New mod for you turbo guys and gals

[Chromenut]

This is a test mod, so no one go copying this just yet. Let me run this for a month or so to make sure there are no bugs in it.

This is a $15 mod, cheap and easy. The intent is to remove the oil and gases that are being exhausted into the airbox and intake from the valve cover. So I'm replacing the "make-up air" circuit currently installed, in hopes to extend the life of my turbo. If it works out the way it's supposed to, I'll have a small filter that will need cleaning about once a month, but will no longer have that obnoxious oil being dumped into my airbox and none of the gases being forced back into my intake. After seeing how much oil I had in my intake I started looking for methods to reduce this, and this was the suggestion I found that seemed the most appealing. So here we go...

Tools needed:

* Pliers to pull off the old hose
* Snips to cut tie wraps
* Standard screwdriver to loosen and tighten hose clamps
* Razor knife to cut the hoses with

Parts/Materials required:

* 3/8" Heavy Duty Fuel Line Hose (I bought 2 feet, used maybe half of it)
* Male to male vacuum hose adapter, 3/8" (1)
* Small hose clamps (3)
* Breather element (1)
* 3/8" Rubber vacuum line cap (1)

All materials and supplies purchased at O'Reilly Auto Parts for under $15. I will come back in later and list the parts better as you can buy the breather element from K&N but that's twice the price of the one I found, just don't remember the brand off the top of my head.

Process:

1. Remove your air box, and take off the old make-up air hose that connects your airbox to the valve cover.

2. Get a rubber 3/8" vacuum cap and cap off the input nozzle on the airbox.


3. Run a new hose from the valve cover to the location where you want to mount the new breather element. I used 3/8" heavy duty fuel line on mine, it stands up well to heat.


4. The breather element that I purchased had a female rubber end on it (3/8") which was fine, I just purchased a male/male 3/8" hose adapter, which works out perfectly as I tie-wrapped that to my strut tower brace. This allows me to keep the new breather element in an upright position - this aids in getting the gases out of the crank case and allows the oil that's purged up the hose to drain back into the crank case so I won't be using much oil in the future.


5. The by-product of this mod is that now my airbox comes out and goes back in with ease. Before it was always a struggle. Now I can pull the entire airbox to pull my K&N filter out to clean it. Much easier than before. I've also mounted the new breather element in such a way that removing it to keep it clean will also be easy.


According to Chrysler, the amount of oil evacuated up that hose is much more on the turbo models, and the volume depends entirely on your driving style. Since I drive it like I stole it, I probably have way more oil than the normal PT driver. I was constantly having to clean out my airbox and it was becoming a royal PITA!

Now, what questions are still to be answered? See mine below:

* Lots of heat is being exhausted up that hose, and the breather element heated up almost immediately upon starting the engine. Will the location of the breather element cause any heat issues? I don't want to mar the hood with excess heat.

* Will the oil be too much for this type of filter? The location of the breather is directly over my fuse box, and I don't want to have oil dripping down on that! So is this placement ideal?

* Is there any impact to performance, positive or negative? I've been told that you stand to gain 2 to 3 hp from cleaning up your intake in this manner, but we'll have to see. I've researched this quite a bit and have not heard any negative comments to date. The biggest positive - removing the hot air that is exhausted up the make-up air hose to the airbox. Less hot air into the turbo, that's a good thing!

So, while I drive around with this setup for the next month, I'll be coming back in to update you all on how it's working.

[Chromenut]

Parts listings from Oreillyauto.com

Vacuum cap - $2.29 Card of 3 :


3/8" hose - Gates - Part Number: 27004, $1.29 per Foot :


Hose connector - Gates - Part Number: 28602 $1.69 :


Hose clamps - Ideal - Hose Clamp Part Number: 5006 $0.99 :


Breather element - Spectre - Cotton Fiber Filter Breather Part Number: 3996 $9.99 each :


Obviously you can probably find this stuff at your local parts store, just giving these as an example of what I used.

[quicksilverdon]

I accomplished the same thing by putting in a catch can in the hose...

[Chromenut]

Originally Posted by quicksilverdon

I accomplished the same thing by putting in a catch can in the hose...

But are you still passing the vapors? That's super-heated air going into your intake... I've got two brand new catch cans in the garage, I kept holding off on doing that mod because I couldn't find a good spot for the can and I couldn't talk myself into continuing to feed the vapors back into the intake. I know it works, and it's a lot better than the stock setup, just I wanted to get away from it completely.

[quicksilverdon]

Some on PTCrew.Com have done the breather as you have.

[TrickyMcTrickPants]

[QUOTE=Chromenut;275120]This is a test mod, so no one go copying this just yet. Let me run this for a month or so to make sure there are no bugs in it.

So whats the verdict? I really wanna try this. Also is it reversible? This will be my first MOD and I'm low on cash, so I kinda cant wait to actually do something.

[Mean Green]

Depending on where you live, if you have emissions, it won't pass cause you can't vent to the atmosphere. I had an inline filter on my GT. The intercooler takes care of those hot gases anyways, but the filter does look full race.

[Chromenut]

Originally Posted by Mean Green

Depending on where you live, if you have emissions, it won't pass cause you can't vent to the atmosphere. I had an inline filter on my GT. The intercooler takes care of those hot gases anyways, but the filter does look full race.

What he says is 100% correct. I pull my hose and connect to my intake for inspections, even though they have never lifted the hood yet. I get absolutely no oil in my intake now, and so far, with the filter up like it is, no oil out of the filter.

[fezzersc]

Ok, my filter is falling apart pretty bad. Will this work on a 2002 classic?

[Chromenut]

Originally Posted by fezzersc

Ok, my filter is falling apart pretty bad. Will this work on a 2002 classic?

I don't see why not... mine's a turbo though, so connections are in a different location.