Oil signs in air filter and near the turbo!

[ff2007]

Hi all,

Thanking all people in here for giving advices on my other threads on "transmission malfunction and esp system fault", after checking the transmission oil level and color (it was good and green). I wanted to check the MAF sensor and see if it needs cleaning. Opened the air filter box and saw signs of oil in the filter, there was also small signs near the turbo and up in the hose clips which are broken but modified by the mechanic do to the job!

Last two regular services were done: 10 months ago (air filter was clean back then), and last service was done 5 months ago. The status is currently as in the picture attached!

When trying to figure out the cause for "transmission malfunction and esp system fault", one of the codes were P1402- Exhaust Gas Recirculation Metering Orifice Restricted, then codes were cleared to see which come back but this one P1402 never came back!

Could these signs of oil can be from blocked EGR valve? Or else?

All insights are highly appreciated!

 

[ff2007]

Anyone has any comment on this?

PCV system is faulty - containing engine crankcase pressure outlet, oil separator chamber and PCV valve? Can this be changed as a whole?

EGR ventil in the back perhaps has carbon deposits built up and needs cleaning/replacing?

 

[Dee_82]

The EGR valve is nothing but a pain in the bum, if its already blocked then it will need to be cleaned, potentially the valve may need replaced depending how bad it is, if I were you id have that blocked off ASAP.

the breather pipe throws out oil like there is no tomorrow, the fact yours is held on with a cable tie suggests its nackard, if you replaced it with an aftermarket then it probably isn't sealed enough, I did the same and it didn't make any difference, only the correct ford part prevented it for leaking at the breather case. as for it leaking down to the turbo, it can and will do that, what to be cautious with though is that excessive oil at the turbo might also be a sign that the turbo isn't a happy bunny.

oil in the airfilter has happened to myself as well, it appears to come from the breather but for the life of my I cant work out how it can get blown back like that, the compressor only turns one way and the air should all go there with it

I installed an oil catch can on the breather which collects about 100ml every 6k, since then ive not had anything on my green cotton airfilter and very little at the turbo.

I strongly recommend changing the oil every 6k on this engine, it can be a ticking bomb if its left to its own devices, if its taking 10 months to do 6k then if possible id suggest looking to change it, this isn't a city engine :)

fix the EGR, fix the DPF, installing an oil catch can and do 6k oil changes

[ff2007]

Hey Darren, thanks for the advice. Just saw your thread with pictures on how to install an oil catch can, posted on 2015. I like the mod but still have some questions:

- Is it really normal and expected for the oil to come out of the breather pipe? Cause if it's not, why not fix it in the first place without doing the mod? If the breather valve is the issue, does the Rocker Cover has the in-built breather valve?

- by fixing or cleaning the EGR, it doesn't seem to be as hard removing it as it seems to be when putting it back because of that OEM clamp that doesn't have Allen key?

- how would one clear the DPF? This video mentions temperature less than 40 deg for cleaning thus an IDS plugged in needed to read actual values?

 

[Dee_82]

The breather system doesn't have a valve at all, some of the exhaust gases escape past the piston seals etc and ends up under the rocker cover that's perfectly normal, this needs to be vented, the small stubby tube going to the air filter hose which goes  to the turbo literally sucks the gas out of the rocker cover and sends it back around again through the intake manifold, the problem is that gas is laced in oil vapour, which then covers everything in a fine film of oil right through the intercooler and up to the intake manifold, here it turns in to some real nasty crap as it binds with the soot from the EGR valve turning in to a sticky black paste, that then works its way further in to the manifold and gets baked by the engine turning in to solid carbon. some of it also works its way in to the oil which ends up in the sump.  This has a nasty habit of blocking the banjo bolt filter on the turbo feed, turbo gets starved of oil and you can kiss goodbye to any savings you had.

I never had to remove my EGR completely, I blanked it off about 3 days after I got the car! from what I understand, if its having problems then blanking it now wont help, you need to make sure the valve is freely moving before blanking it.

"Fixing" the DPF is a touchy subject around these parts.  Its illegal to remove it in the UK and it will fail inspection if you did.  what you can do, which is also illegal, is have the insides of the DPF removed, looks the same but the problem solved ;)

if the DPF isn't a problem just now then taking the car for a good long drive where you can sustain high RPMs for about 20 min once a month will help, this will cook off the soot and turn it in to ash. Eventually the DPF will fill up with ash though and it will start to apply back pressure on the turbo, which may contribute to a turbo fail and it will eventually stop your car from working one way or another, replacing the DPF is the only legal answer in the UK, once again if you go down that road you can kiss goodbye to your savings, its not cheap! 

Low mileage driving such as yours will fill the DPF quicker, if the DPF cant get hot enough to cook off the soot then it will just fill up with that, however you look at it or however you drive, the DPF will become an expensive problem which is why many of us choose to "fix" the problem.

 

[ff2007]

Hey Darren,

Thanks for the insight. I was referring to this part which according to the specs it has three integrated parts on it.

Can this be the cause of oil leak in this part?

 

[Dee_82]

it's a vapour, it's perfectly normal, every car has a similar system, some have a better designed system, even  it worked perfectly well, itwill still allow oil vapor to flow through, the coldair coming through the air filter then condenses the oil turning it back in to a liquid.

[ff2007]

If it's normal then I'll just fix/replace the rubber pipe with a new one that has clips in place.

[Dee_82]

which will prevent it from throwing oil around your engine bay, but it doesn't fix the problem that comes with it, the mess it makes in your intake manifold and the contribution it gives to the carbon lumps in the sump, at the very least, block that EGR valve off once you get it working again. 

[south_bound]

Coming into this one a bit late, but I  have the same thing - oil finding its way into the air filter and connection to the turbo, and even have the breather pipe held on using cable ties like in your photo!  Its been doing this since quite new and has not really got worse over the past few years (and >100,000 miles) but I clean it up at every service just to keep things tidy.  DPF and EGR "sorted" so that is not an issue and I have not seen any real difference with this oil before or after these were done, just the knowledge that the engine life should be extended as a result.

[ff2007]

DPF was checked today and it's on very good condition. Idle was 2 mbar. High revving went up to 40 mbar.

Blocked DPF usually go more than 200 mbars.

Regarding EGR looking to clean it out soon.