usually employ older guys that know the between a Yugo and a Maverick. I had a guy at AutoZone ask me if a Maverick was a Chevy.......
