Crank Case 35 PSI.jpg
...and I blew up my valve cover today.
This is a typical FET PWM board:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3X-Elect...53.m1438.l2649
As you can see, three boards for cheep cheep. But quality.....umm....yeah, not sure. I don't really trust those China semiconductors, but I can always just replace the dubious parts and solder in some quality, but I can test proof of concept with the board as it stands.
Edit: FWIW, the Hella SSR I have seen numerous videos demonstrating its use as a PWM pump controller. A few ECU makers also sell this part as an accessory, but with their own brand label on it. Hella say that it is good for 1Khz PWM.
Valve cover? Did you nuke a piston or two or just kink a vent hose?
Last edited by Nutzy; 12-16-2017 at 08:47 PM.
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Was it an oily mess?
The valve cover failure was not caused directly by an engine issue.
I have been working on cold start tuning, and parked the car outside to freeze the engine. The Catch can and filter also froze. When the engine was started, there was no-where for normal blow-by to escape, so pressure started to build. Eventually the pressure in the crank case was enough that when coasting in gear, oil was being pushed into the combustion chamber resulting in plumes of smoke behind the car when lifting off the throttle.
At this point the oil temp was still very low, so I thought I was having a scavenging problem from the turbo due to the thickness of the oil. (From being cold) Keep in mind I haven't driven the car when it's been "frozen" before, so all of this was new territory. I checked that the scavenge pump was working, and it was, so I decided to limp the car back to my shop to further investigate. Shortly after, I saw some smoke from the engine compartment, and stopped again to check under the hood. This time I could see that oil was being sprayed from the valve cover area.....but I couldn't see anything dripping down onto the turbo manifold, so I decided to continue driving back to my shop at low RPMs.
When I pulled the data from the car, everything became clear what had happened. I checked the catch can line for flow, and was seriously restricted. I had literally frozen the engine up.
Talking to some mechanic friends, they said that this was actually a pretty common problem now with heavy equipment. The solution applied there is to have the CCV system heated by circulating coolant around and through various components.
The biggest contributor to this issue is that I've mounted the catch can away from the engine in a place that receives a lot of cold air directly. The OEMs in contrast are now mounting their systems under the intake manifold next to the engine block to keep them warm.
Image Testing
Last edited by PEI330Ci; 12-17-2017 at 08:34 PM.
Must be really cold up there. I have never had a problem in NH, car is parked outside and driven in winter. Had a catch can for most of the past 12 years. Temps are below 0 F on rare occasions and below freezing most of winter.
Interesting. I was going to comment we have had issues with crank vent lines freezing in the cold chamber causing the same end result. I thought it wouldnt be relevant....
We use resistance heaters on the lines to keep from freezing. We also hook the test cell up to crank case pressure to shut things down if the vent is not working. Maybe set up crank case pressure to a torque limit or something as a safety since you live in a cold climate??
Last edited by wazzu70; 12-18-2017 at 12:01 AM.
Normal diff ear:
Broken diff ear:
The entire diff rotated:
Light damage:
The diff cover was damaged in shipping in September, but I decided to use it check the fitment of the driveshaft and axles. Then I decided to drive the car.....which was a mistake. I fixed this more than a week ago....
Diff oil after about 100 miles of break-in:
Ready to change the cover:
Making the swap:
Injector upgrade:
I had to extend the injector harness by 10cm:
Dmitry,
This is what I mean by "rotated":
Out tuning low-load VE:
Parting shot:
Ironically there's actually a recall on E90s/etc. right now with the CCV heater causing fires, just an FYI!
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...res/828690001/
At least we know that the M54 Dipstick will hold 35 PSI of crank case pressure.
I'm going to remove the valve cover, and try using a plastic epoxy to put it back together....
Could be worth trying to plastic weld it with an epoxy backing.. But it probably has glass fiber in it, not sure how that would react to plastic welding.
I have ordered some of those FET boards, I will let ya'll know how it goes.
It was supposed to hit 102F here yesterday, so I took the E30 out for some stress test. It ended up only hitting 95F, but temps always stayed under control and the 16" PWM controlled SPAL never hit much over about 60%.
I also hurt the feelings of a dude showing off in an AMG A45, roll race from 2nd. He had my measure in 2nd because I was laying 11's down, but 3rd gear tore the AMG a new asshole! He'd have done me like a roast turkey from a dig though!
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Damn Adam 35 psi in the crank case? Check the front and rear mains man. As you prob know, dipsticks always hold massive pressure due to small surface area. It's the bigger gaskets and seals that let the smoke out.
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