Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) All 98 and up 24 valves READ! Oil vent Solution

[EricBu12]

This is still working good, no residue by the top of the valve cover where the unit is inserted, No noticable drips on the ground or under the truck.



The fact that the valve cover is the highest point of the motor, verses the front of the motor where the OEM is, and that the unit goes UP and out, has alot less chance of having drips or big vapor.



The unit has like a scotch pad inside to catch most of the junk. I would say there is about a 70% reduction of drips and junk out the hose. .

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

It's been my assumption the the reason the stock oil vent setup causes oil loss on steep downgrades is due to the pumping effect of the spinning gears in the front cover where the stock vent is located - once the lowest gear is immersed in the oil as can happen when the engine is severly tilted forward, the oil then "climbs" the geartrain, and gets pumped out the easiest escape path - the oil vent!



Eric's method totally eliminates that path, and since there is no geartrain at the location he uses, no unusual oil flow even at extreme engine angles.



Only thing is, you COULD do the same thing simply by removing the stock oil fill cap on the FRONT of the valve cover (no gears at that location either!), and using THAT point to install a breather as Eric has done at ther rear, without the need to remove the valve cover and do the drilling bit - same scheme, but much easier!



After all - the POINT here is simply to move the vent from the gear chamber up into the valve cover - whether the installation is at the front, rear or center of the valve cover in NO way affects the function - so why not do it the EASY way?



Eric's method is great - certainly an improvement over the lame stock setup - and I like Eric's apparent "outside the box" attitude, where he sees a need, comes up with a solution, and let the warranty be derned...



After all, WE are the ones PAYING for these trucks - why not make the changes to them that suit US, without being held hostage by a dern warranty?

 

[Hohn]

beware of magnesium

Guys, just thought I'd mention a possible safety issue.



The valve cover on some of our trucks is made of MAGNESIUM, NOT ALUMINUM (if I remember correctly). I think this is the case on all the ETH trucks.



Anyhow, beware of magnesium shavings when grinding on your valve cover. The shavings ignite easily (just a little spark) and burn at over 5400 degrees!!



Ever seen one of those magnesium fire starters? Your valve cover might work the same way if you aren't careful.



Justin

 

[Hohn]

By the way, Gary is right about the vent location.



Think for a second about how extreme an angle would have to be to allow oil to accumulate at the TOP side of the engine (valvetrain, etc). I would guess that an angle extreme enough to cause oil to pour out the filler cap (if used as a vent) woudl ALSO be extreme enough to cause oil starvation at the pump pickup. At this point, a little oil leaking out is the LEAST of your worries!





Justin

 

[DDrenkhahn]

I did the hose fix for the vent by running 6 ft of 3/4" hose over the top of the engine and along the inside of the frame rail. Before this, I had an awful mess on the front of the engine, and I was losing 2-1/2 to 3 quarts of oil between oil changes (6,000 to 7,000 miles). Now, I lose a quart or less in the same amount of miles, and there isn't a mess where the hose vents. However, I have not done the "hill" test on this. So be warned if your a mountain climber.



Why was I losing so much oil? I believe that the engine fan creates a low pressure area around the stock breather (fast moving air = low pressure) compared to the inside of the engine and actually siphons oil vapor out of the engine. Of course, the oil winds up condensing on everything the fan blows it on.



Doesn't it seem strange that we have to screw around with stuff like this? Personally, I would pay a little more for a truck to avoid having to deal with this crap. Although, the vent issue is minor compared to other problems I've had.

 

[EricBu12]

TTT



There is still alot of interrest here



This still is working good. If there is a little residue on the end of the hose, that is the extent of it.



I ground the cover down slowly with a burr on a drill so there was not any chance of a spark... and the hole drill was slow as well.



I have towed with this setup and no problems, I have a 28' TT



I agree the oil cap vent idea is a good one as well but this seems to be a little neeter being the vent is back and almost out of sight... .

 

[EricBu12]

TTT



Found some more posts on other threads reguarding this subject. Returning to the top for others to see it. Copied this thread to the other thread... .

 

[EricBu12]

Been awhile since I brought this to the top. I went on a steep downhill and no oil leaked out. This is the thing that worked for me... .

 

[EricBu12]

TTT



Found some more interrest on this

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

More related info:



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1223632#post1223632post1223632

 

[EricBu12]

TTT



Thought more newbies should see this... . A post was saying that they have a broken bottle... ...

 

[JJ Jackson]

More related info:



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1223632#post1223632post1223632

I saw your related info, can't you just tape a babies diaper around it? The absorbent material is also flame resistant! :-laf

 

[DennyDay]

EricBu12 - - - Thanks for a good tip!



I installed the setup on my '01 Monday and am tickled with it. had to go to NAPA to get the one for Mom's Ram as AZ only had one in stock. I drilled mine so it would be out in the clear, and wouldn't rub on the insulation at the back of the cover, just behind the Ram logo on the same side of the valve cover.



Again, thanks for a gerat tip. The oil mess on both my trucks has been driving me nuts!!



Denny

 

[EricBu12]

Denny, you will notice a drip or 2 once in a while but nowhere NEAR what was... I'd say if you want to really stay on top of it, every few days or so, wipe a rag on the end of the hose... You might see a drip trying to let go... I have a drip every so often but not much as I said... I guess a sock could be put on it as well to absorb it... But the mod I did was the elimination of the dumping on steep downhills.

 

[BDR]

Pardon my dumb questions, but what does this fix? What is the crankcase vent tube/bottle for?

 

[EricBu12]

The crankcase vent is just that. a vent for the blow-by gasses that get past the pistons to escape... . otherwise gaskets would blow. On cars, it is a PCV valve (positive crankcase ventilation) that reburns the vapor to the intake... . but because our engines are so oily and sooty, it would coat the manifold and turbo.



All Diesels have this "Road Draft Tube" ... Dodge just put a bottle on the front. This is a bad design for 2 reasons.



1st... . The oily vapor gets blown around by the fan and gets on the inside of the radiator, then dust collects... .



2nd... . If you go down a steep downhill like when off-roading, the oil will pump out the bottle about 2 quarts (been there, done that. ) ... .



So, Like on the N-14 Cummins which has the vent at the right rear corner of the valve cover, I did the same thing with the parts you see at the begining of this thread. It reduces the amount of mess you get and gets the vapor away from the radiator.

 

[BDR]

This was in another thread, is this a good fix? I've seen other fixes as well similar to this. Or even re-route the hose back into the valve cover? Like a recirculation system.



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodg...33600QQitemZ7997438228QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

 

[EricBu12]

If to do a reburn you have to go into the intake manifold. . but you get oily mess... . Just back to the valve cover wont circulate. There is a company that makes a system to reburn but it is expensive..... This took an hour and a few bucks of parts... .



Good fix? yeah... . 1050's technology.....



Just a stupid place for DC to put the vent thats all... and I found a cap that has like a splash spnge for the vapors to go though... Since it is at the top and not half-way down the front, it won't do as much drips or puke out on steep downhills... that was the main reason for the mod... . the oil out the bottle on steep downhills...

 

[DennyDay]

EricBu12 - - - It's been 3 weeks since I installed your vent fix, and just wanted to let you know how pleased I am with it!



It works great, and I'm so glad to get rid of the mess after so long.



Again, Thanks,

Denny

 

[rono]

Sounds like a great fix. Are the part numbers GM numbers or NAPA or what?

Thanks, Ron