Alright guys, ran into a little problem today that I need to get figured out before I go racing. First off

2001 TA
Cam Only
Full Boltons
Yank 4000 Stall
Built Tranny
Moser 9"

Some of that wont be relevant to my problem, but anyway.

Lately my car has begun to smoke (oil) noticeably when at WOT and slightly at idle. I put a catch can on it in hopes of it clearing up the problem, but it made no change. I know for sure that its burning oil through the intake, as there was a puddle of oil sitting just behind the throttle blade.

My question is this, what are my options to stop this oil consumption? It's obvious the catch can isnt going to cut it, so I have considered deleting the PCV system and running a breather setup.

Thanks in advance.

 

You need to find out the root of the cause. A breather setup will not solve your issue, it will just result in excessive crankcase pressure and/or the breather filters blowing out/seeping oil.

Typically LS1 oil consumption is a direct result of the sub-par stock PCV system. It runs off the breathers and has way too much manifold vacuum available to it, which results in the system sucking oil right out of the valve covers. This can be resolved by upgrading to an LS6 style PCV, which pulls crankcase vaoprs from the valley of the engine instead of the valve covers.

However, in your case it sounds like you may have a condition which is forcing oil through the PCV. This can be caused by a blocked vent hose (the short hose that runs from the pass side valve cover to the throttle body) or excessive crankcase pressure, which is typically caused by excessive blow-by. This condition is caused by insufficient sealing of the piston rings to the cylinder walls, and can only be fixed by rebuilding the engine.

 

I can verify that the TB vent hose is free of obstruction.

Otherwise, do I need to be doing a leakdown test on the cylinders to see if it is excessive blow by? I cant think of why a lower mileage, well maintained motor would have fried rings but I suppose its possible.

 

Definitely. A compression and leakdown test would be a very good place to start. Its not common to see fried rings, but you never know. The slightest issue with a ring in just one cylinder will cause oil consumption like you are describing.

 

say leakdown checks out alright, where else can i go from there?

 

also, would it be possible as a quick check to monitor MAP parameters, and compare to a healthy motor with similar mods?

 

update:

under WOT or heavy acceleration oil pressure will flutter between 40 and 60 psi...

 

Several things, but the first thing is to check the PCV valve to see if it may be stuck (shake it, should rattle freely). Also, what catchcan are you useing? Only a couple actually work well enough to take care of the issue and if you have a broken ring/ringland/etc. no can will help. Breathers and deleting the PCV is for track only and requires oil changes every outing or the caustic combustion byproducts will cause damge to the motor.

A leak-down is a must to determine where the blow-by is coming from.

Also, the routing of your PCV system/can may be incorrect.

 

I'm running a saiku michi catch can, which i understand to be a very good unit. The tee'd line that runs to the back of each valve valve cover is run to a PCV valve, then to the inlet of the catch can, and then the outlet of the catch can runs to the intake port.

Last night, I vented the outlet of the catchcan to atmosphere, and switched to a heavier weight of oil and the problem stopped. I'd imagine the engine is still hurt, and I'll be doing a compression check this evening.

 

if leak down checks out normal that rules out head gaskets and rings. could be valve seals but that usually only will smoke on start up

 

thats what i figured. if compression checks out alright, ill be pulling plugs to look for signs of valveseal failure, and based on that might consider a ls6 valley cover.

 

Copression Test Results:

180 190
195 195
190 190
190 190

FRONT

I'd say everything looks alright. Going to check valve seals next.

 

hmmm i wanna know what happens with this. i have the same issues but what sux is that i have a 2000 block and its a bitch to do the ls6 valley on mine.

 

http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=18

ok so according to ls1 how to i have to take a dremel to my block....is there any way to avoid that ****?

 

Nope lol sorry to say you will need to dremel the block its fairly simple just dont get the shavings anywhere the only way you could have avoided it is to have an ls6 block but since yours is a 00 its not possible.

 

****

 

ok so i've got my shop to help me out with cutting out that notch in the valley. so after converting to an ls6 valley cover and pcv is a better catch can necessary? i'm assuming so. what catch cans should i look into?

 

I don't even run a catch can with my LS6 style PCV system. I just have a 3/8" inline clear plastic fuel filter in the hose to catch any oil that gets by, and its typically very little.

The LS6 valley cover I have is also the fixed orifice version, meaning it has no PCV valve at all. Its just has a plastic pickup on the underside of the valley cover that is basically an air/oil separater and will allow vapors in but not oil in liquid form.

Cutting the block isn't bad at all, all you need is a dremel with a disc that is designed for aluminum, cuts through it like butter. The worst part is making sure you keep all those damn metal filings out of the engine!! They go everywhere!!

 

https://ls1tech.com/forums/11059703-post70.html

this is a good post right here. i just picked up a ws6 store catch can, i'll be installing it with the ls1 pcv system at first and see how that works. then later on i'll see about doing the ls6 pcv.