Oil in Intake

[welwynnick]

How many times have I dreamed of having a lift.... Still, there's always a chance of 6 numbers coming up.

You don't need six numbers - three will do. I used to dream of having a lift for a long time, then I looked at what they actually cost, and realised it was a fraction of a percent of the value of the land that the garage sits on. So a few years ago I spent some time finding one that would fit in a domestic garage and run on domestic mains, and now I have a four post lift in my garage.

And now I wish I hadn't, so be careful what you wish for.

With 4 post lifts, the ramps that you drive your car on get in the way of everything, and you're often better off with just jacks and stands. Garages moved over to two post lift for most work because wheel/brake/suspension access is unimpeded. However, two post lifts need more headroom than most domestic garages have, and they need thicker concrete in the floor. A scissor lift is probably a better compromise for domestic garages.

Nick

[Jim Haseltine]

My garage is too small and too close to the property line. Having said that, there was a guy not far from me who put one outside his garage.... and a check on Streetview shows that it's gone now.
I'd need 6 numbers because I've been told that if I move there would be other things 'more important' than a decent size workshop.

[cammmy]

I grew up in NZ and as I was getting into cars, mum moved us to a property with a barn, so I was kind of spoiled. Moving back to the UK was a real shock and I quickly got sick of working on cars on a gravel drive (jack stands were on concrete but the strip between the wheels was gravel). When I was ready to buy a place here I had a short list of criteria.

Walking distance to station
Not a total sh*thole
Room for garage

I specifically looked for one that had room for a garage but no existing one. I knew I was going to have a lift and that no UK garage would have the space or floor for one. I found a place that ticket all the boxes but the only issue was permitted development rules limiting height. I found a short post lift but unfortunately it was about double the price of a full size one. Building from scratch was awesome though. 300mm thick floor, double skinned and insulated, shaped perfectly to fit the plot, double glazed windows. The builder put in a proper electricity supply. I think there's either 60 or 90 amps going in and there are separate breakers inside for the lights and door, sockets, big socket for the lift etc.

You can't stand under a car but with a reclining creeper it's still pretty life changing.

I'm a decent hobbyist mechanic but I wouldn't go further than that. In fact, if the engine does come out of the RS, I may get someone to do it, as I can see it taking me a long time and I want to get the mini built.

[cammmy]

For those interested, the lift is from Garage Equipment Online and was about £1,600. It needs a 300mm thick floor but the one thing I didn't count on is that it also has to be a certain distance from the edge of the pad, so the posts are closer together than I had planned. Makes getting in an out a pain on wide cars like the RS and the Esprit. With the RS, I just go through the window

[cammmy]

My new filters have arrived. Putting everything back together so I can move the car into the garage, I noticed that there's oily gunk on the post-filter side of the airbox and the recirc valve; which would imply oily air is being re-circulated. I'm guessing that doesn't help diagnosis between PCV and turbo seals much though? As the PCV is connected both pre and post turbo?

[Jim Haseltine]

I wouldn't worry too much at the moment - your filters weren't actually doing much were they? It's surprising how far the oil from foam filters can blow to through an intake even when the foam is in one piece.

[cammmy]

oay cool, I just did the other side and it was pretty clean though. No oily residue in the L/H airbox.

I'll play musical cars this evening and get it back into the garage.

Is it possible to the the seperator off the top of the oil tank with it in the car? I may try clean it out.

[Jim Haseltine]

No it isn't. There's 3 (I think, possibly only 2) screws that you can't get to and one of the breather pipes is awkward to release as well.

[cammmy]

Arse.

Oh one other thing, there seems to be misting on the oil tank. Should there be something plugged in here?

[cammmy]

Okay, first up, I had slightly more than a litre too much oil in there (checking it by getting the car hot, letting it idle and then shutting it off and waiting a couple of mins). So it now at the max mark when hot but switched off.

I got the pipes off and oil came out of both. More on the R/H than the left. It looks like the pipes have never been off before.

L/H

R/H

It also seems that whatever is letting oil out up front has been doing it for a while.

Also took the oil separator off the head. The diaphragm is intact and the one way valve below it is working.

In the oil separator, is the orange part a baffle, rather than a one way valve?

I guess I'll drive it around for a bit more and pull the pipes off again to have a look. I'm hoping it's just me not knowing how to fill it/check the oil level properly. It doesn't blow any smoke when driving.

[drybeer]

Arse.

Oh one other thing, there seems to be misting on the oil tank. Should there be something plugged in here?

Hope that’s not gone porous. It’s rather expensive.

[cammmy]

Ah, is that something they're known for?

[Jim Haseltine]

Misting on the oil tank. There's no seal between the plastic around the dipstick hole and the metal of the tank so any oil that drips or spills there ends up running down the tank and collects the road dust and general <beep> that comes through the front of the car - I'd wipe it off and see how it goes before worrying. Ditto for the oil on the braided pipes.
The orange part in the oil separator is a rubber flap valve which should only allow separated oil into the rocker cover when there is no pressure in the crank case.
Having some difficultly visualising what the other pipes are that you've pictured.

[cammmy]

The two braided pipes pictured are under the oil tank, showing the oil and dirt. The intercooler pipe on that side was caked in oily grime as well.

The orange flap definitely lets air past in both directions, is that an issue?

[Jim Haseltine]

The orange flap isn't a perfect seal, even on a new unit. On the edge of the big plastic disc on top of the unit towards the front sort of directly behind the alloy throttle pipe is a vent hole - if it's blowing oil mist from there (there'll be an obvious stain on the throttle pipe) then the diaphragm is split - not a cheap item.
It's the L/H & R/H pipes I'm not sure about. The ones I was on about are the cloth covered rubber hoses between the turbos and the bottom of the inter coolers. Ah, just thought, your car is stage 2 isn't it? Wonder if the rubber hoses have been replaced by hard pipes?