oil in intake tube?

[roastbeef]

i did some maintenance today with the plenum off, and i noticed what i would consider to be a significant amount of oil at the mouth of the intake plenum. i have an afe carbon intake with an oiled filter. this is definitely engine oil and not a result of over-oiling the intake filter (i clean my own filters and know how to do it properly).
the oil appears to be coming from the secondary air pump. i'm not going to pretend to fully understand how this system works, but i'm not sure if oil vapor coming out of it is a normal thing. does it connect to the crankcase ventilation system behind the engine or something? is this essentially blowby? is this a normal amount?
pic in next post.

[roastbeef]

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[yidgyi]

I also have oil moisture in my intake elbow. Albeit, not as much as yours. I'd love to get a catch can just to not let crap recirculate but no one makes a kit for this engine because "NA".

[roastbeef]

I saw someone installed one a while back... I'll have to dig up the thread. I think most of my concern stems from not fully understanding this system and not being sure if that amount of oil is normal or not.

[jdamore]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

I saw someone installed one a while back... I'll have to dig up the thread. I think most of my concern stems from not fully understanding this system and not being sure if that amount of oil is normal or not.

Im happy you are asking this. I get a decent amount of oil in there too. I figured it was normal but, I do have the concern of not knowing the consequences of it going through the supercharger. Its enough oil that it runs down the plenum to the air filter. Couple drops sitting in the bottom of the filter.

[deansbimmer]

Some oil is normal in the intake tract. If it's excessive then the crankcase evacuators/separators are not working as efficiently as they once were. It's unlikely the source is the Secondary Air Pump. The SAP pulls air from the oily intake into its pump and into the exhaust stream. There is no oil source back in that system, you're probably just seeing a lot of oil collected there.

[jdamore]

Originally Posted by deansbimmer

Some oil is normal in the intake tract. If it's excessive then the crankcase evacuators/separators are not working as efficiently as they once were. It's unlikely the source is the Secondary Air Pump. The SAP pulls air from the oily intake into its pump and into the exhaust stream. There is no oil source back in that system, you're probably just seeing a lot of oil collected there.

Thanks for the info! The evacuators/separators are the parts that go up into the sides of the factory intake plenum, correct?

In my case, with the hardware of a supercharger, the tubes tie the two separators together then back to the air intake. Is it as easy as putting a catch can on the tube I circled in red? If this true, I'll definitely do this.

Sorry to thread jack you, beef!!

[roastbeef]

its not jacking, we are in here to learn about this.

i spoke with a trusted source that told me a little bit of oil is normal. the oil merely makes its way up to the mouth of the plenum via the crank ventilation tube that plugs into the bottom of the plenum mouth. it did appear to be coming from the secondary air pump, but i didn't see any oil around the mouth of the secondary air pump when i unplugged it.
i'm not sure how much suction the secondary air pump provides, but it might be a reason it is attracting oil if it is near a source. i would still imagine the plenum would have a higher flow... now i'm kinda wondering if people that have bad valve cover leaks have gunked up crank vent lines... its relatively small and wouldn't take much.

[GORDON.M3]

I've taken my plenum off several of times now to do small work on the car and I've never seen oil like that in the mouth of the plenum even when I had an oiled K&N filter in the car and after even with my Dinan intake.

[roastbeef]

maybe this is a thing with cars that see track use? more case pressure and oil vapor... i don't know.

[deansbimmer]

SC cars will have more oil in these parts.

Engines with more blowby (high miles/worn rings+cylinder walls) will have more oil in the intake parts also. Any situation that may cause higher crankcase pressures.

If any part of the crankcase evacuation system are not working at 100% designed efficiency, you'll see excessive oil in the intake.

[EnVe46]

I see this is kinda giggle, not because its funny or people are trying to learn, but do a quick google search on the modern Hemi's... Hahahaha its ridiculous how much they're PCV lets into the intake. A catch can is required on all modern Hemi's except the truck 6.4. So much to the point it'd drastically change performance

[jdamore]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

maybe this is a thing with cars that see track use? more case pressure and oil vapor... i don't know.

I agree. There is little to no talk about it for NA though.

Its seems like an OCC is recommended for FI only. At least for the e46 guys. I haven't found anything for our s65. ESS claims its not needed with their kits but, I have enough oil going through, its worth looking into.

Attached is a pic looking into the inlet of the manifold. There's probably a 0.5 ounce pooling in there. All the rubber hoses (coupler between SC and manifold, diverter valve hose, and SAP) have some build up. There's small boogers right after the diverter valve. (Another reason why a diverter valve is better then a blow-off valve to atmosphere). From what I can see, there doesn't seem to be build up on any metal.

Would be interested to hear from other folks who are boosted.

Edit: My car only has 30k miles and boosted for 10k. I would need to see more examples to know what is excessive.

[Hujan]

I believe it to be normal, Roast. I was just in there myself a few weeks ago and had about the same amount as you. I assumed it's PCV blow-by. I just wiped it with a clean rag and re-assembled everything. I'll check for it next time I get in there.

[Ngilbe36]

Adding in another data point:
I pulled mine the other day and had NO sign of oil in the intake tube or plenum mouth. Engine has 72k on it and is NA. The plenum was pulled the day after a track event.

[essjon]

Originally Posted by jdamore

I agree. There is little to no talk about it for NA though.

Its seems like an OCC is recommended for FI only. At least for the e46 guys. I haven't found anything for our s65. ESS claims its not needed with their kits but, I have enough oil going through, its worth looking into.

Attached is a pic looking into the inlet of the manifold. There's probably a 0.5 ounce pooling in there. All the rubber hoses (coupler between SC and manifold, diverter valve hose, and SAP) have some build up. There's small boogers right after the diverter valve. (Another reason why a diverter valve is better then a blow-off valve to atmosphere). From what I can see, there doesn't seem to be build up on any metal.

Would be interested to hear from other folks who are boosted.

Edit: My car only has 30k miles and boosted for 10k. I would need to see more examples to know what is excessive.

same issue here