Believe what you want, the shop foreman at my MINI dealer would have no reason to lie to me. Ask at your MINI dealer, I did!

How can the crankcase be over pressured, if there is an outlet to the turbocharger intake?

Dave

 

Hey Dave, we've been down this road before you and me!

Did you actually read what you wrote here??? I don't think you thought this through very well. If this were true...wouldn't the "magic passages" act as an open boost side blow-off or out as it were??
Dosen't make any sense to me.

Also, the veracity of your shop forman is not my concern I have no idea what reasons your shop forman would have to lie to you. I just want to consult a credible source that can provide a thorough understanding of how this N18 system works. Real simple, don't make this into an honor issue!

 

Guys, let's not get into another tit-for-tat back and forth in here…

The story of passages in the valve cover that direct crankcase fumes to the combustion chamber without using the intake manifold makes the most sense out of any that have been put forward so far.

Do we know that the story is true? No.
Do we have any evidence that it's true? No.
Despite its appeal, does the story still leave unanswered questions? Yes.

Right now, though, that story appears to be the best we have to go on. But we should still look at it with a skeptic's eye and be on the look out for more information on the workings of the N18's redesigned PCV system.

 

Anyone know where the best place to get a BSH OCC and Dual Tap is currently?

Need someone who can ship to the UK so I can get fitted before new FMIC.

 

The dual tap you can just block off the hoses and save your self 60$

 

Meant to say i will be experimenting with venting the pcv to air after it goes through the OCC , we'll see if the ecu detects the missing air.

 

The ECU will detect a vacuum leak.

 

as a fellow breather of air in this world,

 

At idle it didnt, also my pcv does not see vacuum as i have blocked off the Throttle body side of the pcv. I just need to source a filter to put on the output of the OCC and will run it for a few days. if i can eliminate all that junk from the system it will be done.

 

Before Positive Crankcase Ventilation systems, cars had draft tubes. It's a pipe that ran from a space, on the engine, open to the crankcase, to just below the engine in the air stream under the car. The air flowing past the draft tube pulled the crankcase vapors out of the engine and into the low pressure area under the car.

Blocking off the hose to the intake manifold and letting it hang down under the car would be doing the same thing.

Also, some hot rodders put a vented oil fill cap on their engines, it seems that would make a mess though.

Dave

 

For those that dont know as well the "sensor" that is clipped into the turbo intake pipe, it is actually a heater which is unnecessary.

 

And with these draft tubes, air pollution due to motor vehicles was a lot higher than it was after PCV systems were implemented (specifically to address that problem).

I'm no lawyer, but I would not be surprised at all if venting your crankcase to the open air (OCC or not) was illegal in your area.

 

Oh, I'm sure venting crankcase vapors to the atmosphere adds to the amount of unburned hydrocarbons emitted by a vehicle, but most of the air pollution reduction in modern engines is from more precise metering of fuel, higher combustion temperatures and catalytic converters.
Positive Crankcase Ventilation systems were one of the first anti pollution measures adopted by vehicle manufacturers.

It isn't illegal for a vehicle's owner to modify factory emission controls, but in an area where they inspect the emission controls prior to emission testing, they just won't pass the vehicle and the owner won't get their tags to drive it on public roads until it is in compliance, there isn't a fine or jail time!

In any case, I haven't vented my Positive Crankcase ventilation system to the atmosphere and don't plan to

Though I do own a couple of cars that were built prior to 1968, when PCV systems were mandated, that do have draft tubes.

Dave

 

Crankcase venting to the open air accounted for 25% of all hydrocarbon emissions from vehicles without any emission control devices (exhaust emissions accounted for 55%). Implementation of a PCV system virtually eliminated this 25% chunk.

Catalytic converters, exhaust recirculation systems, computer control of engine and fueling parameters certainly help (a lot) as well... but 25% is a pretty hefty chunk of hydrocarbon pollution by itself. The PCV system is definitely a heavy-hitter.

I'm sure laws vary from state-to-state, but since you're from the pacific northwest, here's what the state of Oregon has to say on the matter:

 

Nobody ever checks it where I live anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

Dave

 

right... because the law isn't there to protect the air we all breathe, or anything important like that. good attitude you've got there.

 

Hey fishman, serious question here: Are you more concerned with the letter of the law or the intent of it?

 

Thanks!

Dave

 

Don't get all excited here Dave, I'm not agreeing with your position. I happen to agree more with the fish. My question really sought to understand more about Fishbert's citiing of statute.

I need to say upfront that I find the Idea of open venting of the crankcase to the atmosphere offensive. I breath the air just like everyone else.

In this situation where we are discussing a modification to the PCV system by incorporating a Catch Can into the system, I will tell you that that is illegal. No question, as a matter of fact any modification will be contrary to the letter of the law. But as to the intent of the law ... that's another question.

Adding the Catch Can actually should significantly reduce the production of pollutants by removing most of the oil vapor from the combustion process. As long as the modified system was properly maintained, and the "spooze" is properly disposed of, the modified system would go further toward the intent of the law.

My 2¢

Cheers,

 

I agree 100%.
I was answering Fishberts, "good attitude you've got there" comment.

I haven't vented my crankcase fumes to the air, I was just pointing out that it is still done.

I also think following the intent of the law is way more important than following the letter. Sure I've modified my crankcase ventilation system, but the vapors are still consumed by the engine, I not polluting anyone's air.

Still, I really like the smell of diesel exhaust wafting in the air on a spring day!

Dave

 

DneprDave made a claim of legality that is not entirely true. As a counter-example, I cited statute of a state in his region (NAM says his location is "Pacific NW") as an example where his claim of legality and lack of a fine is false.

Perhaps DD is not in Oregon, and perhaps user modification of emissions control equipment is legal in his region... as previously stated, these things do vary from place to place. But the blanket statement of legality is misleading, at best.

I don't really know where you're coming from with this question... (maybe the above clarification answered it for you?)

In general terms, I feel the intent of a law is the base import of it... but that the letter of the law something to at least understand and be aware of so as to avoid getting entangled in it.

-------

I should add that my part of this legality discussion has been entirely in the context of venting the crankcase to open air, as was initially mentioned back in post #406 and DnperDave seemed to support in post #410.

 

Got my car back from the dealer where the dealer's foreman worked on my car for about 2 weeks taking care of all my concerns (after bitching to MINI USA for a while). A factory engineer came to check it out as well. They cited my catch can and boost port as having a modified pcv system and that it caused the ecu to register interruptions in the pcv system and recommended that it be removed. They did however approve of the catch can and said it was a good mod, but that the boost tap block off probably lowers performance.

My car didn't have much as much carbon buildup as other cars they've seen with similar miles (28k), but still had enough to cause some hesitation on acceleration. They still did a goodwill cleaning of the valves (method unknown) and a fuel system cleaning. Car certainly runs smoother and is quicker. Took the boost port off since I'm going to sell the car next year anyways.

 

 

...

 

Quick question for those running the 42 Draft Design Stealth OCC. What else is needed to fit this to the Mini. I know some use the BSH Dual Tap, but from a connections POV the BSH seems to come with everything and teh 42 Draft Designs I guess is OCC only.

Reason being I can only get the 42 Draft Designs Stealth can here in the UK straight away and shipped it costs £87.60. The BSH item is £181 shipped !!!! And surely the only difference is some hoses and connectors (and a dipstick on the BSH).

I am going to need the OCC quite soon before I fit my new JCW Turbo and Evolve FMIC.