Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Closing original vent after Enviro-Guard install

[rotohead]

I'm wondering if anybody has done this or run into the same problem I have after installing the $275 Cummins Enviro-Guard unit. As my signature indicates I have a 98. 5 24v and stock has the crankcase vent exiting the block just above the lift pump location using a plastic hose running down just inside the left frame rail next to the starter. I installed the Enviro-Guard a few months ago to stop the oil dripping on my garage floor. It seems to me that it is necessary to plug the original vent hole somehow in addition to the Enviro-Guard unit. It still drips oil, less than before but still for the money spent, not much improvement. I'm relocating my lift pump now too so this would be the time to do it. Problem I see is the original vent is a metal tube that is attached to the block and makes a 90* downward turn right out of the block and is about 2-3 inches long before it's hose clamped to the plastic hose. It seems to me removing the plastic hose and just sticking a plug of some sort into the metal tube would allow oil to fill up that pipe much like it's doing now with my pill bottle at the bottom on the plastic tube. It seems everyone that has done this EnviroGuard install are 01-02 guys that don't have this rearward vent location but the timing cover location. Just wondering if someone has suggestions for a 98. 5 guy like me (the kit said it was for 1998-2002 models). Lotta money to spend and still have oil dripping on the floor. Are there problems I'm creating if I plug that original vent up?
Chuck

 

[bmoeller]

As long as the Enviro-Guard provides sufficient venting, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to plug the old one. And, as long as the oil that might sit in the tube has a safe place to go on the topside, it shouldn't be a problem either.