Installing Valve Cover air breather /deleating breather hose to air filters

[-FROG-]

IF THE PICTURES DON'T COME UP. RIGHT CLICK ON THE RED X AND CLICK "SHOW PICTURE".


This was documented for an RT/10, but can also be applied to later model Vipers as well as other performance cars in general. The steps and locations may not be the same, but with a little research it can be figured out. On a stock car, there is a breather system that allows the valve covers (crankcase) to breathe and not create a vacuum, due to the temperature changes from the running motor. The theory stands, that contaminated air from the valve covers enters into the motor's air intake system through the original breather tube. The breather tube attaches from the air filter housing, to the valve cover. This may effect the performance at a minimum, but we all want pure air entering the motor, for the best combustion possible. So, an easy fix, is to eliminate the original crankcase breather hose. After eliminating the hose, you need to cap off the hole located at the intake filters. Then you will need to place a breather filter in the valve cover hole. Usually, one breather filter is enough, since the two valve covers are joined together by a hose to allow both valve covers to maintain a vacuum free environment. The pictures and steps below should help explain.

Here is the "Mr. Gasket" filter I bought form a local auto parts store. Auto Zone, Pep Boys, O'Reighley, etc... about $6.00. To the left of the filter are some grommets I had 2 regular grommets and 1 fully closed grommet plug. I only used 1 of the regular grommets

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Here is my motor setup. A basic 94' RT/10 motor, with cone filters instead of the stock air box. Notice the hose, running from the air filter to the valve cover.

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Pop out the grommets that secure the hose.

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The holes are exposed here.

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Here is the back side of the breather filter. Notice the grommet. It came with a grommet in the package and luckilt it fit in the valve cover hole with a little hard work. I set the other 2 grommets aside, since they were not used.

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The air intake filter hole has been pluged up. I may try another plug later, since this one was a little larger than I want. But it works... I purchased this type of grommit plug from a local "Race Shop". I think they come with the "Morosso" brand breather filters for race cars.

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Here, you see the finished setup. The air filter has been reattached and the breather filter is now in place. The grommet was pretty hard to wedge into the hole on the valve cover. I used a flat head screwdriver to push it in, when I couldn't use my fingers. Careful not to cut, or push the screwdriver through the rubber grommet. Take your time.

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The finished set up, once more.

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[-FROG-]

well, all the pics were working earlier... Shoot me a PM if you are interested and I can get you pics. For now, go here and look towards the end of my album and you can see the pics.
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2115305272

 

[-FROG-]

I think this post may need to be moved to "Illustrated Upgrades". My pictures aren't working so maybe I need to find a new host. They were woking earlier...

 

[banton]

While maybe not the cheapest way to address this issue, wouldn't this be a simple one-step solution?

http://www.roeracing.com/ProductCart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=64&idproduct=245

Brad

 

[-FROG-]

That does the same thing basically. I think I'll add that to the other valve cover.

 

[GTS Bruce]

I don't like that set up.Would be better to create a vaccuum for the valve covers and crank case.An old race car trick is to vent to the collector of the exhaust system with a one way valve like a pcv valve inserted.Or route the hoses from the covers to a catch bottle or simply under the car.Route to the intake for emissions,catch bottle,exhaust or the underside if you don't give a ship.Easy to reduce pressure or induce neg pressure. Bruce

 

[-FROG-]

This is basically doing the same thing as stock. It just uses it's own independant filter, instead of using the motor's air intake filters, so no change in vaccum or anything like that from stock. It just looks cool and it keeps contaminants from entering the air intake. I don't think the stock air filter setup creates enough vaccum to have any effect on the origional OEM breather setup. If stock OEM does creat vaccum, then why in the world, would you want hot contaminated air from your crankcase, entering back into the motor. I think the OEM setup was designed for more of EPA management, than any actual vaccum function. Maybe I'm wrong, but after a test drive, I feel no difference. I think the track would be the only way to tell, but I wouldn't expect anything from this.

 

[Racer Robbie]

GTS BRUCE

You are from the old school. Yes we did install breathers in the exhaust system with one way check valves eons ago. The check valves were from the air pump system on early emmission cars before cats were invented. One needs to be carefull to induce the breather air after the cats or you will contaimate them.

 

[FE 065]

A couple years ago I read something about breathers venting to atmosphere being bad for the engine. I think it had to do with increased sludge or the general crud in the crankcase air being bad for bearings etc.

What ever and where ever it was, the statement pretty much said some sort PCV was way better than relying on a vented breather cap.

- In case you've missed it, having the type of air filters you're using that **** up hot air from behind the radiator is generally regarded as a no-no.

 

[Racer Robbie]

When you vent to the collector of the headers you are using a one way check valve on each vent which is the same as a PCV valve Good point though.

