[boomys10]

alrighty yall, after being the first that i know of to spend the money out of pocket to fix the crank case seal gasket issue the northstar is known for having i have something everyone that is overboosted needs to know ASAP!!!

****GET A DAMNED CRANK CASE VENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!***** The mechanics that did the work on my car, Chad Barton (CBI in hillsboro MO, and a cadillac top tech that will remain unnamed) noted that the seals on mine looked decent but the car had VERY similar issues to those had on any car that is over boosted. to them it seemed like the crank pressure was WAY to high and that is what lead to the blow out. i drive the shit out of my car, so that makes sense always being at WOT. spend the 40$ for the vent, (the vent replaces your oil fill cap, youve seen them) and that should help relieve the pressure in the case. i was advised to not appoarch WOT until i get one.

here is the list of what was replaced, i do have pix, but dont know how to get them from my phone to here.

oil manifold plate
main bolts
front cover (water pump bolts to it)
water pump (known to go bad and engine was alrdy out)
crank seal
rear main seal
oil pan seal replaced with RTV sealant
valve cover gaskets

also had the rear differental bushing replaced at the word of the mechanic after driving the car for 5min and he was correct, it needed it. it was ripped in half.

maybe PGA can post the pix for me since he is more comp savvy than i am?

 

[ChurchSTSV]

So where would i get one of these crank case vents?

 

[Fierofiend]

I have this one on my turbo 3800. Idk if the "thread" is the same..
http://shop.zzperformance.com/store/p/31-Valve-Cover-Breather.aspx

 

[silver sts-v]

First, if you use a crankcase vent you will have to DC your PCV valve and plug it or you will get a code. I ran an 05 and an 08 Vette with vents and I used a vent filter from a LS1 that fit perfectly. The filter was made by K&N.
Second, I change oil every 5000 and I would take this vent filter off and wash it from the inside out and re-install sans oil as after driving it a day the filter will have oil in if from venting gases.
Hope this helps.

 

[boomys10]

the zzp link is the exact thing needed. its not a big investment, but spend the 30 and get one. its alot better than 8k at a dealer if you dont have access to a dealer mechanic.

 

[TimmyC]

Not a bad idea but you will get oil dripping out of that oil-cap breather. It slings right off the valvetrain. You also get fumes in the cabin. No codes though. The zzp one touches the hood insulation too.

For what it's worth I have been over stock boost since a month after getting my car and have not blown any gaskets out. I wonder if I was lucky or boomy is unlucky.

a catch can with a line venting back into the intake pipe would be the best option a long as you can keep the oil slosh from getting in. can't really baffle the oil hole in the valve cover because you have use it to add oil.

 

[boomys10]

this seal going bad isnt an if question its a when question. it will go bad and overboosting speeds up the process by incraesing pressure put on the seal. was i unlucky, absolutely. ive been unlucky several times with this car actually. however, this is a normal wear item and if you can lessen the wear may want to.. just my two cents.. but i dont know much.

 

[BlownV]

We all recognize how the crankcase get's pressurized right? Yes a breather is a good idea but I wouldn't expect to NEED one on a purpose built DD motor that is only running a few PSI more than stock.

 

[boomys10]

if you dont see the need, dont get one. im just telling you, being the only person that has paid out of pocket for this fix, to spend the $30. if you dont want to dont. purpose built maybe, but poorly designed for damned sure. i can just about promise not many people on this forum have seen the engine taken as far apart as i have.

running the overboost pulley and removing the boost limiter put me at 16lbs. stock is limited to 12.5 manaully but mine was only doing 11. with all that aside, if you add ONE POUND MORE, the engine isnt made for that and adds strain.

look, ive spent well over 20k fixing my car in the past few months. ranging from shit that shouldnt have ever been done to the oil manifold seal going out. excluding normal maintence. if you want to take my advice awesome, if you dont still awesome. i dont care, im just trying to save others the money i have spent, period..

 

[SC2150]

OK, venting feats any evacuation of the damaging combustion byproducts so even though it relieves excess pressure, w/out evacuating the damaging compounds while still in a vapor or suspended state, when the engine cools they mix with the oil and then the damage begins. The damage is gradual and occurs over time, but every engine needs a filtered clean air source on one bank and evacuate from the opposite all your doing is releasing pressure and defeating any evacuation.

