Oil in intake, TB, charge motion and in heads?

[Fenceingmadman]

Car is an 07 mustang GT with automatic 4.6.
Has 134K miles, car is getting 11 mpg and is down on power. Is this a normal amount of oil? Why is there so much?

 

[Pentalab]

This is why a catch can is used. That and use 100% synthetic eng oil.

 

[JC SSP]

Are you noticing oil consumption from the engine?

 

[Dino Dino Bambino]

It's not unusual to see that much oil in the intake tract even in low mileage engines. Clean it as best as you can and install a pair of catch cans. I have a pair of Chinese eBay cans with a Scotch Brite scrubbing pad in each one like the one shown below:

My engine's (100k miles) oil consumption is negligible between 5000 mile change intervals (5W-30 full synthetic) so my driver's side catch can only collects about 40ml of oil during that time while the passenger side catch can remains bone dry. The oil also remains cleaner for longer since I installed the catch cans so they're definitely a good investment.



FWIW I deleted the charge motion control valves 9 years ago and have a custom tune for my mods.

 

[GriffX]

That's a lot of oil deposit on the flaps. Not sure if this is normal. I removed the flaps at 40k and it had only a film of oil on them. The TB looks for me normal.
The air for ventilation of the engine goes in on the passenger side and out on the driver side. A catch can on the driver side ist enough.

 

[Pentalab]

The catch can is on the drivers side of my 2010 GT....with small M90 blower. When Ford semi synthetic eng oil used, (3% synthetic and 97% dino oil) the catch can would fill up quickly...almost to the top, and resembles a 'chocolate milkshake'. It's actually a mixture of eng oil, unburnt fuel, and condensation.

When 100% synthetic oil used, there is barely any oil in the catch can ever...and it resembles clean, new 100% synthetic eng oil.

Semi synthetic and also plane dino oil...and no catch can on driver's side is a disaster. It's even worse if a blower is used. Then you end up with oil all over the intercooler, and also the intake manifold...and also the elbow that feeds air into the blower. It's a fn mess, and it also lowers the octane rating of the fuel.

 

[07 Boss]

I have no such oil issues. I deleted the charge motion plates early on in her life. I also deleted the entire pvc system so there is absolutely no oil in my intake track. I run 3 breathers and have removed the pvc valve from the cam cover. I do get some oil drippage every once in while on the passenger side but just wipe it whenever the hood is open. I've always run breathers on all of my performance cars since the 1980's.




A couple of close ups.

 

[GriffX]

The PCV system has several functions, not only environmental. It produces a slight vacuum on the engine, reducing air-pump loss and active cleans the oil from water and fuel from the blow-by gases. Fresh air goes in on the passenger side and the oil/water/fuel mixture out at the driver side. I use fully synthetic 5w30 and have a lot of "oil" in the catch can, it is clear but very dark.

 

[07 Boss]

The PCV system has several functions, not only environmental. It produces a slight vacuum on the engine, reducing air-pump loss and active cleans the oil from water and fuel from the blow-by gases. Fresh air goes in on the passenger side and the oil/water/fuel mixture out at the driver side. I use fully synthetic 5w30 and have a lot of "oil" in the catch can, it is clear but very dark.

Yes there are a couple of down sides to running breathers. A "loose" engine will produce actual positive pressure if it can't vent fast enough. Your oil will get dirty and lose it's viscosity quicker so more frequent oil changes are needed. I do mine about every 3K miles or 6 months.

 

[GriffX]

I doesn't want to criticize you, you have a supercharger conversion, don't know what the engine needs in this configuration. I have a 4 cyl supercharged car which has 2 PCV systems. One for vacuum condition and one for boost. The vacuum has a line from the crankcase with a recoil valve going in front of the intake valves, the other is from the valve cover with oil separator to the charger intake.

 

[07 Boss]

I doesn't want to criticize you, you have a supercharger conversion, don't know what the engine needs in this configuration. I have a 4 cyl supercharged car which has 2 PCV systems. One for vacuum condition and one for boost. The vacuum has a line from the crankcase with a recoil valve going in front of the intake valves, the other is from the valve cover with oil separator to the charger intake.

