Oil by air filter

[adopolis]

Was checking my air filter and found oil in the hose. I can only assume that it may be the head valve stem seals or rings. I know that when its cold I hear a tapping till it warms up and then the noise goes away.

Is my assumption right? Sorry I don't have time to check the forums ...I'm stuck on 12 hour days (7 days) till notified otherwise.

This is my daily driver...so I have to found out and fix the prob before I'm up a creek.

Anyone have any ideas?

Any help would be appreciate.

P.s. it burns blue until warm

[92festie]

i know you can usually tell what a few problems are by just looking at the exhaust smoke coming out. but just cant remember what blue smoke was??....maybe head gasket?? you are talking about the exhaust smoke when you say it "it burns blue until warm", right??

[MTec007]

some what normal, if there is excessive oil, could be PCV valve is sticking (sometimes it can be cleaned out, other times no) possibly rings, valve stem seals..

im no expert, ill just say that, but i've done a top end rebuild so i know *something* just not sure what lol

[Levitan]

Blue smoke is oil, I'm pretty sure. Understandable if you have oil in the intake. Hopefully pcv valve replacement will help. Others will know better tjhan I do.

[m715]

Valve stem seals cause the blue smoke at startup. The oil in the head is drawn into the combustion chamber after you stop the engine, then burnt at startup. Keep an eye on your plugs for fouling.

Michael

[Pu241]

I agree, sounds like valve stem seals.
Which is nice, because these can be replaced without head removal.
Wouldn't hurt to replace/clean the PCV valve.

[Tim]

Your "problem" is normal. My car exhibits all these symptoms, usually on cold days. I've been driving it like that for a couple years now, and nothing bad has happened.


-Tim

[adopolis]

Thank you for the replies.....but will the valve stem seals cause oil in the hose that leads to the air filter box?

[JohnGunn]

Thank you for the replies.....but will the valve stem seals cause oil in the hose that leads to the air filter box?

I don't think so. That explains the blue smoke you see when starting the car.

From my own experience, finding oil in the air intake system of a fuel injected car is not normal. My '90L Festiva with over 182,000 has never had oil in the air intake.

From what I have read on this site, I think the oil in the air intake system is the sign of too much pressure in the crankcase ventilation system. The most common source of that increased pressure is from leakage past piston rings called "blow by." The PCV valve, which normally regulates the flow of air through the crankcase, is overwhelmed by this additional pressure and oil-laden air is pushed out the short hose between the valve cover and the plastic air intake duct. Under normal conditions the flow is from the duct into the valve cover.

This is not a good thing in that it is an indication of excessive wear in the engine. Your compression readings will probably be low and the power produced by your engine will be compromised, but I haven't gotten the idea that driving the car in this condition will cause additional harm, as long as you make sure the oil level remains high.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[murrillcg]

I had sort of the same issues. Except i knew that I had to replace the head gasket due to water/oil mixture. Before I did, Mike Mckown came by we did a compression and found low compression on all except #1 cylinder. Anyways to make a long story short, completley tore apart engine to find 2 cracked pistions and 2 with rings sucked in.

The good news is, I rebuilt my engine with a kit from Rock Auto for $327.00 with new pistons . No signs of any blow by or oil/water mixture and I now have good compression.

I am not saying that this is the route you need to go, but it worked for me. Mine only had 154,000 on the engine.

[m715]

The blowby from the piston problems listed above causes the "yellow" foamy froth if you find that in your PCV / crankcase hoses. Easy way to check for that kind of blowby is to run the engine with the oil fill off. It will look like an old steam locomotive chugging where the compression is pressurizing the crankcase. That means at best seized rings, at worst, slugged piston(s), or once again as above, cracked. The good news is the blocks are TOUGH! and usually the alloy pistons are the damage. Be sure to check the head out for burnt valves if you tear it down also. Last..... use a good quality head gasket. There are some really cheap ones out there. I like the Felpro myself.

JMO
Michael