cruise-2-XS

Magnuson Heartbeat @5 PSI, Trick Flow heads, moderate blower cam, BB long tube headers, pump gas, A6 trans = 600 RWHP but . . . oil consumption jumped to 1 qt per 1000 miles. In addition, tail pipe tips (and, I assume, the exhaust plumbing) are coated with soot, and blue smoke comes out exhaust when I mash the pedal. The advice I got was to install a catch can to eliminate the majority of the soot and smoke.

I installed a Moroso catch can as follows: Put an air filter and check valve on driver's side rocker cover. (Check valve set up to permit air in, but blocks flow out) I removed, and capped off the vacuum line from the air filter housing to the passenger side rocker cover, assuming the left side cover venting I installed would serve that function. I installed a "T" fitting with lines from the valley cover and passenger side rocker cover, joined into the catch can. The output of catch can goes to the to blower's front, lower hose barb which provides vacuum in boost and non-boost modes. Too soon to tell if the can is collecting oil, (only 30 miles since the install). I also need to do some hard runs to clean out the accumulated gunk in the exhaust system, and to see how often the can needs to be drained. I know the oil consumption will not change, but at least it will be kept out of the induction / combustion systems. I'll update the post after 1000 miles or so.

Streetk14

That doesn't sound normal to me. Really shouldn't get any more oil consumption with a mild blower setup like that. Neither of my blown LS3 cars (one cammed as well) did anything like this.

Since you have an auto, I'm guessing it has to be a wet-sump car. Pretty hard to screw up the PCV system on that. Should just be a fresh air line that goes to the blower intake. The Heartbeat doesn't change the valley plate or anything else in the system.

I probably would have just put the can inline between the valley plate and the blower manifold, while leaving the original fresh air path. By taking the fresh air from a breather, it's going to be unmetered. Could throw off fuel trims some.

I'm scratching my head a little, though. I just can't think of what would really be causing the smoke -- other than internal engine wear/damage.

08C6

Not right for sure... I have the heartbeat also ... who did your tune !!! There are a couple of vendors who might chime in and suggest something for you... Definetly not right...

m_LeDez

Did you also have aftermarket rockers installed? If so, do you know if your shop removed the oil baffles from the inside of the valve covers for additional clearance? If so....that would be the major source of your oil induction at boost.

Streetk14

Didn't think of that. If that were the case, the oil would be entering the engine through the fresh air line. There would be noticeable oil in the throttle body area, etc.


Nothing tune related would cause excessive oil consumption and oil smoke out the exhaust. It's definitely a mechanical issue of some sort.

08C6

Agreed... wonder if it was shop installed or self installed...someone missed a step somewhere... got mine done from a shop... pretty much straight forward install he said... Good luck with op on this one ...

cruise-2-XS

Thanks for all the comments. I am slowly sorting out what might be going on. The install was done by a very reputable shop in Tampa. I've gone back to the original setup, with the catch can only between the valley barb and the intake port on the lower front of the blower. The barb on the rear of the driver's side rocker cover is capped off, and the barb on center/front of the passenger side rocker cover goes to the air cleaner body as the clean air intake. Since the heads and cam were changed, it is possible that the rockers were part of the head upgrade, and baffles you mentioned were not replaced.

I will run it in the current configuration for a week or so, then check the can, and the throttle body for oil, as you mentioned.

One other thing I've noticed is that the oil on the dipstick is staying very clean, even after several thousand miles. That would lead me to believe that I am not having piston ring problems (excessive blow by), but that the rocker cover baffles, and thus, valve seals might be a source of oil consumption.

I'll keep watching the posts, and tinkering.

m_LeDez

If the valve cover oil baffles have been removed, it won't take long to fill your catch can. I was having to drain my catch can one a week until I figured out what was happening. I also thought it was due to blow-by, but after having my LS2 rebuilt to a 402....and the catch can was still having to be drained weekly, I started looking for other reasons and discovered the baffles were gone.

I purchased and installed another set of OEM valve covers. After a week of daily driving, almost no oil in the catch can.....problem solved.

cruise-2-XS

A catch can has been installed between the valley cover hose barb and nearby vacuum port of the Magnuson Heartbeat. 2 missing quarts of oil later, less than a teaspoon of oil in the can. I pulled off the air intake/filter assembly, thinking the oil may be blowing back through the passenger side valve cover barb, where it draws clean air from the air cleaner. Clean and dry!!

Two options left. 1) Rings / Blow by, 2) valve seals. Since the heads are new (Trick flow 255's), I'm assuming blow by, although the oil is really staying pretty clean. I'm going to have a leak-down test done next. If the results are questionable, I'll go to honed cylinders, forged buckets with new rings, and better connecting rods while I am at it. More updates as I learn more.

Cruise-2-xs

Streetk14

Interesting.

About the only thing I can mention is to make sure the port in the blower housing (where your line from the valley plate connects) isn't blocked. When I was installing my blower, I first thought mine was just a blind hole, but it turns out it has an opening facing the rear of the blower. I'm not sure why this is, but it doesn't seem like a very large opening to allow crankcase gasses to vent. It's something worth checking, though.

How many miles are on the short block? I'd be leaning more towards something with the heads if it just started after installation. Does it only smoke when you're hard on the throttle, or does it smoke on startup, idle, etc. ?

Flying24

You might want to check all your vacuum hoses for proper routing. When I had my EForce installed this sounds like what happen to me. The installer had to reroute mine and it cleared right up. They said some of the hoses that came with the kit were very similar in length. I did add a catch can later only because of my track activity

Streetk14

There really isn't much of anything to screw up on a wet-sump motor. It's just a fresh air line from the passenger side valve cover to the air intake (just like factory), and it reuses the stock "dirty" line that connects from the blower manifold to the valley plate nipple. Very simple setup.

Maybe your installer somehow connected your valley plate to somewhere that sees boost. That would not be a good thing. No way to do that on a Heartbeat, though.

cruise-2-XS

Thanks for all the constructive input so far. To summarize, lots of smoke (accumulated carbon in the exhaust pipes / muffler?) when I hit it and suddenly go into full boost. No noticeable smoke at startup or idle. Leaky valve seals typically make smoke on startup, correct? I'm having a pressure leak-down test done next Wed AM. I expect that will sort out the cylinder/ring condition from the valve seal question. As for excessive oil coming out of any of the valve cover breathers, or the valley cover breathers, that has all been sorted out with various catch can connections and visual inspections. I am positive the oil is not getting into the blower via any PCV route. There is always vey minimal oil in the can, and all the related hoses and intake plenum are clean and dry. I hate to think about it, but I suspect engine cylinder/ring damage during the dyno tuning sessions. For example, the ceramic coating on the headers now has a "frosty" finish, where it was shiny, smooth silver prior to the build and dyno work. It must have gotten plenty hot at one point in the process, maybe running lean at one point in the tune process.

More next week.

Streetk14

No problem. Hope it isn't something major, but it's kind of looking that way.

Just make sure that PCV port in the blower is actually open and clear. I remember on some earlier Magnuson blowers, there was an issue where the port that was supposed to be boost-referenced was not open and had to be drilled out because of a manufacturing error. If that PCV port wasn't open inside the blower manifold, I could see some blow-by issues for sure. It should be easy to see if you yank the throttle body and use an inspection mirror.

As for the valve guide seal issue....I don't have any experience with that on LS engines, but I see it a lot on some of the BMW V8s. They really don't smoke at all on startup -- usually after extended periods of idling or under load.

Compression and leakdown tests might tell you something. Good luck.