Dip stick has smoke coming out still

[mrjacobrussell]

I had reamed the drain hole and blown through it. so I pulled the make shift heater hose pipe off and found it full of the same sludge that was in my return box.. unfortunately I blew backwards on the hose a little and may have blown that condensation sludge back into the catch box. I found the car doesn't smoke if I pull the dip stick out.

At this point if the engine doesn't pull and burn off the leftover sludge I'll have to pull it all apart again. Thankfully I'm waiting for a rebuilt throttle body unit to show up. When it does show ill take a afternoon and pull it apart again

[cn90]

The idea behind PCV overhaul is not so much smoke but rather crankcase pressure.

Even a brand-new from the show room has combustion gases in the crankcase, it is the nature of the gasoline engine.

So the idea behind PCV overhaul is to decrease crankcase pressure, if you see a bit of smoke when you pull the dipstick, it is probably "normal".

All you care is no excessive pressure, so...
- Cut a "finger" off the rubber gloves.
- Place it over dipstick housing with rubber band.
- Run engine, it should not inflate. If it inflates, then you have positive crankcase pressure.

The bottom line is: if you have overhauled your PCV and still have some small amount of smoke in the dipstick, and as long as you have no leak from the cam/crank seals, then you are probably OK.

[rspi]

I found that most people have the smoking dipstick when the hose to the side of the manifold is torn or clogged.

I would do the glove test and maybe a compression test to see how they pan out.

[QuirkySwede]

Generic Oil Change and Swepco 502 for 500 miles ... and Los Gatos Ferrari is a customer. ... Just be very, very, very careful with the Seafoam.

I would avoid all "oil additives" unless they have a MSDS that explicitly calls out the ingredients and proportions so you know exactly what you're adding, then research IF it is appropriate BEFORE using, and if so, HOW.

Seafoam consists of Pale Oil (lubricant), Naphtha (thinner, varnish remover), and IPA (to pull water into mixture).
http://seafoamsales.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/MSDS_seafoam_EN.pdf
Those are relatively acceptable for use with gasoline (IPA is in Iso-Heet, Naphtha has been used as an octane modifier, combustion system already sees oil via PCV) within certain limits.

The key ingredient of Swepco 502 is "Xylenes" which are also thinners.
http://www.swepcolube.com/sites/default/files/package_inserts/502%20English%20UN1993.pdf

Which is more important:
Removing "varnish" from the insides of a motor?
or
Maintaining the viscosity and other characteristics which allows an oil to protect motor components?

Running a thinner in your motor oil changes its viscosity. One will note that many "engine cleaners" state to NOT run the motor under load when using the product, only to circulate, flush, and fill with oil.

Lucas oils, K&N, Slick 50, PIAA and more simply separate people from their money for a psychological boost that the owner feels they are doing something good for their vehicle (without much labor). Dealers, high end and low end, are in it to make a profit and would sell pink elephants if people wanted to buy them. If these really made the oil better, why don't Mobil/Penzoil/Valvoline/etc. just incorporate them? Much of the brown varnish is cosmetic and does not affect operation or movement (if it did, it would be wiped clean, but that would require metal-to-metal contact). Dislodging sludge then circulating it is as bad as doing the same for plaque in blood arteries where in can float and block a smaller "capillary" giving that motor component a "stroke."

The right way is to disassemble and clean each component, verifying each passage is clean and clear BEFORE operating the motor. But that costs time+money, so some out there take advantage of the desire for a cheaper+quicker fix and offer legless reptile lubricants, and the "patients" that survive credit it, rather than the robustness of the motor. Just think of all the crap we eat that our liver, kidneys, and other organs save us from!

P.S. Water-injection IS acceptable if certain criteria are followed. It was used in aircraft decades ago to boost output (steam expansion) and has been shown to clean the combustion chamber, but dumping water down the carb is hardly the appropriate method to introduce, much less meter, H2O. The devil is in the details, right?

