Hi guys,
I've been struggling with crankcase pressure for the last couple of months now and I'm starting to get pretty stumped. Basically when I first bought the car the dipstick smoked ALOT, I took it to the mechanic and had the PCV replaced with the kit from IPD which fixed it mostly, but there was still a thin vaper that would come from the dipstick.

I drove like that for a few months with the dipstick out 1/4th an inch and eventually decided that it was time to clean the EGR. I got new gaskets and took off the both the TB and the EGR and cleaned them thoroughly. I also used a vacuum to check that the valve was working and cleaned out the copper hose going into it and also the hole in the intake manifold for the EGR. But when I put it all back together I still had a thin vapor coming out of the dipstick (although it seems to sort of ooze or pour out of the dipstick rather than puff out). I remembered reading about cleaning the PTC so I pulled that off and cleaned it until carb cleaner poured out of all three holes and then reinstalled it but the car still had vapor coming from the dipstick.

I started to suspect ring wear or perhaps a head gasket leak, I did a dry compression test with the engine at operating temperature and got these numbers:

Cylinder 1 - 185 psi
Cylinder 2 - 185 psi
Cylinder 3 - 177 psi
Cylinder 4 - 190psi
Cylinder 5 - 190psi

Those numbers were all within specs so I'm starting to draw a blank, is there anything else that can cause crankcase pressure? I'm worried im going to blow a seal.

tl;dr: Car has had PCV, EGR, and PTC cleaned but dipstick still smokes. Did a compression test and the numbers were within specs.

 

Since you didn't do the PCV yourself it's a matter of how good a job the other guy did. Did he replace both the PCV black box and all the attached vacuum hoses ??
Even though he may have replaced the PCV black box there is a chance he missed cleaning out the passage the box uses to breath. In higher mileage vehicles that have been neglected it can get plugged.

 

This also happens very easily if the car sits for an extended period of time or not having the oil changed when it should be.

When I first bought my yellow it had been sitting for 9 months because the gentleman was trying to sell it.Turns out the crank case was stopped up. at the current time I could not get off work to fix it myself so I paid the dealer.

Cost me $586 to replace the entire pvc system and everything cleaned up, and my friends dad warned me before they started that if he got in there and the oil pan was stopped up also it would be another 600 to do that.

But if I didn't have them pull the oil pan and it needed it, he said I would be wasting my money, because it would be only doing half the job and would not solve the problem if higher engine pressure.

Most likely the mechanic did not do a thorough job and your oil pan needs to be pulled and cleaned.

Not taking care of this problem can start forcing oil out of seals and causing them to fail which means more $$$$

My Salvage t5r needs this done along with a long list of other repairs.

 

@KissaFrog - I had thought about this, I tried blowing into the hose that attaches to the cam cover, with the oil cap on I could hear the air seeping from my dipstick, but with the oil cap off it would just come out there. Could the ports still be blocked even if i can get air through easily? Also I noticed there is no vacuum on the hose that is connected to the cam cover when the engine is running, is the supposed to be?

@Brian - This is the first i've heard of the oilpan being stopped up but it actually would make perfect sense, my car was sitting for about 8-10 months while it was waiting to be sold, I pushed it around before I started it but if yours clogged up in 9 months then mine definitely could of. I need to pull the pan anyway due to its gasket leaking so i might as well clean everything out down there while I can.

 

My understanding is the upper port, the left one (in car speak) just opens to the crankcase, might be baffled and is used for vapor.

The lower one is the drain and has the passage cast into the block and pan. This is the one that plugs and then the upper hole has to do all the work.

 

When I take off the oilpan to replace the gasket will I be able to clear out the port then? Or do I need to remove the entire intake manifold and clean it from the pcv side.

 

When you pull the pan you'll be able to look up and see if the part of the channel is plugged leading to the PCV box. Just depends on IF it's plugged and if it is how far up. If it's plugged you'll need to manually use a drill bit or some type of auger to pull the crud out and open it up all the way to that box.

 

Have you checked for pressure in the head by doing the soft rubber glove test? I would try that first. Put a glove over the oil filler hole and start the car. If the glove expands you have pressure.

When my system was PLUGGED UP it did NOT smoke. I think the smoke is a fair test but not best or real good. I also believe that you will get a false positive if the vacuum elbow on the passenger side if the manifold is loose or torn.

 

Oh, I would say that whomever did the PCV job didn't do a good one due to the fact that you had to clean the EGR and PTC. The port in my manifold was 80% blocked when I did mine.

 

@KissaFrog: I'm going to pull my oilpan in about a week, I have the o-rings and gasket sealant on order from IPD.

@rspi: I haven't done the glove test, I'll try that today. I have a video of mine smoking that I will post below, could you elaborate on the false positive? I was only aware of the vacuum lines connecting to the intake manifold were the ones near the idle air control valve. As for the ports being blocked, I can blow through the hose on the top of the engine and have air come out of the oil cap, does that mean the upper ports were clear but perhaps not the one going into the oil pan?

Also does anyone know if that hose on the top of the engine is supposed to have suction when the engine is running? Mine doesn't and the hose going into the PTC doesn't have any air coming out.

Edit:

Here is the video -