oil catch tank / breather

[marcus1875]

Afternoon all,
Put on a new oil catch tank and breather pipe yesterday. Now i have oil spitting out of the dipstick, the pressure pushes up the stick a couple of mm and allows the oil to drip onto the exhaust and obviously it starts to smoke.
Take of the breather pipe and put the old system on ie no catch tank and all is well.
Whats causing this? Any ideas, the tank is obviously blocking rather than allowing it to breath, but why / how?
cheers
marcus

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Marcus...I was to believe that V6 colognes have an atmospheric breather..Why do you have a catch tank?..Does the tank have a filtered breather?..The PCV valve should take care of that..it goes into the hole in the rocker cover where the grommet fits that i have sent you..Is the PCV valve blocked?..

[marcus1875]

That was quick Mark!
I got the catch tank as when i got the car the breather was a long pipe from the hole in the rocker cover that dangled under the engine. The PCV is blocked of by a small piece of green pipe, you can just about make it out in the pics from yesterday. I always wondered why it had been blocked. I got the tank as i could smell the oil.
Once the grommet comes, i'll open the PCV up and put a pipe between the two as shown in your pic and see what effect that has. Wonder why it was left as a dangly pipe though?
cheers again Mark
marcus

[mrzigazaga]

Ok...The pipe was probably dangling down to get rid of fumes..Ideally though you want the pipe from plenum to rocker cover..The pipe must be quite rigid though as it can close with pressure..The blue silicone looks a bit too soft TBH...Is there just one pipe going to the catch tank?..Looks like there is a return that should go back to the plenum from the tank...But it does seem a bit over complicated...Ideally this is what you want but its sold...If you dont have anything like this then i will call the ford garage in the morning to see if he has any...I do have a new PCV valve but it looks slightly different to the one i have at the moment..Cheers...Ziga

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=f...

[marcus1875]

Leave it with me Mark, now that i know what i'm looking for, i've got spare piping and the plenum has a small piece of pipe attached to a bolt. I'll take it out tonight and have a look, i'll pinch the wifes phone and post a pic.
cheers
marcus

[marcus1875]

[marcus1875]

The top piece was hidden inside the piping and inserted into the plenum. I'll attach a piece of pipe to it and fit it once the grommet arrives, hopefully that will stop the oil spitting up the dipstick.
Why would anyone have blocked this up and left the breather pipe dangling, any ideas mate?
cheers
marcus

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Marcus..Strange...Check to make sure that the PCV valve works...I think if you blow through it it will close and open on suction..They probably left the pipe dangling to get rid of the fumes...Make sure that the pipe you use is hard to squeeze, Its best with a pre-shaped piece if you can get it..It also needs to be oil/fuel resistant..How rigid was the green hose?...Ziga

[marcus1875]

well that was nice, sucking and blowing an oily valve on a sunday evening lol.
yeah it opened and closed fine. The green pipe is easy to squeeze shut.
Puzzles me too why it would be blocked.
We'll see how it goes when the grommet arrives. yhm Mark.
marcus

[marcus1875]

[Trickie Dickie]

Hi Guys

Please bear in mind I am certainly not a technical or knowledgeable mechanic
and I know my 400 is slightly different but I have removed that breather pipe

The reason is that you are putting warm (dirty?) air into the plenum from the rocker
- and the engine will run much better with cold air only as more dense.

I am told it was a crude way of warming the engine quickly from start up!!

So my mechanic has blocked the intake on the plenum and I have just a filter on the top of the flame trap

Unfortunately I also get quite a lot of fumey smells soon after start up
(and often get a bit of smoke coming out of the bonnet at the first few junctions when setting off)

I have therefore been advised to add a catchment tank and then have a pipe from that
running either out the wheel arch or towards the back of the car

I was told to have a catchment tank rather than just the pipe dangling.
(but due to old age can't remember the explanation!!)

I will ask my mechanic as soon as I see him - as my Wedge is in with the gearbox out
to see if they can find my 3rd gear that I lost on the way to the Wonderful Wedge Fest

HTH

Cheers
Trickie

[mrzigazaga]

Trickie Dickie said:

The reason is that you are putting warm (dirty?) air into the plenum from the rocker - and the engine will run much better with cold air only as more dense.

