Boost leak check question

These are two different posts for my other thread but had no luck so I thought i'd try in this section.....


OK today I replaced the TBshaft seals and did another boost check.
with the pressure at 10psi the valve cover vent hose had air coming through it...when plugged the oil cap, oil dipstick had air coming out.
Aside from that I could hear what sounded like bubbling oil....
after I started the engine there was blue smoke for about 30-45 seconds. It's never burned oil before but for awhile now it feels like the power has been locked up a little..... could this be the rings are going bad? valves? Why would the air be getting into the valve cover and all?
I did a max pressure of 12psi cause thats where it boosts to when kickin er down.

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OK.. today I drove home from up north and my wife was behind me... I asked if she saw any blue smoke like yesterday after I did my boost leak check and there was no smoke...
When i'm on the highway doin lets say 60mph and I accelerate the power is felt but as soon as it reaches about 10+psi it's like it bogs down a little or the power drops a bit but when I drop the boost down the power is back.
10 psi is also when I started to get air leaking through the valve cover when I did my leak check.
My only assumption is that air was bypassing the piston into the crankcase.
Would this be a sign of my rings going bad?

When was the last time you replaced your PCV valve?

A bad valve will allow not only excess crank case pressure to vent into the intake, it will allow intake pressure into the crank case. Hence the air coming out of the valve cover vents.

Not a big deal just replace the PCV valve. $2 and 5 minutes. As far as burning oil, thats a different story. I'd say if you are seriously concerned its time for a compression check and then let us know what the numbers are.

Hope that helps,
-Jacob

Oh yeah, and as for your car bogging when you get under boost. A bad PCV valve is like having a nice 1/2" hole in your intake manifold. Hello BIG boost leak....running way rich.....running slow.

-Jacob

Damn... I completely forgot about the PCV I put new one in about 8 months ago...
Thank you for pointing out the obvious!!!!! tee hee

The only thing I can come up with as for the oil... when I had the pressure in the crankcase it might have pushed oil into the cylinders....
I will do the pcv tomorrow.
Just so I have this straight... if I were to blow into the int manifold side of the pcv it should plugup right? It is there to allow crankcase gases into the intake manifold for emissions...
Thank you!!! lol
Damn I feel like a DUH moment has just passed.....

Oh yeah... as for you sayin it was runnin rich... My A/F guage pegs out WAY lean when i'm at WOT or close.
If i'm cruisin at 50 and hit it, it goes to rich for about 1/2-1 sec and then goes right to lean... leds don't even light up when it hits 10-13psi its so lean
I know I know the A/F guages are junk but just sayin what the guage says in case that might help.

Can you safely block off the pcv line?

You *can* block the PCV line. However keep in mind that crankcase pressure will need somewhere to go and you might start popping your dip stick if you've got significant blowby. I would just get a new one. They only thread into the valve cover the right way. But before you go and buy a new part, take your current valve out and blow through it each way. When mine was bad I could blow through it both ways and the valve didn't close.

If your O2 volts are dropping off the planet then you might be running into a more dangerous condition then a boost leak. If the car leans out and timing gets pulled to reduce knock counts, the car will be slow as well. Is there anyone you know with a pocket logger or something that will allow you to log more values than just O2 voltage?

-Jacob

"Is there anyone you know with a pocket logger or something that will allow you to log more values than just O2 voltage?

-Jacob"

To answer that... NO unfortunately....Would AUTOZONE or CHECKER be able to help?

I'm still bashin my head against the table for not seeing the PCV as a problem!!! lol
What do you mean by O2 volts dropping off? Is that when the A/F guage goes super lean?
I was told that my O2 sensor is a wide band whereas my A/F guage is a narrow band.... and also that the A/F guages are just a "cool toy" and are pretty much useless...

Well anyways... i'll try pinching the PCV hose and take it for a spin to see if there is a difference...if there is...NEW PCV...
If there is anyone in MN that can help with the O2 values let me know and maybe we can hook up for a bit...
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

I stopped to get a new PCV valve yesterday and opened it up... blew through it from the intake manifold end and it leaked...it did plug up mostly but not sealed or anything...
Was FRAM a bad choice? I know i'll never get another fram air or oil filter but how are their other products?

I would just get rid of the PCV. Easy to reverse if you fail an emissions visual for it too. Its just another liability. A bad PCV can cause you to smoke like a chimney too. Dont block it off though, make it another vent. You can either remove the guts of the PCV (kyle tarry has a vfaq on it somewhere) or replace it with a brake booster vac fitting from an extra manifold. You can also retap for NPT (1/8th or 1/4, I forget) and toss a standard hose barb in there. I run it this way, two 3/8ths vent lines. The more CC venting you can do the better.You'll see some people with race car run big AN lines right out of the top or side of the valve cover for even more venting, and you can even buy vacuum pumps to draw a vacuum on the CC. Less pressure in the CC equals more power.

Another possibility is the turbo. USually bubling sounds are from the turbo. The oil seals are meant to seal when they have oil pressure on the back side, which you may not have when doing a pressure test. It can leak air into the center section, the bubble in the oil pan via the return line. You may have just pushed some oil through that seal and burned it off when you first ran the car. Who knows. I would just keep an eye on it for now, dont go rebuilding anything just yet :)

And fram sucks, btw. ;)

I would just get rid of the PCV. Easy to reverse if you fail an emissions visual for it too. Its just another liability. A bad PCV can cause you to smoke like a chimney too. Dont block it off though, make it another vent. You can either remove the guts of the PCV (kyle tarry has a vfaq on it somewhere)

And fram sucks, btw. ;)


Just to get this right....--1--The hose off of the VCover would vent like the one off the left side?
--2--I plug the IntManifold side?

All the leak of the PCV was really doing is putting pressure into the VC and that caused oil to go through the other vent line and into my intake lines... which in turn has darkened the inside of my intmanifold.
Right?

Also...I'm wondering about the iridiums I put in awhile ago... I ended up having to gap them at .028..... I just picked up ngk bpr7es and going to see how they do...i'm curious as to if the iridiums start to weaken when under 10 psi or more. when I hit 10+psi the engine feels sluggish but if I let off the gas just a hair it almost semi-explodes with power-sweetspot-

Yes, plug the manifold side or you'll have a massive boost/vac leak :)

What you describe in your last paragraph sounds more like a AFR issue but its extremely hard to tell over the internet.

Thanks kevin & jacob!!!

Again if there is anyone in minnesota that might be able to help me with my O2 check please let me know... i'll drive up to an hour

As for the last paragraph-kevin said-, My old plugs that I pulled out looked kinda rust colored so they were burning great.. no signs of rich or lean.. i'm hoping the new plugs will help.
The iridiums are nice and idle/normal driving are smooooooth... I'll let ya know if anything changes with the new plugs.

Would just getting a new O2 be of any help?

isn't jake in MN???

I changed my plugs to the bpr7e3 and the 0ver 10psi lag got better.
I also took the old PCV out and tried to blow through it and it was harder to blow through than the new one... FRAM DOES SUCK!!! Problem solved and tube is blocked on manifold side!!!
Haven't got more than 3 miles on changes soooo... so far so good.