Also, if it is a MAF equipped engine, you inroducing unmetered air into the system (not measured by the MAF) so your short term fuel trims go nuts trying to compensate.

The solution is a little bit more involved than just addeding and open, unrestricted breather.

For those that want to learn all the aspects of crankcase evacuation for forced induction, read:http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102582

Tons of Q&A on the subject.

:thumbsup:

 

[TimmyC]

Sean, I'm not sure why you are getting defensive. Nobody said it was a bad idea. We are all merely discussing the issue.

The stock system vents back into the intake tubing. As long as the maf chart is setup for it there is no problem doing it that way. Each valve cover has one vent and they are both routed into the air intake. Maybe one sucks and one blows but they ar both routed to the same place.

 

[silver sts-v]

What is ZZP? I assume it is a filter for this application but I would like to get some information about it please.

Also, I NEVER had any issues with oil dripping from the K&N's I used and I cleaned them every 5000 when I changed the oil, The 05 has about 55K on it as per the new owner and the 08 that I gave to my son has about 27K on it, it too does not leak oil and it is right over the valve train in the LS2-3 units.

 

[TimmyC]

What is ZZP? I assume it is a filter for this application but I would like to get some information about it please.

Also, I NEVER had any issues with oil dripping from the K&N's I used and I cleaned them every 5000 when I changed the oil, The 05 has about 55K on it as per the new owner and the 08 that I gave to my son has about 27K on it, it too does not leak oil and it is right over the valve train in the LS2-3 units.

Take the oil cap off and rev the car up. Oil will come out.

 

[BlownV]

Please, no need to get defensive. I was simply trying to bring up the point that if adding a couple of PSI of boost is leading to the generation of crankcase pressure in excess of what the seals are capable of then I am willing to bet that there are other issues with the motor. Done a compression and leak down test on it? My track car has two 1/2 inch breather hookups on the valve cover to vent to a catch can with a breather...but it is running 46 PSI on a motor built for racing...spits a little oil until the rings heat up too.

 

[boomys10]

im not defensive. the motor structurally isnt a bad motor, but the design isnt made to last forever stock and sure as hell doesnt last to long when upgraded. i drive the shit outta my car, racing it EVERY fridy, saturday and most sundays, until the past month when it was offical out of service. i drive mine much harder than most drive theirs. im just letting you know, if your overboosted, chances are very heavy you WILL develop these issues and have to tear the motor apart. properly venting the case, however you decide to do it, will HELP the longetivity.

i am not an expert on motors, never claimed to be. but the guy that tore mine down and rebuilt it is one of the top caddy mechanics in my area cert'ed to work on all v's so on so fourth. what im telling you guys, came directly from him and Chad barton, also a very highly respected mechanic in the area with an amazing reputation, when the engine was completely torn apart and being put back together. the stock seal is a shitty design, period. the rubber in that seal will go bad and will leak. once that starts, its all downhill and quickly if yuou dont catch it soon. even with venting it will still happen. the vent aids in releasing extra stress to help the subpar seal/gasket in living longer. thats it.

 

[parkeraire]

Thank you for the info Boomy.

 

[wake]

the zzp link is the exact thing needed. its not a big investment, but spend the 30 and get one. its alot better than 8k at a dealer if you dont have access to a dealer mechanic.

I saw this note at the bottom of that filtered breather you mention, " *PCM programming required on cars with drive by wire throttle bodies. "

Is that the case?

 

[silver sts-v]

Timmy,

In the LS series it too will spit out oil if the fill cap is off. The K&N had a stepped down or smaller vent hole for this exact reason and I have never had a problem with oil outside the engine. Maybe a Caddy is different with the DOHC but we use this same system on Fords with the same set up.

I still don't know what a ZZP is and info does not Google.

 

[PGA2B]

http://www.zzperformance.com/

 

[TimmyC]

Timmy,

In the LS series it too will spit out oil if the fill cap is off. The K&N had a stepped down or smaller vent hole for this exact reason and I have never had a problem with oil outside the engine. Maybe a Caddy is different with the DOHC but we use this same system on Fords with the same set up.

I still don't know what a ZZP is and info does not Google.

Hmm, ok. I had a lot of oil dripping out of mine when I had the turbo setup on my car but I didn't have any baffling.