[Bob 88]

All you care is no excessive pressure, so...
- Cut a "finger" off the rubber gloves.
- Place it over dipstick housing with rubber band.
- Run engine, it should not inflate. If it inflates, then you have positive crankcase pressure.

The bottom line is: if you have overhauled your PCV and still have some small amount of smoke in the dipstick, and as long as you have no leak from the cam/crank seals, then you are probably OK.

The glove inflated at idle and deflated when RPM increased.
There is a light puff of smoke from the dipstick.
My RMS was replaced about six months ago.

The car is a '97 2.5 petrol 10v non turbo auto.

[mrjacobrussell]

I drove the car really hard and I think have i sucked the sludge out. The smoke in the dip stick has greatly reduced. Oil level is the same. Unfortunately I did the heater hose bypass and should have started with cleaning the block first

[MoVolvos]

Generic Oil Change and Swepco 502 for 500 miles ... and Los Gatos Ferrari is a customer. ... Just be very, very, very careful with the Seafoam.

I would avoid all "oil additives" unless they have a MSDS that explicitly calls out the ingredients and proportions so you know exactly what you're adding, then research IF it is appropriate BEFORE using, and if so, HOW.

Seafoam consists of Pale Oil (lubricant), Naphtha (thinner, varnish remover), and IPA (to pull water into mixture).
http://seafoamsales.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/MSDS_seafoam_EN.pdf
Those are relatively acceptable for use with gasoline (IPA is in Iso-Heet, Naphtha has been used as an octane modifier, combustion system already sees oil via PCV) within certain limits.

The key ingredient of Swepco 502 is "Xylenes" which are also thinners.
http://www.swepcolube.com/sites/default/files/package_inserts/502%20English%20UN1993.pdf

Which is more important:
Removing "varnish" from the insides of a motor?
or
Maintaining the viscosity and other characteristics which allows an oil to protect motor components?

Running a thinner in your motor oil changes its viscosity. One will note that many "engine cleaners" state to NOT run the motor under load when using the product, only to circulate, flush, and fill with oil.

P.S. Water-injection IS acceptable if certain criteria are followed. It was used in aircraft decades ago to boost output (steam expansion) and has been shown to clean the combustion chamber, but dumping water down the carb is hardly the appropriate method to introduce, much less meter, H2O. The devil is in the details, right?

Reduces Oil Consumption & Smoking–
Engines “burn” oil because of a gap between
worn piston rings and the cylinder walls. Oil
bypasses the piston rings and is burned in the
combustion chamber, resulting in excessive
oil consumption and exhaust smoking. The
plating action of Micronized Moly creates
closer tolerances and better lubrication
between piston rings and cylinder walls,
which in turn reduces oil consumption and
ring wear.

http://www.swepcolube.com/sites/default ... j03776.pdf

I've experience the above first hand on my S70 T5 although I've used this over the years. I have never owned a car that burns as much oil as my Volvo besides the puff of blue smoke in the morning which is gone now.

You made some good points but the MSDS does not contain all the ingredients or formulation of a product. There are many Proprietary ingredients that OSHA deems safe so it is not listed in the MSDS. The listing of one item in the MSDS does not mean that it is the main one nor how a product will characteristically perform.

We are going off topic but the OP was dealing with smoke in the dipstick and the 502 will definitely keep the engine protected while getting rid of sludge. While working as an In-home caretaker of a Quadriplegic due to a stroke the doctors were prescribing two drugs which counteracted each other but they worked well when balanced. In his case one was a stool softener and the other was a diuretic to keep his lungs clear of fluids. Trust me when they were not balance I had to deal with the mess. Back to the 502 it does contain both a sludge remover while protecting, coating and sealing surfaces with others. Thanks for the info as it did help me to think even more about what is in a product and how things which seem counter but still yet can be Synergistic.

Blessings,

BKM
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