96 854 n/a smoke under distributor cap

eriscentro · Post by **eriscentro** » 31 May 2014, 08:07

Good morning guys-
I just came in from removing the bolt from my AC charge valve, which I sheared a few weeks ago. Both today, as well as a few days ago, I noticed that with the hood open, I found smoke coming out from under the distributor cap. I don't know if this is a coincidence or not, but last week, after I put gas in the car for the first time in about 2 months (half a tank lasts a while when you don't drive it much), I got a P0455 about 10-15 miles later. My gas cap appears to be fine, and the hose between the purge valve and the manifold seems fine as well. Back to this issue: the amount of smoke was small, and barely even noticeable at times. It seemed to stop for a minute or so, but I may have just been unable to see it, as it was extremely bright outside. Attached is a picture. The smoke was coming from a rubber coupling directly under the distributor cap. This coupling appeared to have two hoses running from the passenger side of the car, which ran towards the block. The side closest to the radiator ran out and appeared to go into the tubing between the air box and the block. I touched the coupling with the car off, and it certainly felt loose between the two linked pieces. Where is this smoke coming from, and does it have anything to do with the P0455 CEL?

Post by **Glencoeteen** » 31 May 2014, 17:29

I dont know N/A motor set ups too well, but I would think given the area and general direction of hose travel I would say Flame Trap/PCV system, like i said i don't know the set up of a n/a but i know there are some on here who know better about them.

when the engine is warm and you pull the dipstick do you have the white puff?

On my T5 the hose that comes from the PCV box below the intake to the intake hose was cracked where it bends around the head and would puff from there right below my cap

eriscentro · Post by **eriscentro** » 31 May 2014, 19:57

I just took a look. There is smoke coming out of the dipstick, as well as smoke coming out of the block when I remove the oil fill cap.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 31 May 2014, 20:46

If you still have the flame trap you can take it out and just throw it away and that might help things but it sounds like you are due for PCV service.

...Lee

eriscentro · Post by **eriscentro** » 01 Jun 2014, 07:43

I'm yet to actually check if the flame trap is still within the coupling. Does the flame trap contribute to the smoke creation, or does it just serve as another block in the system? I'm tool-less at school and don't plan to touch the PCV system for about a month or 700-800 miles. The tank is just about to hit 140K in within a few hundred.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 01 Jun 2014, 08:28

The flame trap gets clogged up with crud and it blocks the system, it really doesn't have any other legitimate purpose.

Be careful when you disconnect the bayonet mount from the intake snorkel, the large plastic line that goes to the bayonet mount is usually pretty brittle and it will easily break.

...Lee

eriscentro · Post by **eriscentro** » 01 Jun 2014, 10:22

Ozark Lee wrote:The flame trap gets clogged up with crud and it blocks the system, it really doesn't have any other legitimate purpose.

Be careful when you disconnect the bayonet mount from the intake snorkel, the large plastic line that goes to the bayonet mount is usually pretty brittle and it will easily break.

...Lee

I hadn't seen this message before I went out, and was pretty rough on this line when trying to break and reconnecting the coupling. Hopefully it didn't break - It didn't feel like it did (would it through a CEL?). What is the function of the smaller of the two lines? I had a hell of a time trying to reconnect it to the coupling. The junction piece between the coupling and the harder, smaller line kept coming off the harder line, and it was a real pain getting it back on. Frankly, I'm not sure how well connected they are once I finished, but the harder line and the junction piece seemed to be connected. If disconnected (or not connected so well), will there be a problem with the system?

eriscentro · Post by **eriscentro** » 01 Jun 2014, 10:33

I forgot to note - sure enough my flame trap was filled with gunk. I took it out (I'm tempted to clean it and reinsert it since it serves as a crud filter, but apparently most suggest to just chuck it) and cleaned around the coupling, but there was still some crud since I only had some paper towels to clean the port. On a side note, VADIS says to turn the coupling left to remove it, but I needed to turn it right.\
EDIT: I understand that the flame trap gets clogged very quickly/easily, which is why it's popular to garbage it, but isn't it better to have the trap be clogged rather than have the gunk flow through the rest of the system?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 01 Jun 2014, 20:10

I suppose a case can be made either way but my observation is that it actually causes more crud than it traps. When things flow freely the vapor gets sucked on through the system and there isn't that much residue. Once it starts to clog, however, it slows the velocity of the vapors and they begin to condense which of course causes things to slow down even more and so on and so on.

...Lee

eriscentro · Post by **eriscentro** » 01 Jun 2014, 21:37

One last thing. I'm planning to put 600-700 miles on the car before I touch the PCV system. Are there any additives (like a seafoam kind of product) which can help clean the system?