 

[FE 065]

Venting to the header collectors is generally considered effective at all only when there's no exhaust system behind the collectors. Evac systems are probably more beneficial to race cars seeing most of their time at high rpm vs street driving rpms.

The point(s) I've seen about oil contamination probably center on the contaminates being sucked out of a crankcase via a PCV system vs hoping they'll find their way out via a vented valve cover cap.

So it's kind of questionable whether converting to a vented cap when you're really only mostly driving on the street, is worth the increased degradation of your oil. Aside from the fact that Vipers probably have their oil changed often enough to avoid any build up anyway.

Just repeating what I've stumbled on while looking for other stuff-you know how it goes

 

[Racer Robbie]

You are quite correct. We used the system on our Nascar Modified, no mufflers. I would see no good reason to use this setup on the street and quite a few bad reasons as to why you should not use thwem.

 

[-FROG-]

So it's better to have the contaminated air being sucked out of the valve cover, into the air intake? I don't understand how there is any benefit to that? the origional hose that came out of the drivers side valve cover, was just a hose with a 90 digree bend on it. No check valve or anything. One end of the hose plugged into the valve cover and the other went straight into the air intake filter. How is that any different from what I did, by adding it's own individual breather filter on there? Now the valve cover breathes indepndantly, instead of sharing my intake filter.

 

[Racer Robbie]

Frog, To Quote F E 065 "Venting to the header collectors is generally considered effective at all only when there's no exhaust system behind the collectors. Evac systems are probably more beneficial to race cars seeing most of their time at high rpm vs street driving rpms."

You are driving on the street, not on the race track at rps's above 4500 all the time.
Robbie

 

[VIPER D]

frog te way you did it, you lost vacume to your valve cover. The result is you probally lost 5 rwhp and after time oil might pass thru your rings and hurt your motor. you should of did the exact same thing using a catch can.

i just bought 2 of these for my twin turbo mustang

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=8066506981&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT


this way you have the best of both worlds vacume and clean air


vd..

 

[Racer Robbie]

Ebay says: :This listing (#) has been removed or is no longer available. Please make sure you entered the right item number."

Viper D, can you repost the setup

Robbie

 

[FE 065]

I might have assumed too quickly that you'd disabled the rest of the PCV system to let the engine deal with crankcase contaminants only via the new valve cover breather..



As I understand the design on my 2002 GTS, fresh air for the PCV system enters the engine via the LH side of the air cleaner and into the top of the LH valve cover to enable the PCV system to **** anything at all from the crankcase etc, rather than have the PCV system be sucking against a closed engine's vacuum, yielding very little actual flow up from the crankcase into the intake manifold via the vacuum ports inboard of the throttle bodies.

With your valve cover breather in place there's still filtered air entering the system, so I guess it's the same end result as OE as long as you've still got all your PCV hoses connected as they were from the factory. If you've disconnected/capped them off, then what I said earlier might be worth considering.

Some guys now and then get some oil backflow from the valve cover into the airbox under continued hard braking and may need a catch can, but normally the air flows from the airbox towards the LH valve cover and into the engine.

Dirty cranckcase air re-entering an engine may not be desirable when you're looking for the last hundredth of a second and changing your oil after each trip to a track-but apparently for typical street driving the tradeoff is worth it.

So it's better to have the contaminated air being sucked out of the valve cover, into the air intake? I don't understand how there is any benefit to that? the origional hose that came out of the drivers side valve cover, was just a hose with a 90 digree bend on it. No check valve or anything. One end of the hose plugged into the valve cover and the other went straight into the air intake filter. How is that any different from what I did, by adding it's own individual breather filter on there? Now the valve cover breathes indepndantly, instead of sharing my intake filter.

 

[VIPER D]

Ebay says: :This listing (#) has been removed or is no longer available. Please make sure you entered the right item number."

Viper D, can you repost the setup

Robbie

this is simular to mine

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CARBING-JDM-UNIVERSAL-OIL-CATCH-TANK-I-D-15-INLET_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33556QQitemZ8069197561QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HKS-OIL-CATCH-RESERVOIR-TANK-SUBARU-IMPREZA-WRX-STI_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6778QQitemZ8070005212QQrdZ1


if you buy one they come in 2 sizes for the tubing 9mm and 15mm get the 15mm for american cars

vd..

 

[TAZMC2]

This is how I vented my SRT/10 and after a few oil samples tested, there was no water in oil(which is the result of poor venting and condensation.

 

[-FROG-]

This is how I vented my SRT/10 and after a few oil samples tested, there was no water in oil(which is the result of poor venting and condensation.

That's pretty much the way I vented mine.

 

[SPI TWIN]

This works very well for our cars.

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