Custom Crankcase Vent

[Mopar1973Man 3,647]

Problems with the stock breather... This is a home-brew fix to a problem on the 2nd Gen Cummins engines. The problem is the OEM crankcase vent is nothing more than a piece of hose mounted to the front of the gear case that elbows over and points down towards the ground. There is two versions of this. One is with a drip bottle mounted on the end of the hose and the other is without the bottle. In any case there is a TSB (09-002-02 Crankcase Breather Overflow) warning on extreme loss of oil from descending to steep of a slope while off-roading. This is true but it will also scatter oil all over the engine and radiator. This cause a second problem of overheat from dust and dirt collecting in the face of the radiator. Even in normal use cases the breather bottle has been known to emit enough oil vapors to make the radiator gunky with dirt and dust. Another problem that a TSB 09-02-00 (A Heavy Oil Or Fuel-Like Odor Coming From the Diesel Engine Compartment) was written for was the foul heavy oil smell after a oil change. This is normal for some brand of oils like Rotella. Now that I listed all the problems with the breather bottle now let look at what I've fixed... What I've Fixed! First off I've never lost any oil off-roading with my design. Why? Simple. I look at a simple principal. If the front of the truck is going down hill the vent pipe end should be higher than the oil level at any angle. So how did I do that? Simple run the pipe up over the top of the engine and down over the back side of the engine. So now no matter how steep you run the nose down hill the end of the vent pipe will be higher. Since the end of the pipe is down under the truck by the transmission there is no problem with cooling or radiator plugging any longer. Also you will no longer get the heavy oil smell in the cab since the pipe is under the truck. You might smell it a little as you open the door but rare. Some people have use rubber hose to do this too. Well rubber heater hose will eventually break down and collapse. This is a problem! It will cause a build up of crankcase pressure and start oil leakage around seals. Another problem with other home brew systems... If you make the vent pipe to long you might start freezing the water vapor in the hose/pipe before it exits the pipe. Once again this causes problems with crankcase pressure. My system has no where for the oil/water to pool to freeze or plug the pipe. I've tested down to -20°F and never had a freeze up yet. Contact me for information on ordering a crankcase vent kit. http://mopar.mopar1973man.com/personal/2002/crankcase-vent/crankcase-vent.htm

[flagmanruss 80]

Clever fix and neat install too... How do you keep your engine so clean?Russ

[Mopar1973Man 3,647]

Clever fix and neat install too... How do you keep your engine so clean?

Russ

How do I keep my engine clean??? Easy...

Everytime I wash the outside of the truck I wash the engine too. If I get a leak or weeping gasket it shows up quickly. So fix the problem then wash it back down. If you spill oil on it wash it off when you get home, Etc... But basically anytime I wash the exterior of the truck the engine gets washed too... Summer or winter... I also wash under the truck too... :shock:

Even shops and dealers ask me about that... But the best part is if I do go to a shop they have to do good clean work because the engine was clean before it went in... I want it clean when it come out and remain clean! :shock:

[Guest]

has anyone tried to route the breather to the air cleaner for a positive crankcase breather or is this a bad idea

[REFLancer 0]

Seems like running used oil vapor into the turbocharger might be bad,I've thought about it too.Also,these engines will run on oil,and if you managed to get a big charge of oil into the intake that could be a runaway situation.

[Mopar1973Man 3,647]

We got a older Chevy Diesel 6.5L and it got the crankcase vent hooked right at the turbo charger... Oh what a mess... I got to get a pic of this... It got oil and goop all over the turbo compressor... There is much you can do for it since it got some blow by issues... :confused:

[Guest]

What material did you use to build your vent system (size and type)? I am looking to route mine the same way. Also a question about blow-by...my truck does not use any oil (I check it often) or water. It does not smoke during start up or when cold, only when warm. If I am sitting in traffic there is a noticible amount of smoke coming up from the front of the truck. Once I get home, park it and look under it, I can see it puffing (a whiteish / gray) although if I hold my fingers in front of it there is no oil residue, it does NOT smell like fuel or coolant. And if I put my fingers up to it there is a slight wet oil residue (although NOT dripping or puffing, only if I touch the inside of the house). At the oil cap and dipstick it is a noticible puffing but not bad and no smoke that I can see. The oil from the dipstick looks good (just changed a few thousand miles ago) there is no smell of coolant or fuel, no bubbles or any other signs of a leak. There has never been any leaks or puddles on my driveway...so I am wondering what is going on and if it is within tolerances (just freaks me out to see it once the truck gets warm while sitting at a light and only seemed to start a few weeks ago). Also I do not drive the truck very hard, I warm it up for about a minute before driving it (hold it around 1-1.1k) and then do not exceed boost of about 10 until she is good and warm. Normal driving shifts about 2-2.1k and have only had a few experiences where she has reved to about 2.6 (guy pulled out in front of me so I accelerated to get out of the way) where she will boost to 25psi.Thanks again and this is a great site!SCC's '99 Dodge 3500 Dually CTD, 5spd, 4x4, FASS 150/150, SHO VP44, BHAF, 4" Straight Pipe, Silencer Ring MIA

[flagmanruss 80]

the link to the picture no longer works.Russ

[jlwelding 21]

I to worryed about vent but everybody said that was normal.