Update on the car it’s currently getting the PCV VTA redone due to excessive crank case pressure from clogged filters. The problem with a lot of race setups apparently is a valve cover connected to a big empty can and no baffling, the filter(s) get saturated with oil eventually and if not regularly cleaned drastically reduce their ability to vent. Pretty much read this exact info right off from Motion Raceworks website for their Top Loader billet internally baffled catch can.
I have been noticing my filters for the PCV VTA setup have been misting oil and unfortunately it just didn’t register to me to clean them. I’d look inside and the big empty cans are just about empty still. Some pooling but not even enough to show on the glass level for viewing. I expected them to become oily. Man looking at it now what an embarrassing realization that for 700-ish miles I’ve never cleaned them. So what happened is of no surprise now that I think about it.
I drove the car to a job site 50 min one way. About 25 min or so all highway. When I arrived at the job site I popped the hood and they were misting pretty good. Since they are located where the intake normally goes the speed (80 mph) and duration (overall 50 min drive) led to misting out of the hood vent behind them. Again it was just not registering to me. Something was wrong but I wasn’t thinking about them being clogged bc I can actually see the vapors coming out when it’s idling or when I come to a complete stop, I’ll see the vapors come out of that hood vent above and behind them. They were misting more and more oil but they were still venting. I guess that’s why I didn’t think they were clogged. On one hand they were still venting but on the other hand ….WOT….not so much.
pics from the job site
I head back home at the end of the day and my plan for this day was to try to get in for an alignment at a shop but found out during the day they were too booked to fit me in. I wanted to do a full 1/4 test on Brads new tune and I thought let me drive the car to work, hopefully I can drive straight to a shop for an alignment from there and really let this tune mature some before full on testing. I wanted to get the best possible results and to do that I thought let it mature real good instead of my usual 15 min and let’s rip.
I’m headed home now and wanting to give it some mini WOT pulls here and there to feel it out. I end up being a Ram TRX and I can see the driver checking me out in his side mirror. We get to the main road where the speed limit is 50 in Stowe Vermont and he takes off and I’m in pursuit, my first mini pull. It went to shift into 3rd and loss of power LIMP MODE. Man really? Kind of embarrassing but more concerning than embarrassing. So there isn’t too many good places to pull over so the car is running and I’m maintaining the speed limit and this goes on for about 3-4 min of it stuck in limp mode so drivability sucks and it sounds like it’s running bad. I find place and pull in. Shut it down. Check for codes. A whole bunch as usual (Limp Mode also cause collateral codes) and I take pics of them. Clear them. Start it back up, all is well. I look under the hood and lots of oil coming out of the PCV VTA filters.
I was still about 35 min away from home and still did my interstate driving. Everything was fine even under mid throttle pulls, for the most part took it easy and no WOT. When I got off the interstate and came to a stop waiting in traffic I started to smell burning oil. I turned and went down the road to a gas station and got out to check. The light smoke was coming from somewhere behind the right side valve cover. I get in and just want to make it back home.
I make it home and put it up on my lift. No clue what I’ll find. I had oil splatter on the exhaust manifold, on my passenger axle, drops on 2 exhaust manifold bolts under the manifold, a drip on top of the right side valve cover, but nothing appeared to have come out from the valve cover seal. I looked and scratched my head for about an hour with no visible leak source and no active leak from anything. Like wtf.
I had help from Matt Pohnan my engine builder and I start pulling spark plugs. Started up front. I take off cylinder 6 ignition coil, it’s cover in oil on the back side. Oil pooled on top of the spark plug
Same thing for cylinder 5. Cylinder 4 was bone dry. Now that mystery oil splatter isn’t a mystery anymore. The drop of oil on top of the rear valve cover was near cylinder 3. Matt Pohnan’s verdict. Excessive CC pressure made its way out of the plug seals of the valve cover and pooled on top of the plugs. On the front of the motor the coil seals held the oil in. Cylinder 3 not so much. He wanted to look at the plugs and unfortunately it’s not after a pull or anything so they’re not accurate at all. Then the subject of what type of o2 sensor does the car use turned into another rabbit hole. I’ll get to that next. What I did was I have removed my catch tanks. The tanks have no baffling and the filter acted as the baffle and vent. I never cleaned them. I think this issue is the sole reason for the first limp mode and this recent one. I just want a whole new setup so I bought 2 of Motion Raceworks catch cans. The ones Cleetus demonstrates about half a cup of oil in a line and uses compressed air to send it to the can and nothing comes out and the filter stays dry.
That’s what I need. They are small enough for me to mount them to the passenger side so the hoses are very short and upgrading to -12AN. That’s on the way. One for each valve cover. A real solid solution. No more excessive CC pressure….ever again.
Internet searching says we have narrowband upstream O2’s so that created a big debate. Final verdict? I pulled one. 5 wires that wideband, serial numbers identify them as Bosch LSU 4.9 wideband oxygen sensors. I’m moving mine. I want the most accurate readings and I guess these are very common and popular so high quality extension harnesses are a thing. I wanted to try O2’s after the manifold but after going down a rabbit hole I want to put them after the turbo and I already preplanned this from day one. I just need the extension harnesses. And a local shop I guess makes them.
So I swapped my sensors are plugs around
Brad made me a new tune and he tuned out my codes so that should also help a lot bc the ECU was always seeing those faults and it just leads to ECU intervention. Like all the EVAP, PCV and deleted OEM fuel tank, AC and deleted steering wheel codes.
Hoping to be back up and running STRONG mid week next week
