Another breather question

[Dollywobbler]

Why is my air filter getting clogged up with engine oil? Is there a valve somewhere that should prevent this or is my engine just worn?

[citsncycles]

Don't know the specifics, but I'd start by checking all the breather pipes to see if any are blocked. There's often a mesh filter that stops the oil while letting gases through, which could also be blocked. If the breather system checks out, then you may have to look at possible crankcase pressurisation (eg worn piston rings).

[Dollywobbler]

A somewhat mucky job, but I fear I must tackle it. Wonder if it'll stop oil pouring out of the back of the engine?

[citsncycles]

If it's out of the engine block itself I suspect it could be either the cam cover gasket or head gasket. How are the turbo oil pipes routed?

[Dollywobbler]

Could be any of those things. I'm tempted to find a small child and force them down the back of the engine as there's no way I can get in there.

[Tinkley]

Forgive me if the following does not apply to diesel engines but the petrols have 'mayonaise' problems too! Basically in the winter the cold air (with moisture) causes a lot of oil/water mixing in the crankcase. Usually it shoots up in the rocker area and up the oil filler. Both my 1.4 and the 1.6s' get the stainless steel mesh in the filler cap clogged. I remove this and wash it out in petrol or thinners and pop it back. Clean the oil fill tube and anything else I can see thats clogged. Its the EU regs that force the car to breathe its own crankcase fumes - they didn't apply in th late 70's.

On my 1.4 150C engine the worst case was a dollop of mayonaise straight into the main jet of the carburettor at 70 on the motorway. Good fun eh? Literally the engine refused to run. After a few minutes the petrol in the carb would dissolve said mayonaise and it would be like normal. Fortunately I tweaked theis one pretty quickly and re routed the crankcase breather to atmosphere as *** intended'
Guess what - it never ever did it again.

Apologies if does not apply to your diesel but worth a try - rout the crankcase breather to atmosphere.

[citronut]

Forgive me if the following does not apply to diesel engines but the petrols have 'mayonaise' problems too! Basically in the winter the cold air (with moisture) causes a lot of oil/water mixing in the crankcase. Usually it shoots up in the rocker area and up the oil filler. Both my 1.4 and the 1.6s' get the stainless steel mesh in the filler cap clogged. I remove this and wash it out in petrol or thinners and pop it back. Clean the oil fill tube and anything else I can see thats clogged. Its the EU regs that force the car to breathe its own crankcase fumes - they didn't apply in th late 70's.

On my 1.4 150C engine the worst case was a dollop of mayonaise straight into the main jet of the carburettor at 70 on the motorway. Good fun eh? Literally the engine refused to run. After a few minutes the petrol in the carb would dissolve said mayonaise and it would be like normal. Fortunately I tweaked theis one pretty quickly and re routed the crankcase breather to atmosphere as *** intended'
Guess what - it never ever did it again.

Apologies if does not apply to your diesel but worth a try - rout the crankcase breather to atmosphere.

the main breather gauze that clogs up is the one most people miss, or dont know it exists,

if you remove the oil filler neck then pock the large end of a half inch socket extension, up through the bottom hole of the filler neck, then hold the neck and tap the extension on something hard, the innards of the neck will come up though the top, you will find a roll of gause inside you need to un/roll clean and re/fit

regards malcolm

[Tinkley]

Thanks Malcolm. The oil filler cap contains the S/S guaze roll held together with a pin and this is the one I was referring to. Just to clear up my understanding - is there another guaze roll further down the filler tube? ie out of sight down the filler tube?

1.4 and 1.6 petrols have the guaze in the cap certainly. I was not aware of another filter in the system. Don't know enough about the diesels. I always clean this top cap filter before the emission test at the MOT.

BTW my old Morini 3/2 Sport used to mayonaise on front cylinder rocker cover only as it ran warmer on the rear one! In line V twin config, ah the joys of 10,000 rpm pushrod engines....

[citronut]

all petrol BX's have the one hidden in the filler tube/neck, as the neck is made in two parts the inner section is like a funnel,

the roll of gauze is in between the two sections,

also neither this one or the one in the filler cap you mention are stainless steel,
usually the one you removed rusts away, and all the debris fall straight into the engine

regards malcolm

[Way2go]

also neither this one or the one in the filler cap you mention are stainless steel

I thought mine was stainless steel until the latest gloop removal with the big lolly sticks. Still intact but clearly rusty, it will need replacement in due course. Do you have any recommendations on what can be sourced in stainless steel that would be suitable for use?

What may be of interest to others is that I had a slight oil leak which I could not identify where it was coming from in a long time. In wrestling with the oilfiller cap the last time the large pipe at the rear sheared off close to the spigot and I realised that the pipe had been cracked on the underside (unseen) due to the twisting and turning necessary to remove this abortion of a design each time any oil needs to be added.

No more oil spots on the drive now the shortened pipe has been reattached. Longer term though the pipe will need to be replaced as it is noticeably stiffer than it should be.

[citronut]

i recon the gauze was originally galvanised,

when i worked at a citroen service agent in the 80ies and BX's were new/current cars,
we use to remove one of the two O ring seal on the hulio filler caps, to make it easier removing the cap

regards malcolm

[ace_the_bass]

speaking about the gauze/mesh in the top of the filler, the one in my is full of crap and is starting to fall to pieces. where can i buy something to replace it and will it do the car much damage driving with out it?

[citronut]

you must remove all the gauze as a matter urgency as it is detrimental to the engine, if it gets into the oil pump it will damage it,

its fine to run without it

regards malcolm

[Tinkley]

Thanks for the info on the guazes. Maybe the reason I have not spotted the lower inner one is because I replaced the filler tube anyway and the replacement definitely did not have anything in it. As mentioned by others the poxy design is tricky to hold still whilst wrestling the filler cap off.
Not had any rust on the top wire guaze but maybe I just clean it enough or the very late BX had a better grade of coating or is indeed S/S. After all they changed a few things like the later black coating on the bundy piping as opposed to the earlier galvanising finish.
As I have a good filler ie undamaged and one that is OK but broken from the engine mount, I'll fit the good one when the engine gets swapped. Also check for that second guaze - if its in there hiding away.
For some reason the replacement filler tube is much easier to get the cap off - got it from GSF in about 2005.

If the guaze is breaking up on your engine check the magnet on the drain plug. That should show if anything has been in the sump. Certainly don't want nice steel strands doing the rounds on nice plain bearings or the cam....

[mat_fenwick]

Unless your oil filter is so clogged the bypass valve has opened, lumps of gauze will be caught by the filter. But agreed, it's hardly good practice to allow large pieces of metal floating about in the oil!