Blow By Gas Recycling?

[GabrielGoes]

After looking at the service manual i see that there was infact a reason for the airbox connecting to the crank case breather... i feel bad that i got rid of it and put on pods.. how do you guys feel about the "blow by gas recycling?" i might just throw my air box back on not for just this reason but because it is just how it came from the factory..

[DanTheMan]

Recycling the blowby thru the engine is an environmentally friendly thing. It started in about '63 and even small 1.5 hp lawnmower engines have been doing this. Unless the engine is burning a lot of oil, it's not a bad thing as far as engine tuning is concerned. When you're burning a lot of oil, you'll find it fouls your air cleaner quite often. Overall, as far as engine emission regulations are concerned, I don't think it's that bad of an idea.

[GSexpress]

It is environmentally frendly, but it also provides some top end lubrication. Making valve guiedes rings and cylinders last longer. In the GS design with seperat airbox and filter it doesn't hurt the filter much as it mostly goes directly into the carbs from the top of the plenum box. It also lubes the carb slides. Of course too much of a good thing can create more problems than it helps if you're engine is dumping too much oil in the blowby. The stock air intake is only a small reduction in power. A low restriction filer and cooler air to it will do about as much for performance as pods untill you get up to 90% of redline. At high rpm is when the pods help most. And even then they suck more hot air off the engine so there is some tradeoff in real world performance. Individual air cleaners look cool, sound cool and can give you a little more power, but they can reduce the life of your engine when you take away the stock systems blowby oiling of the topend. Ford reaserchers found that it was actually one of the most significant contributors to engine longevity in the sixties and seventies.

[GabrielGoes]

haha all that info makes me want to goto the airbox even more

[gmansyz]

Actually, you should run the vent with a steel pipe and a pcv valve to the collector. When there, it actually can butrn anything that is burnable but will also create negative pressure in the crankcase. Better for power.
Greg

[GabrielGoes]

i just remembered my crank case breather/filter is always SOAKED with oil after a long run.. and in the cooler days ill see it steeming off... is this normal? what usually causes this? failing gaskets and rubber inserts?

[gmansyz]

Okay, that is normal. Remember, there is condensation in the crankcase when it cools not to mention, water is still a byproduct of combution and there are other vapors in the crankcase as well. Vent it into the collector and don't worry about it. As you can't see it then.
G