Oil in the air cleaner.

[gbarrett]

Could y'all refresh my memory as to what it means when oil is in the air cleaner?

My memory is like swiss cheese - soft, and full of holes.

Thanks,

Greg

[Darin]

Greg-

I've been trying to get some info on this "condition" as well. Basically you have the whole PCV system to check. Besides the vavle and the related hoses, there is a metal tube that goes into the manifold that can get blocked up.

Also check the sponge like filter in the oil breather cap. ( I may replace mine to see if it matters.)

There is also a port in the carb, - haven't checked mine yet- that can be blocked. I believe you have to take the carb off to check.

I'm interested to see what people have to say on this. Mine all checked out fine, but I still get quite a bit of oil in the air cleaner. I want to put on a K&N, but kind of waiting till I get this understood.

[JeepFreak]

If the motor runs good and you do a bleed down test on all cylinders and all is good there I would look at replacing the intake manifold gasket. There is an exhaust crossover passage that can leak and fill the crank case with hot gas and cause the oil in the air breather. I had this same problem on my fresh rebuilt 360. So I replaced the metal gasket and used some hi temp sealer on the exhaust crossovers and all is well now. The motor was running hot too and that solved that as well. If the PVC system isn't the problem thean I would look at replacing the manifold gasket.

[bignblue]

Oil in the air cleaner is an indicator of a) coked-up PCV valve or line, or b) blowby caused by failing compression rings. Another thing to check is the oil filler cap--is the sponge still there? Believe it or not, that little sponge keeps a lot of oil droplets out of the air cleaner. That's why its normally oil-fouled itself. Rings are easily checked with a good compression gauge, as noted above. The PCV valve should rattle when you shake it back and forth, and not hang up on either end. Also, remove the hose connecting the PCV valve to the crankcase--mine was clogged up tight, causing oil to froth in the crankcase and enter the air cleaner through the aforementioned (what is my deal with these words today?) oil filler cap.

I haven't checked mine--what's the proper psi indication for a 360 with good rings? I'll hook up the Waggie this weekend and see how it's doing.

[SpruceMoose]

when i replaced the stock 2bbl intake and carb with a 4bbl edelbrock intake and the holley pro-jection kit, i re-used the oem pcv valve. i just plugged the little side port and ran it from the rubber grommet in the manifold to the throttle body. and i started getting oil in the air cleaner housing, and on the top of the timing cover. so i switched from the pcv valve for an 88 GW to one from an older GW. one without a side port. no more oil in either place!