vacuum leak.. from the dipstick?

MA70Snowman

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Oct 17, 2006
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okay i've never noticed this before, so i'm not even sure if this is normal or not.
anyway took my car out for a couple passes around the block, then a buddy w/ his 5.0 mustang showed up and we drove down the road and did a couple passes. She drove good i was pleased. well I got home and popped the hood to help her cool down and noticed there's oil all around the turbo area and I heard the sound of a vaccum leak.. traced it to the dipstick.. it was to hot but couldn't tell if air was comming in, or out of the pipe. but I"m also assuming that under boost it blew oil out my dipstick... anyone diagnose this for me? is this a normal thing or what?

MODS:
Lex/550
Walboro 255
AFPR
Profec B Spec II (set to 13 psi on HI)
Full 3 inch exhuast from turbo back
2.5 inch Intercooler pipping
aftermarket FMIC
HKS SSQV
Oil Catch can pipped properly into the valve covers using a NA cross-over pipe
thats all the "Horsepower" related parts i can think of at the moment.

Thanks guys.
 

MA70Snowman

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Oct 17, 2006
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yeap that was my thought.

rings - if its them.. they get replaced
PCV system - ? wt* do I do w/ that or check? its a fairly good engine that runs great. ONLY when I'm boosting 11-14 psi do i seem to notice this problem.

if you want to hit me up on AIM i'm available now at MA70Snowman
 

MA70Snowman

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MA70Snowman;1039962 said:
yeap that was my thought.

rings - if its them.. they get replaced
PCV system - ? wt* do I do w/ that or check? its a fairly good engine that runs great. ONLY when I'm boosting 11-14 psi do i seem to notice this problem.

if you want to hit me up on AIM i'm available now at MA70Snowman

also.. none of this helps explain the WHY of the dipstick issue :D thanks.
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
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Well it does explain it ;)

Blowby: If the motor is worn at all the pistons can rock a little under load and unseat the rings, the leaking combustion pressure has to go somewhere.

Normally it'd be sucked into the PCV system but it has a limited capacity it can cope with, anything above this has to go somewhere and in the case it's out the Dipstick tube.

If you had a tight fitting dipstick it would more than likely push a seal out.

Blowby is a fact of life as you increase the cylinder pressures ie:more boost.
 

MA70Snowman

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IJ.;1039970 said:
Well it does explain it ;)

Blowby: If the motor is worn at all the pistons can rock a little under load and unseat the rings, the leaking combustion pressure has to go somewhere.

Normally it'd be sucked into the PCV system but it has a limited capacity it can cope with, anything above this has to go somewhere and in the case it's out the Dipstick tube.

If you had a tight fitting dipstick it would more than likely push a seal out.

Blowby is a fact of life as you increase the cylinder pressures ie:more boost.

well the rings I understood, but now i'm seeing that the rings and the PCV go hand in hand. or can it be JUSt the PCV system? if so what can be done to remedy it. i'm glad the dipstick is allowing the air to escape as opposed to a seal. however all that oil all over the engine bay is slightly annoying.. maybe I should just put the catch can over the dipstick :D
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
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I run -10 hoses and fittings off the cam covers, as I went up in boost I easily outflowed the stock diameter pipes and hoses.

For now crank the boost abck down as popping a seal is a PITA to fix on these motors.
 

MA70Snowman

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CyFi6;1039961 said:
I would check your catch can and pcv system and clean it out.

what of the PCV system is there to clean out? it goes valve covers and T's together then my catch can. then catchcan to intake. then there's the big side pipe that goes block to Valve covers.. is there some other aspect of the PCV "system" that i'm missing here?
 

MA70Snowman

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CyFi6;1039961 said:
I would check your catch can and pcv system and clean it out.

IJ.;1039984 said:
I run -10 hoses and fittings off the cam covers, as I went up in boost I easily outflowed the stock diameter pipes and hoses.

For now crank the boost abck down as popping a seal is a PITA to fix on these motors.

Hmm.. time to get my other set of valve covers out :D -10 hu? now do you just go -10 to the catch can? or -10 from can to Intake pipe as well?

btw this is ALOT of help always a pleasure when ur around IJ. (a pleasure when anyone is around helping actualy lol)
 

IJ.

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The steel barbs on the stock covers are pressed in and there's plenty of meat on the cover to drill and tap them to 3/8th Npt.

I run -10 to a T then into the pipe between the airfilter and the Turbo.
 

MA70Snowman

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IJ.;1039992 said:
The steel barbs on the stock covers are pressed in and there's plenty of meat on the cover to drill and tap them to 3/8th Npt.

I run -10 to a T then into the pipe between the airfilter and the Turbo.

soo.. a -10 to a T.. then do you stay -10 to the Intake pipe?

I'd like to keep the catch can. (good idea or bad idea?)
so would I go

3/8 NPT -> -10 AN line -> -10 AN "T" -> -10 AN line -> Catch can with a (xxx fitting) on both sides -> -10 AN line -> Intake pipe (xxx fitting)

if thats correct could you tell me what fittings would best be used where the XXX is? I've got a guy who can fab this up for me tomorrow no charge w/ all fittings and lines. i just need to tell him what exactly I need. and I'm not very familiar w/ line sizes and fittings.
 

CyFi6

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MA70Snowman;1039986 said:
what of the PCV system is there to clean out? it goes valve covers and T's together then my catch can. then catchcan to intake. then there's the big side pipe that goes block to Valve covers.. is there some other aspect of the PCV "system" that i'm missing here?

Nope, its a simple system, but if one of those hoses are clogged or the port in the throttle body is clogged, its like having no PCV system, and any pressure, even small amounts would need somewhere to go, ie, dipstick.
 

MA70Snowman

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IJ.;1040004 said:
Sorry no idea what fitting you'd need for xxx as I don't run any of the stock pipes and made my own.

okay.. so i went out and started poking under my hood while I was planning on how to route everything. Now after reading around the forum it seems its a great debate about where to plumb the other side too.. because stock runs a pipe from TB -> intake pipe, w/ a T in it going to the valve covers essentially. so since you only mentioned you're going to the intake pipe.. what did you do w/ the TB port? cap it? run another line to the intake pipe. it seems this is a VERY grey area. I know JJ got on here and mentioned a couple things but most obvious was that going straight to the intake pipe was a no no, just wondering how all this was working out for you.
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
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Snow: I don't run the TB port at all (don't have a stock TB)

I "would" run it if it were there but it's very low capacity due to it's restriction.

Using it and the Larger hoses/fittings to the accordian hose you could probably get away using -8 lines and fittings.
 

sneakypete

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Jul 18, 2007
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if the blowby is that excessive, i would be more concerned with why its happening, not how to route hoses to the catch can.
how is the compression?
-pete
 

simpsons7s

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Oct 9, 2005
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I agree with checking compression, that couldn't hurt. In your mod list you have:
"Oil Catch can pipped properly into the valve covers using a NA cross-over pipe"

Dosen't the N/A crossover pipe eleminate the valve cover to TB hose? I had the same pressure buildup problems with this N/A pipe. Switch back to the turbo pipe and see if that elimiates it. I switched back and it worked for me, Then I just made a custom fitting set-up similer to the ones already mentioned but it had the valve cover to TB hose.