Oil Filler - Crankcase Breather

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AustHaflinger
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Oil Filler - Crankcase Breather

Post by AustHaflinger »

I understand that as my vehicle and engine is a series 2 (made in 73) it should have this type of oil filler pipe with a crankcase breather pipe going to the air intake housing where any oil fumes are sucked into the engine and burnt.
Image

On my vehicle I have this style of filler which just has a breather pipe that goes down and just exists under the engine.
Image

I found this style is very slow to fill with oil with lots of spills - not the slots in the cutaway. I foolishly opened up a couple of the slots so oil goes in quicker but the issue is that it is also easier for oil fumie gas to get out with the occasional drip of oil from the bottom of the pipe. Now I have actually sorted this by putting a kitchen stainless steel cleaner pad in there which allows the gas out but catches the oil. It is very much like the stainless mesh that catches oil in oil bath filters.

In my spares I do have the first type of oil filler so my simple question is should I change back to the correct type. I guess that Steyr Puch would not have changed them without a reason.

Thanks

Garry
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heinkeljb
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Re: Oil Filler - Crankcase Breather

Post by heinkeljb »

Lurch has the top picture's type. Is it down to the fact you have an Australian Specification machine? I think there are some internal differences not just the lower oil filler tube.

More dismantling to make the change!

You have pulled more of your Haflinger apart than I have so far.

John
Haflinger 703AP LWB 1973 - (Once owned by Lady Sutherland & Sons.) Now called "Lurch" !

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Yakov
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Re: Oil Filler - Crankcase Breather

Post by Yakov »

For what its worth, mine is a Canadian '72 and I have the bottom photo style as well.
On an unrelated note - how much pulsating air pressure should there be out of the breather when the engine is running?
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heinkeljb
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Re: Oil Filler - Crankcase Breather

Post by heinkeljb »

I have no idea how much pressure the air coming from the oil will have, but obviously as it is related to the pistons approaching the crankcase and then going away from it, I would be surprised it you did not have noticeable "pulse" of air pressure. It obviously won't be as high as that in the combustion chambers as the crank cases are a much bigger volume and there are other exits for the increased pressure to escape via.

The problem with this pulsed air pressure from the oil breather pipe comes when you have a leaking set of rings and you get "blow by" of the exhaust gasses into crank case. Apart from contaminating your oil, it can increase the pressure to the point you have oil being forced out of any and every hole. So oil leaks all over the place and high oil consumption as a lot get blown out the breather and in to Carb inlet where it perpetuates the cycle.

Put a clean piece of cloth over the breather pipe end which you disconnect from the air intake to the Carb and run the engine. Check the cloth afterwards to see if it shows signs of lots of oil in the air. If yes, then do a compression test on both cylinders.

John
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AustHaflinger
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Re: Oil Filler - Crankcase Breather

Post by AustHaflinger »

Thanks for those comments -I must have got the two switched as it was supposition on my part. Mainly because the first world oil shocks occurred in 1973 and in many respects started the track down to improving pollution from vehicles - and an aspect was having the gases from the crankcase sucked back into the inlet to be burnt off rather than venting direct to atmosphere. The system in the first pic has this system. An top view of the crankcase breather pipe going back to the intake housing.
Image

On the question of how much pulsating you should feel - the answer certainly with the engine is at idle is virtually nothing - just a very light fluff. However I can tell you from experience at the other end of the scale with a cracked piston there is a definite large pulse, with visible puffs of smoke and drops of oil on the ground.
Haflinger 700AP (73)
Range Rover Sport TDV6 (07)
Landrover FC 101 (77)
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Yakov
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Re: Oil Filler - Crankcase Breather

Post by Yakov »

Thanks for your answers. I'll check next time I have it running.
My compression is okay, but I do have oil residue on that tube. On the other hand, my plugs do get oily. And the one time I ran the engine with the filler cap off, it felt as though I could have filled a balloon with the air coming out, but no exhaust out the breather. So maybe with the cap off it was more noticeable. Or maybe Im just paranoid after Garry's horror stories of cracked pistons.
Anyway, my engine problems are for another thread - I didn't want to hijack this one.
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AustHaflinger
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Re: Oil Filler - Crankcase Breather

Post by AustHaflinger »

Take the breather cap of any running engine and there will be a lot of air and oil fume gas moving in and out as the pistons move up and down - that is why positive crankcase ventilation valves (PCV) were invented and on most modern vehicles.

On the haffie there should be a light smear of oil on the inside of the vent pipe as the oil is hot in the crankcase when the engine is running and there is a lot of oil in vapour form - in the filler cap there is a valve arrangement that keeps most gas and oil in but a little of the fumes will escape - any oil in the pipe should no be dripping out.

Different matter if you have blow by as the crank is being pressured by combustion gases not just piston action - this will be very noticeable with lots of smoke and fumes coming out of the pipe.

By the sound of it what you have is quite normal.

Garry
Haflinger 700AP (73)
Range Rover Sport TDV6 (07)
Landrover FC 101 (77)
Landrover Series 1 SWB Station Wagon (57)
Landrover Series 1 SWB (57)
Jaguar E-type Roadster V12 (71)
Jaguar XJ12C (76)
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eniac
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Re: Oil Filler - Crankcase Breather

Post by eniac »

I saw that Oli intake the first time open. ( 2 picture above)
are there any bypass holes where the oil can flow down to the
engine bottom ? if not I'm now undrstanding why I overfill the
engine sometimes after an oil exchange. Strange construction.
Stefan

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reality is an illusion, caused by scarcity of alcohol
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Pinzgauer 710M
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AustHaflinger
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Re: Oil Filler - Crankcase Breather

Post by AustHaflinger »

Not totally sure but there does seem to be a very very gap around the outside of the flutes - it was some of these that I prised open a little with a screwdriver.

It used to take me a long time to fill the engine with oil and if no careful I often had an overflow. I don't now but do get a little more oil rising up the filler and bypassing the flutes.

Garry
Haflinger 700AP (73)
Range Rover Sport TDV6 (07)
Landrover FC 101 (77)
Landrover Series 1 SWB Station Wagon (57)
Landrover Series 1 SWB (57)
Jaguar E-type Roadster V12 (71)
Jaguar XJ12C (76)
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heinkeljb
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Re: Oil Filler - Crankcase Breather

Post by heinkeljb »

That's obviously the reason they made a MK11 version, as filling with oil via the tube that is at the bottom of all those flutes makes life much easier!

I am pretty sure they can be interchanged, so if you have one as a spare, it might be worth fitting just to allow for easier oil changes.

John
Haflinger 703AP LWB 1973 - (Once owned by Lady Sutherland & Sons.) Now called "Lurch" !

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