Breather Basic Questions And Answers...

[IANMM]

Ok my car when im giving it to death 6000 rpm + in 3rd to 4th gear change over give out a huge (and i mean huge) cloud of smoke......i look like one of the red arrows now it did this at POD a couple of times at NAT day and i was told it could be worn piston rings or an overfilled sump.....

Now my piston rings where new 400 miles ago on steel liners (yes i had the right rings fitted)

but my sump is filled to the top so i am going to drop this down a little...

but my main question is the breather system....

now my car does not smoke at any other time (only on start up a little puff)

So..... the breather system i have a 2 port catch tank with a little filter on the top now yesterday when it smoked like hell one of the pipes popped off and split that was connected to the tank so im looking for the easiest way of allowing my engine to breath...

now from reading the boards we got 3 areas the Vacuum connection on the back of the manifold,

the rocker cover connection

and the sump connection (small tube up to the pot)

now all i want to know is is the rocker cover one the only one that lets the engine "breath" as i assume the sump is a drain and the manifold is a vacuum...???

a simple drawing to open my eyes would be great as im looking into tapping another breather in somewhere that sparky mentioned to me a few years ago..

Discuss.................

[Dave Reed]

Yes the Rocker cover one is the only one that lets the engine breath....

I added one in the mechanical fuel pump cover, seems to work ok too..

[James5]

Ok my car when im giving it to death 6000 rpm + in 3rd to 4th gear change over give out a huge (and i mean huge) cloud of smoke......i look like one of the red arrows now it did this at POD a couple of times at NAT day and i was told it could be worn piston rings or an overfilled sump.....

Now my piston rings where new 400 miles ago on steel liners (yes i had the right rings fitted)

but my sump is filled to the top so i am going to drop this down a little...

but my main question is the breather system....

now my car does not smoke at any other time (only on start up a little puff)

So..... the breather system i have a 2 port catch tank with a little filter on the top now yesterday when it smoked like hell one of the pipes popped off and split that was connected to the tank so im looking for the easiest way of allowing my engine to breath...

now from reading the boards we got 3 areas the Vacuum connection on the back of the manifold,

the rocker cover connection

and the sump connection (small tube up to the pot)

now all i want to know is is the rocker cover one the only one that lets the engine "breath" as i assume the sump is a drain and the manifold is a vacuum...???

a simple drawing to open my eyes would be great as im looking into tapping another breather in somewhere that sparky mentioned to me a few years ago..

Discuss.................

Ian, with ref to an extra breather for the block the only one you have is as you say the rocker cover, you can put another breather into the cover on the front of the block (3 bolt connection) that the basic models 5's have a fuel pump attached to it. The Turbo 2's had this section as a breather as standard I done the same mod a few years ago when I had a VNT, on my old MSM engine to enable better breathing

[IANMM]

yeah that was the MOD that me and sparkey talked about a few years back.....

anyone got a spare one?

and would you just take the rocker and this extra breather back to the catch tank.....block the sump return and vacuum off ?

[IANMM]

as i have got 2 inlets on the breather...

[Dave Reed]

yeah that was the MOD that me and sparkey talked about a few years back.....

anyone got a spare one?

and would you just take the rocker and this extra breather back to the catch tank.....block the sump return and vacuum off ?

Yep that's all you have too do..

I must admit I put a little baffle plate on the back of the tube out of the mech pump cover...

[James5]

yeah that was the MOD that me and sparkey talked about a few years back.....

anyone got a spare one?

and would you just take the rocker and this extra breather back to the catch tank.....block the sump return and vacuum off ?

Sorry No spare's but yeah I ended up blocking the inlet manifold vacum, and removing the metal pipe to return to sump and blocking it at the sump aswell. As you say then had the pipe going to the catch tank

[James5]

Sorry No spare's but yeah I ended up blocking the inlet manifold vacum, and removing the metal pipe to return to sump and blocking it at the sump aswell. As you say then had the pipe going to the catch tank

I must refresh quicker

[IANMM]

Yep that's all you have too do..

I must admit I put a little baffle plate on the back of the tube out of the mech pump cover...

why did you do that mate?

[IANMM]

and..............lol


if i do all this and it still smokes as it did could it only be the rings then (if i drop the oil level down a bit) ?

and would it be a compression test to high light this?

[Dave Reed]

why did you do that mate?

Just incase it 'syphoned' oil out..

[James5]

and..............lol


if i do all this and it still smokes as it did could it only be the rings then (if i drop the oil level down a bit) ?

and would it be a compression test to high light this?

Do a dry Comp test and see what all cylinders show if any are down put a teaspoon of oil in the ones that are down if the compression improves I would suspect rings.

When i had Steel Liners and a VNT I was eating rings and I was using Total Seal jobbies and I also tried JE Piston rings and to be honest I would be lucky to get a 1000 miles out of them but then the car was pretty much abused most of the time.

[Dave Reed]

and..............lol


if i do all this and it still smokes as it did could it only be the rings then (if i drop the oil level down a bit) ?

and would it be a compression test to high light this?

Not really sure what you mean by dropping the oil level?? should be on max and that's that...

Erm yes I believe a comp test would high light a problem..

[IANMM]

Do a dry Comp test and see what all cylinders show if any are down put a teaspoon of oil in the ones that are down if the compression improves I would suspect rings.

When i had Steel Liners and a VNT I was eating rings and I was using Total Seal jobbies and I also tried JE Piston rings and to be honest I would be lucky to get a 1000 miles out of them but then the car was pretty much abused most of the time.

so did you just go back to standard liners then?

[IANMM]

Not really sure what you mean by dropping the oil level?? should be on max and that's that...

Erm yes I believe a comp test would high light a problem..

on high boost i was told that if your oil level is at the top mark you can spurt some out....the master said try dropping it down to the middelish mark

[James5]

so did you just go back to standard liners then?

I always keep my C1J at 1/2 oil level never anymore and never any lower


No I put new total seal rings in keeping with the steel liners and then pulled the C1J out and stuck a 172 lump in

[Dave Reed]

on high boost i was told that if your oil level is at the top mark you can spurt some out....the master said try dropping it down to the middelish mark

Strange neva had that problem myself and always run it on the max mark... that'll be next then

I do run a spring on the dip stick too, so maybe that's why it doesn't cover the engine in oil.

[IANMM]

tapped the front plate yesterday run it to catch tank aswell as the breather off rocker cover blanked off the vacuum and oil return into sump.......seems alot better not getting as big puff of smoke first thing on start up its idling from cold now with no choke and seems to be alot happier.....fitted my rev limiter and set it to 6000 rpm so lets see how that does

[Dave Reed]

Kool.. Glad you have got it sorted.

[IANMM]

found that the nut on the bottom of my oil catch tank has worked itself lose and sprayed oil all inside the engine bay...........