Thinking about it that does make sense...
Marcus..Perhaps leave your catch tank there..Was the PCV valve connected to the rocker and the pipe to the tank?..In principal you have one feed going from the rocker to the catch tank and a filter on the return or a pipe fed down towards the road..Perhaps this explains the dangly pipe and the blocked off plenum!..Im going to find out a bit more as it might help reduce my engine temperature..Thanks trickie for enlightening us...

[marcus1875]

Yeah, that does help explain things, but why would the tank cause the oil to spit out the dipstick?
marcus

[mrzigazaga]

marcus1875 said:

Yeah, that does help explain things, but why would the tank cause the oil to spit out the dipstick?
marcus

Marcus..Was the PCV valve connected to the green pipe that goes to the tank from the rocker cover?..It could of been sticking shut..Could do with a clean with some carb cleaner or brake and clutch cleaner to be sure...You will need another pipe on the return maybe cable tied down towards the bell housing or lower...Also check the wire mesh in the top of the filler cap,It can be pulled apart and cleaned...Ziga

[marcus1875]

Nah, the green pipe was blocking the plenum. it is only 2" long and had a bolt in the end to bung it up.
have cleaned up all the parts this morning.
It could be that the silicone pipe i put in between the rocker and catch tank was being sucked shut?
The filler cap had been cleaned out as well when i done the rockers so that ought to be OK.
Got the kids today so cant do any testing on the motor today plus its chucking it down.
Tomorrow i'll run it in the original spec again to make sure it is all ok, then swap the bits piece by piece, hopefully it will identify the problem.
cheers
marcus

[V8 Fettler]

PCV is a dark art, too much suck and the contents of the crankcase end up in the combustion chambers (smoke screen!), too little (or disconnected) and the engine blows oil out of the breathers.

[wooly350i]

Trickie Dickie said:

Hi Guys

Please bear in mind I am certainly not a technical or knowledgeable mechanic
and I know my 400 is slightly different but I have removed that breather pipe

The reason is that you are putting warm (dirty?) air into the plenum from the rocker
- and the engine will run much better with cold air only as more dense.

I am told it was a crude way of warming the engine quickly from start up!!

So my mechanic has blocked the intake on the plenum and I have just a filter on the top of the flame trap

Unfortunately I also get quite a lot of fumey smells soon after start up
(and often get a bit of smoke coming out of the bonnet at the first few junctions when setting off)

I have therefore been advised to add a catchment tank and then have a pipe from that
running either out the wheel arch or towards the back of the car

I was told to have a catchment tank rather than just the pipe dangling.
(but due to old age can't remember the explanation!!)

I will ask my mechanic as soon as I see him - as my Wedge is in with the gearbox out
to see if they can find my 3rd gear that I lost on the way to the Wonderful Wedge Fest

HTH

Cheers
Trickie

Ditto, same here.

[marcus1875]

right guys, i systematically put everything back as it was last week, checking for spitting oil at each step. it still spat.
checked the threads again for some clue, and Mark you go top of the class!
You mentioned the giller cap earlier, lo and behold i had put on the unrefurbed one, took it apart and mesh is a solid cylinder of crap. pic to follow, swapped it with the correct one and the spitting stopped imediately! Still to test drive and burn the oil of the exgaust, job for tomorrow first thing, fingers crossed!
i still would like a definitive explanation for boicking the plenum / catch tank etc...
thanks for all your help guys, much appreciated as usyal.
marcus

[marcus1875]

[mrzigazaga]

Flamming nora mate..That was well and truly blocked!..I think the plenum has been blocked off purely because the catch tank is doing the job of the plenum..Was your wedge a previous track day car?..If the grommet has arrived then i would try the PCV valve where it should be and re-fit a piece of breather hose back to the fitting on the plenum..I forgot to ask the ford guy today about it..I actually spoke to him as well...I will ask him tomorrow..Cheers...Ziga