Well if I leave my pvc system intact with the Whipple it would draw the crankcase gases through the supercharger rotors and I definitely did not want that. Even with a catch can it would still draw the oil vapors onto the rotors. I thought of a vacuum pump but think it's unnecessary for my application.

I too have a little 2L 4-cyl with a turbo and it has and much more intricate pcv system. This is a daily driver and pretty much all stock minus a tune and charge tubing so it's not going to get messed with. Oh, I am gong to add a catch can after finding oil in my intercooler, but that's about it.

 

[Midlife Crises]

Every vehicle I have ever looked at, regardless of age had signs of oil in the intake if it had a PCV system connected to the intake manifold. You can not stop oil mist from eventually coating the intake air path. Under normal operation it is not a problem. It could take hundreds of thousands of miles to goo things up. Finding oily buildup in my new Mustang, back in 2010 bothered my. Finding my blower inlet coated with a film of oil even though I installed a separator type catch can bothered me more and pouring oil out of the intercooler section of the intake manifold was the last straw. My crankcase is now free breathing from both valve covers connected to a common vented catch can. No more oil in the intake manifold. Funny how that works.

 

[Miker]

Strange timing. The last 24 hours i've been plodding down the catch can rabbit hole. I get the principle but wondering if I need to take the plunge. Not bouncing off the rev limiter but if there's a benefit I am open to diving in.

 

[GlassTop09]

There is another very viable reason to run a catch can on these 4.6L V8 engines.............catalytic converters.......especially any cats that use ceramic substrates (like OEM or OEM rated aftermarket cats). Oil contamination will kill these as the ceramic will absorb the carbon & won't release it thus the cat cleaners typically can't clean it off. Metal substrates are better in that the carbon won't be absorbed into the metal foil thus the cat cleaners can more effectively clean these out, but if you can keep as much of the oil mist out of the intake as you can, you'll prolong the life & operation of any cats being used.

This is probably not a 'well-versed item" in the enthusiast world, but this is a very viable & potential cost saving thing to do if you're running cats for emissions purposes.

Mentioned for those so interested...............

 

[Miker]

I do live in CA so biannual smog checks are mandatory. Seems like there are as many catch can options as peoples opinions on running them.
I understand that I just need one on the drivers side. Is there a forum favorite?

 

[Midlife Crises]

there a forum favorite?

Look for a separator type catch can. One with baffles or multiple chambers. The little 3” by 2” round aluminum bottles that cost a couple hundred bucks are nothing more than a wide spot in the pipe so to speak. They do catch oil but they miss a lot also. The first one I tried said JLT on it and it wasn’t cheep. It plugged in easily and I checked it after a few hundred miles. It had a wet inlet tube, a little oil in the can and a wet outlet tube. Didn’t do a darn thing but lighten my wallet.

 

[Dino Dino Bambino]

Look for a separator type catch can. One with baffles or multiple chambers. The little 3” by 2” round aluminum bottles that cost a couple hundred bucks are nothing more than a wide spot in the pipe so to speak. They do catch oil but they miss a lot also. The first one I tried said JLT on it and it wasn’t cheep. It plugged in easily and I checked it after a few hundred miles. It had a wet inlet tube, a little oil in the can and a wet outlet tube. Didn’t do a darn thing but lighten my wallet.

My ebay jobbies only cost $25 each.

 

[GriffX]

I have the JLT with the metal mesh inside, I would think that it catches 80% of the oil mixture.

 

[Miker]

After doing some research it seems they are not smog legal for CA. So it looks like I will be off road racing with mine.
I am going to get the J&L 3.0 as it comes with the factory clips to attach to the 4.6 drivers side. That way I can simply switch back to the stock line for smog checks..... I mean when I get back from my off road racing adventures.

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[crjackson]

I have the newest (or latest) JLT v.3 with mesh demister-media. It works very well with my boosted Coyote. I don’t have one on my stock 4.6L