Possible PCV fix from PTP

[crlsnlopes]

i used to smoke bad when i had a TP. i replaced the turbo with a newer version and installed a Dp. now im smoke free.

 

[bova80]

catless does not instantly cause smoke, it will cause smell but not smoke. you increase your odds of seeing smoke from the decreased backpressure which also plays in part with the vacuum the crankcase sees. But there are plenty of people that are catless that don't smoke as well.

 

[Qwik6]

I am catless and I don't smoke. 70k miles on the stock turbo. i run 5w-40 and have the ptp fix. Also an OCC. I do have a light white smoke when the car is cold. But it does not burn any oil.

 

[tunersteve]

Mark, don't throw my name out there without all the facts. I dumped my PTP fix because I saw NO change in smell or smoke (although I had no smoke when my V1 pill was installed) but removed it after I had a bearing failure, caused by the oil return line leak on my Rev. C turbo.

I'm not convinced that the pill is a solution. I'd much rather do a proper OCC setup, per the Cobb instructions, or wait for the Mazda fix. Some people are having positive effects with the pill, and I can't say its a total failure. Your results may vary.

 

[Huligan]

so I was just messing around trying to fix something with Mighty Putty (of Billy Mays fame) and realized that you could easily and cheaply make something a lot like the "PTP Pill" from Mighty Putty.

-Grab a chunk of the stuff the size of an old school computer mouse ball
-kneed it to activate the stuff so that it begins to harden
-stick it in the pvc inlet to shape it while it is still maleable.
-use a toothpick to make a hole in it
-gingerly remove it to avoid messing up the "molded" shape
-let it sit for a couple of hours til it hardens
-after letting it sit for 3 hours+ it should be rock solid. stick it back in the pvc inlet and you should have a pill with excellent fitment

you can thank me later

 

[BoostedSpd6]

so when it comes in contact with the heat and gases emitted through that system, we can thank you for the mightty putty that destroy's our engine?? theres more pressure in those lines then you think..

 

[Huligan]

TEMPERATURE LIMITATIONS: Dry: 250F, Wet: 125F
CHEMICAL RESISTANCE: Resistant to hydrocarbons, ketones, alcohols, esters, halocarbons, aqueous salt solutions and dilute acids and bases.
SHRINKAGE: Less than 1%
NON-VOLATILE CONTENT: 100%
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH: 12,000 psi
FULL CURE: 24 hours

im sure you'll be fine.

 

[Blendercloud]

What you're not taking into account is the putty isn't designed with repeated thermal expansion in mind. Over time, the thermal expansion and retraction will cause the putty to crack, crumble, and flake off at the immediate surface. The material will heat up and expand at a different rate than the surrounding metal causing issues with the clearance of the hole you poke in the center. Essentially, the hole will close up at the temperatures that it will see. Additionally, the increased velocity at the edge of the hole will cause a pretty extreme erosion effect of the putty surface because of its porous surface.

I HIGHLY recommend you do not even attempt to use that stuff.

 

[bova80]

what you could do is buy yourself some kind of cap that can go over the tube off the valve cover, drill a hole in it about the same size as ptp has done, and make sure you can slip your breather hose back over it and tighten it down.

 

[ericrapp]

Thanks for the fun help huligan!
after i rec'd mine i could not stop thinking. if i knew the dimensions i could have made this out of scrap material from the machine shop for free.
Not a knock against PTP. They seem to have done a little bit of engineering. not alot though.
Something i have wondered also was is there a downside to increasing the pressures in the crankcase?
maybe we should run old school breathers at the valve cover instead recirculating back to intake and combustion? lol i know it is against the law and i would never do anything like that.

 

[QKRTHNU]

I posted something about this in the "Official 'Smoking Turbo' thread, but I guess it makes more sense to put it here.

This fix is based on the idea that the smoking issue is fixed by reducing air flow that is going into the crankcase via the valve cover breather and therefore increasing the amount of vacuum created by the PCV system.

A lot of people run Oil Catch-Cans on the PCV circuit (This is what Cobb recommends, and is pretty standard practice on other vehicles), but very few run them on the Valve Cover Breather circuit as well. It seems like the main reasoning for this is that there isn't nearly as much oil blowby present in the Valve Cover Breather circuit.

It seems to me that if there is a problem in the Mazda PCV system where vacuum is no longer achieved after reducing back-pressure on the exhaust side of the turbo (due to a TP or DP) that adding a PCV catch-can (While still beneficial for reducing blowby gasses) would actually be adding restriction to the PCV circuit and making the problem (inability to achieve crankcase vacuum) even worse than it originally was without the catch-can.

I'm wondering if adding a catch-can (possibly even in addition to this fix from PT-Performance) to the valve cover breather circuit would accomplish the same thing; adding restriction to the valve cover breather hose to increase the vacuum in the crank case while the PCV system is active and thereby fixing the idle smoke issues just as the PT-Performance restrictor pill does; Also, it should do even more in regards to reducing Knock Retard since not only is the flow being reduced, but oil vapor should be further reduced because of the catch can.

Thoughts?

 

[dimkatz]

Interesting approach!

 

[ericrapp]

Will the catch can restrict flow? it may well not if the sizing of lines is correct. I am actually going to give this a try as i have an extra weapon r can available. good question.