Crankcase venting...

[Workinman]

I'm converting a 66 Belvedere race car back to street duty and I'm wondering what I need to do as far as crankcase ventilation. The car has a 440 in it and the PO had hoses that ran from the valve covers down to a bung on each header. I'm changing valve covers and headers and no longer have that option. Can I just use those little filters that you push into the valve covers? Please give me your thoughts.
thanks,
Chris

 

[SlinktRR]

I'm converting a 66 Belvedere race car back to street duty and I'm wondering what I need to do as far as crankcase ventilation. The car has a 440 in it and the PO had hoses that ran from the valve covers down to a bung on each header. I'm changing valve covers and headers and no longer have that option. Can I just use those little filters that you push into the valve covers? Please give me your thoughts.
thanks,
Chris

PCV valve in one valve cover with hose going to vacuum port on carb, with breather cap on other valve cover with hose going to air cleaner. You can find diagrams of factory setups in the old Chrysler manuals for your car..search "cleaner air system" or evaporation control system (ecs) for later model cars.

 

[Workinman]

I was afraid you were going to say that! I don't have a vacuum port on my carb and I don't have a port on my air cleaner. Carb is a 950 Holley, and the air filter is a K&N with the open top for the functional scoop. It looks like some type of port may be able to be installed under the filter, but there is nothing there as of now. There is also NO vacuum port on the Mopar intake I can tap into.

 

[A383Wing]

pcv has to be connected to intake manifold vacuum...there should be a 3/8 hose nipple on the carb to plug the hose onto

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

You can tap a hole into the intake,OR install a half inch spacer under the carb and tap a hole in that if it doesn't come with one.

 

[SlinktRR]

Right, as long as you have source of vacuum on pcv the ventilation will work. But you have to have a source of air going into the crankcase as well to balance out the pcv pulling air out, thus the breather. If you can't plumb the other cover into the air cleaner, just run a breather cap with filter. Or run breathers only.

 

[themechanic]

This is a link to air cleaners but shows photos of the engines with hoses and breathers and such. Just scroll down to your 1966 model.

My 1969 440 has a PCV valve on pass side and a push in breather on the driver side. I have a aftermarket chrome air cleaner.

http://www.nicksgarage.com/aircleaner.htm

 

[Workinman]

Okay, guys. Thanks. Looks like I'm gonna get me a spacer to go under the carb and tap into it for the PCV valve. Then I will just run a little breather filter on the other valve cover for it to get air from. Thanks!

 

[70rr-brian]

You could just add breathers to the valve covers and vent atmospherically.

 

[67 coronet]

you dont really need a pcv valve.i dont run them on my more radical street engs.just put breathers in both covers and be done.if you change the oil on a regular basis you dont need to worry about build up due to less venting.

 

[scotts74birds]

With out a pvc, the breathers tend to "drool". I'd rather have the breather as an "air-intake", than an oily exhaust that vents "blow-by" all over the engine compartment. I'd try to fab something into the air-cleaner base from a pvc to try to provide a "negative-pressure" to the crankcase.

 

[Workinman]

Okay... I've installed a spacer plate under the carb with a hose nipple on it. Can I just hook that to the breather that I have on one valve cover that has its own hose nipple? I will run another breather on the other valve cover that does not have a nipple on it. Then I should have a way for air to get in and the manifold vacuum should suck it out the other side. Do I need to have a PCV valve or can I just run the breather with a hose nipple?
thanks, Chris

 

[Cranky]

You need to use the valve as it will prevent a backfire from entering the valve cover since it's a one way valve.

 

[67 B-body]

Use a PCV VALVE.... Hook it to MANIFOLD VACUUM....... put a BREATHER CAP on the other valve cover..... DONE.......
It doesn't have to include the air filter housing at all..........

 

[Workinman]

Use a PCV VALVE.... Hook it to MANIFOLD VACUUM....... put a BREATHER CAP on the other valve cover..... DONE.......
It doesn't have to include the air filter housing at all..........

Okay. That's what I will do. Thanks!

 

[bobtile]

Not to jack Workinmans post, but I wanted to go in the other direction and see what you guys thought. I originally was driving the car to cruise nights and car shows. I have a pcv valve to the carb base and a breather on the other side. I started going to the track more often and think that more of my time will be spent there. I will however, still be driving on the street. On the street, even with some occasional "outbursts", the engine compartment has always been completely dry. When I go to the track, after my runs, I have always had an oil mist covering everything. Not a lot, but enough to burn off the headers and have the guy at the burnout box take a peek underneath. Never anything dripping. I don't know exactly where its coming from. Any ideas? should I run two breathers at the track? I heard that an scavenge system wouldn't work on the street.

 

[A383Wing]

sounds like you got a little too much blow-by past the rings

 

[67Satty]

Not to jack Workinmans post, but I wanted to go in the other direction and see what you guys thought. I originally was driving the car to cruise nights and car shows. I have a pcv valve to the carb base and a breather on the other side. I started going to the track more often and think that more of my time will be spent there. I will however, still be driving on the street. On the street, even with some occasional "outbursts", the engine compartment has always been completely dry. When I go to the track, after my runs, I have always had an oil mist covering everything. Not a lot, but enough to burn off the headers and have the guy at the burnout box take a peek underneath. Never anything dripping. I don't know exactly where its coming from. Any ideas? should I run two breathers at the track? I heard that an scavenge system wouldn't work on the street.

I was having the same exact problem at the track. On the passenger side valve cover I had a PCV on the back of the valve cover going into the carb base. On the driver's side I had one of those twist on breathers with the little vent holes in a ring along the bottom that served as a combo breather/oil fill cap that was also on the back side of the valve cover. Enough would mist out on the top end to get on the headers on make a cloud of smoke and get the track officials excited.

So what I did was drill a hole in the front of the driver's valve cover and put one of the Moroso Mopar-style breathers there and used the twist-on hole on the back of the valve cover for a proper oil fill cap. The breather has a rubber hose coming off it like you would run to a header bung, only I run it down to a catch can under the battery tray just in case it ever wants to spew but so far I don't think it has. I took it to the track last week and so far, so good, problem solved.

I think you maybe need to have the PCV kitty corner from the breather on the opposite side. So if the PCV is on the back of the passenger side, the breather should be on the front of the driver's side. Also, I think when I had the breather on the back, oil was sloshing back there on launch. Anyway, that's what worked for me.

 

[67 B-body]

Are you guys having issues, using baffles in the valve covers?

 

[bobtile]

Are you guys having issues, using baffles in the valve covers?

I do have baffles in the valve covers.