Fscott

I recently changed the HV oil pump that was installed by the builder with a stock pump. Here's the problem...
I'm running a pcv off drivers valve cover to the rear of the intake manifold and a cap on the passenger side cover with a hose that runs to the base of the air cleaner. When I run the car at idle with the air cleaner and cover off (base on with hose from pass. valve cover attatched) I have a plume of smoke/steam blowing out of the air cleaner base from the hole where the hose is attached (following this?). I also have drops of oil blowing out of the hose. This is leading me to believe I have blowby from lack of ring sealing. This is a shop built 400 block with a new rotating assembly.
I'm going to call the shop to discuss this, but I'm interested in any feedback I can get here.
Thanks
Fred

63Nova

I'm not sure what you are getting at, but if it were the rings having blow by you would have oil coming out of your exhaust.

'75

Do you have baffles in the valve covers where the vent and pcv are?

weimer20

Fscott

there isnt a baffle on the passenger side cover. I didn't realize that would cause such a problem....
Guess I'll have to take the aluminum covers off untill I can fabricate some type of baffle for that side.

Fscott

another thought...
wouldn't all that smoke/steam really affect performance when it's vented into the air cleaner and sucked into the carb???

baxsom

i thought rings seal as good as they are going to get real soon after intial start up

Sayfoo

The hose from the air cleaner should be sucking filtered air in through the engine then out the other valve cover, through the pcv valve back into the intake system. Kind of a metered vacume leak. Most hoses from the pcv valve tie into the base of the carb.
Do you have vacume on the fitting on the intake?
Ck the pcv valve for function and check that it is a high flow model. Also check that the hoses aren't colasping at high vacume or when warm.

Sayfoo

If running correctly, there shouldn't be that much smoke. A little blow by and vapors from the hot oil. Definately not steam. If you have steam after the engine warms up and burns off any condensation that you may have, then you have a problem.
This type of crancase vent system/smog control has very very little effect on performance and is good for the air quality and has been standard equipment since the '60's.

Sayfoo

You may not need a baffle on the passenger side. This is where the air should enter the engine. You should have vacume through the pcv valve on the other side. A baffle is definately needed below he pcv valve because it is sucking air out of the engine.

schmegeggie

Not sure what you're running, but your avatar looks like a small block. You may not even need a HV oil pump. My 383 didn't. Some will give you too much oil at higher RPM and leave the oil pump cavitating until the RPM comes back down.
Too many folks think just because you have a performance motor, a HV oil pump is a must. Not true.
My .02 worth.

pws69

He SAID he just swapped the HV for a stock one!!

baxsom

first line of the OPs message

L88Plus

You thought right, IMHO. Rings are mostly seated within the first few minutes of run time, may get a little better when you hammer on it the first time, but if they're not completely seated within 50 miles or so, they probably ain't gonna.

Fscott

I changed the valve covers and now have good baffles in both. The shop that did the build recommended I put a breather on each cover and take it out and pound on it to see if the rings seat.....no change. Still getting an ungodly amount of smoke out of both covers. I'm now going to try the high-flow pcv on the drivers side (directly to the back of the intake) and the fresh air vent from the air cleaner base to the passenger side valve cover.
Keep you posted.
I hate to think I need to pull this and have it honed again.....

noonie

What type of rings were installed and what finish did they hone the cylinders to???

billla

Time to ask some very specific and detailed questions about the build. Rings seal almost instantly if they're of proper type and the bore is correctly machined - as was previously noted.

jackson

and it's very easy to install 2'nd ring upside-down & that'll pump lotsa oil up into chamber ... anyone can make that mistake

Fscott

We did a bleed down and found two bad cylinders. Upon disassembly we found two bad pistons. the engine was running rich so I'm not sure what the problem was....ingnition? The shop is going to see if Keith Black will replace the pistons and then we'll give it another try

S489

any idea what was wrong with the pistons?