gravitate Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) I have a 99 Outback Wagon 5spd that I did a 2.2 swap in. The engine was out of a 94 legacy. The engine only has 125k miles on it driven by a 80 yr old grandma. The engine looks absolutely brand new inside the valve covers with no tarnish or dark residue at all. Ive got 135 to 150 psi per cylinder. Problem is I'm using about a quart of oil between fill ups. Had this problem on my last engine too and thats why I changed it. This is the driest engine I've ever seen without a single leak. It doesn't smoke either so wheres all the oil going? Not in the coolant I know. I checked the PCV valve and it works great, but the hose that comes up to the valve from the case has a good bit of fresh oil in it. I'm thinking I'm misting the oil somehow and it's burning up and not smoking. Ive done many 2.2 swaps before with no problem. What makes this different is that I took a intake manifold off a 95 with a egr and hooked it up to this engine. I took the big hose that goes from the egr to the engine and instead hooked it up to the hose right below the PCV (the hose with the oil in it.) I just made a "T" connector to splice this in so besides that it is just the way it is stock. I did this to create the vacuum the pcv requires to not throw a CEL code. So my question is do you think that this is whats causing oil to get into my intake or do you have any other ideas? Based on other my google searches I see that many people have this problem with other cars so I'm also hoping any answer may help others figure their problems out too. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Edited July 20, 2014 by gravitate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 My guess is the baffle plate (oil separator) is all gunked up. Pull the hose off the crank vent and take a look inside for sludge buildup. PErhaps do an engine flush and continue with high quality oil. Even the conventional oil nowadays far exceeds the standards for oil back in the 90's. You said grandma driving, with that, i vode sludge buildup. Best to just replace thePCV as although the little jangly bit inside will jiggle, it may not be seating properly if there is buildup on it. 5w30 oil is not recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravitate Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 There is build up inside the crank vent hose. Is there a way to clean the oil separator without removing the engine? The PCV is working great. I took it out and blew thru it fine then turned it around and no air gets thru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I suppose try to poke it ouy with a stick, dig around in there if you can and break it down. Perhaps use synthetic oil that will break it down as you drive. Put some 0w40 in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 (edited) You connected the EGR to the PCV hose? This is probably the problem. Connect your EGR pipe directly to the intake tube over near the IAC hose. With it connected to the PCV tubing the EGR is pulling vacuum on the PCV which is pulling more vacuum than normal in the crankcase. The PCV system is designed to pull only a certain amount of air through the crankcase. You may have doubled or even tripled the amount of air being sucked through the crankcase and its pulling oil out with it. I have two EJ22s, over 235k miles on each, which I run exclusively on 5w-30 oil. Edited July 21, 2014 by Fairtax4me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I'm gonna agree that the connection between the EGR and the PCV is likely the issue...... But there is one other thing.......Did you reseal the oil pan???? And if so did you install a new o-ring at the back of the pan were the seprator drain tube is?? If you didn't replace that o-ring....you definately could be sucking up oily vapor and splash from the bottom of the pan. you likely would be seeing oily residue out the exhaust though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravitate Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 So it's been a while since I hooked up the EGR hose. It is actually hooked up to the IAC hose like it's supposed to be. So I'm back where I started. I didn't change the pan seal or the separator plate because they were not leaking at all. Any other ideas? If the oil separator is the culprit would it hurt to pour a bottle of Seafoam in thru the PVC hose from the engine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravitate Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 I also just realized that I had used the EGR tube (plastic tube coming from motor) from my old motor so it is actually this that is caked with grime. When I look down into the engine it is very clean looking but I can still tell that oil is coming up thru there. I noticed there is a good bit of pressure coming up from that tube, probably equal if not more than the suction coming from the EGR. I also noticed that I get no suction or pressure going to the valve cover breather tubes but maybe this is normal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Can you blow air through the breather tubes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravitate Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Yep. Tubes are clean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Its possible the vent chambers in the valve covers are clogged. Did you blow through the tubes with them still attached? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravitate Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Yep, they worked just fine too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Then it seems to me that its working normally. There shouldn't be pressure pushing anything up through the breather tubes. There will be oily residue in the PCV tubing because that's the cruddy oil vapor that the PCV system is supposed to suck out of the crankcase. There will normally be some push out of the PCV hoses with the engine running. If you open the oil cap you'll usually feel a little pulsing there. Just because the PCV valve rattles doesnt mean kts workin properly. Part of the PCV valves job is to limit how much flows through the PCV tubing. Too much and it starts sucking clean oil up into the intake. Too little and it leads to sludge formation in the crankcase. Varnish will build in the pistons rings and more oil will get pished past the rings and burned off in the combustion chamber. If the PCV valve is old, replace it. I recommend Genuine Subaru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I have been impressed with the 'made in japan" 3 dollar PCV aftermarket. Avoid the $2/99 and it is very cheap in comparison. I got my bets part at NAPA from the Altrom (oem supply) brand. Do this if it costs les s than the dealer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravitate Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 Just picked one up from napa. Will update results in 300 miles. Thanks for your help guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravitate Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 I'm thinking the amount of pressure coming from the case is causing oil to shoot up that tube so I'm thinking I should put a oil catch can before my pcv. Anyone ever great of a oil catch can with a oil return so it returns the oil automatically? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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