Whats up guys, my roommate has a ls/vtec turbo setup in his car and its having problems right now and im not familar with turbo setups so I dunno where to start. After it got tuned I noticed the valve cover vent tube was puffing out smoke alot, and I found that the pcv came apart and we put it back together, but now its leaking oil from the cam seals by the gears. Would this possibly be a pcv issue? How should I setup the vent with catch can or...? Also would it possibly be a blow by or leakdown issue? I want to rule out minor fixes before we pull the motor apart. Any help is appreciated!

 

done a compression check on the engine? go ahead and do one if you havent already

If theres not proper ventilation from all the pressure in the crankcase.... it will come out anyway it can

if its smoking from the breather its more than likely blow by... may be having ring issues

 

Ok I will do a compression test tomorrow night and post the results, I'm still wondering why the pcv tube came out though, it had the clamp on and was tight before hand.

 

Excessive blowby (worn rings) causes compression pressure to fill the crankcase. The PCV system was designed to remove compression pressure and fumes from the crankcase vis the vacuum the stock intake system pulled.

On boosted applications the stock PCV system isn't very adequate, especially on older motors with worn components. Thats why you see a lot of people with a setup like the Endyn catchcan, or 2 10-an or bigger braided lines off of the valve cover.

As far as oil blowing out through the cam seals.. If the pressure cant leave through the PCV system, it will take the next path of least resistance, i.e the cam seals. Esp. if they are still the stock rubber kind.




This is a good way to run it, 2 lines off the valve cover to a catch can w/ a breather filter. Some people run a line back to the intake side of the turbo, but depending on how efficient you catch in, it can still allow oil vapors into the intake tract.