[JayTee2014]

Unknown I would think.
Since more ice/emulsion may deposit over time so then more force might be needed to break the check ball valve free?
Don't know. . . how could one tell?

 

[adidas6804444]

Unknown I would think.
Since more ice/emulsion may deposit over time so then more force might be needed to break the check ball valve free?
Don't know. . . how could one tell?

a good starting point is how much force is needed to press in the GM rear main seal? what is a normal + crank pressure in the engine. cause again although the ball was frozen, it did not take much effort to break it free

 

[ustacould]

Unknown I would think.
Since more ice/emulsion may deposit over time so then more force might be needed to break the check ball valve free?
Don't know. . . how could one tell?

I put the same spring loaded over pressure valve on an extra oil fill cap about six months ago. I used a heavy duty ball point pen spring, which gave between 2 and 3 PSI of pressure resistance. I have been checking the plunger to see if it was stuck every morning that it has been below freezing in the garage. We had one night that got down to -31 degrees F outside, about zero in the garage. The plunger has not been stuck once.
I have a 2011 Equinox with the 2.4 liter inline 4 with about 75K miles on it. Oil changed every 6 to 7K miles with Mobile 1 5W-30 Full Synthetic oil with a M
obile 1 filter.

 

[JayTee2014]

I put the same spring loaded over pressure valve on an extra oil fill cap about six months ago. I used a heavy duty ball point pen spring, which gave between 2 and 3 PSI of pressure resistance. I have been checking the plunger to see if it was stuck every morning that it has been below freezing in the garage. We had one night that got down to -31 degrees F outside, about zero in the garage. The plunger has not been stuck once.
I have a 2011 Equinox with the 2.4 liter inline 4 with about 75K miles on it. Oil changed every 6 to 7K miles with Mobile 1 5W-30 Full Synthetic oil with a M
obile 1 filter.

Could you post a picture of your midified oil filler cap and check valve for us all to see? It might help others to decide whether to use it or not.
Good idea using a larger ball point spring. A person could even get less pressure for release by trimming the spring length down a bit possibly.
Good to hear that the pop off valve is working. Was there any oil/water emulsion build up on the underside of the oil filler cap and pop off valve?

 

[[email protected]]

Hey Guys,

Once the engine warms up any ice that's holding the ball back would melt by the time you're ready to drive. Unless you have serious blow by, the pressure created when idling (even with the breather check valve shut) would be minimal at best.

Most of the crankcase pressure is generated during open throttle.

 

[ThreeNox]

Thanks Adidas, ( and JayTee) I believe you saved me $1000's, and a headache, by preventing a real main seal blowout last winter.

I was doing my homework on buying another Equinox, after seeing Scotty bash the equinox on u tube, I was in the market to buy another Equinox for my daughter. I really like the Chevy equinox and I thought they made a great/reliable/quality product, so I was looking to buy 1 more.

But Scotty on utube was bashing Equinox, so I was doing research when I found Equinox forums.

I read about problems of cold weather freezing PCV's and the resulting rear main seal, on this forum starting in December 2018, and was mortified. After all, I own three 2.4 liter ecotec Equinox's, and never had a problem. But record cold was on its way.


I was evaluating making JayTee's home made breather, when you found a practical solution. As soon as I read about your CFM vented cap, with a nylon ball solution, I ordered three, one for each of my 2.4 liter equinox's.

On about Jan 10, 2019, I told my son to stop driving my / his 2013 Equinox, until the CFM Performance vented cap arrived. Winter had hit hard, and temperatures were around zero degrees F, it was cold out there.

On about Jan 17, the CFM oil cap arrived and he swapped out oil caps , and he started driving the Equinox again. This 2013 Equinox parks outside in an apartment parking lot so the equinox gets cold when it is cold outside, and by Jan 20, it was minus 20 Degrees F during the day, and colder at night. Despite the brutal cold and snow my son had no issues starting or driving the AWD 2013 equinox.

2 weeks later, when my son came home, I had the clean side PCV inspected and cleaned by my mechanic. He told me the hose and the square box in the air snorkel where the clean side PCV hose plugs in, were both full of water/peanut butter oil. I believe, had my son driven the 2013 equinox in the minus 20 F temperatures, without the CFM oil cap, that I would have had at least a rear main seal failure to deal with. I believe the vented oil cap saved me.

Thanks again Adidas (and Jaytee) for sharing your $$$ saving knowledge.

PS, that brutal cold Jan 20 weekend, ....
my local Chevy dealer had 5 rear main seal failures ( plus blown engine when driver kept on driving) on Monday after the minus 23 degree weekend.
My local Firestone did 1 blown rear main seal failure
My local mechanic did 1 main seal replace and had numerous tow ins for non start because sludge from clean side PCV had flowed down "snorkel" and frozen throttle body closed.
My local mechanic also told me the Chevy dealer near where he lives ( different then my Chevy dealer) had 5 main seal failures that Monday after the brutal cold weekend.

So yea, the CFM oil cap breather worked for me, and I have over 20k miles on my 4 equinox's since installing CFM oil caps on them.
I bought a 4th equinox a couple of months ago, a V6, and following JayTees lead, I have put an Elite 2x with drain valve catch can on it.

 

[c&wsinbad]

ThreeNox (now FourNox?)--Thanks for your testimonial of the value of the breather cap and the validity of the diagnosis of one of the causes of rear main seal blowout in these vehicles. (Who knows, it may be THE cause of ALL rear main seal blowouts.) Looks as though you truly "dodged a bullet"!

 

[sydnesb]

I was wondering if that would happen also. Since that yellow water emulsion **** builds up on the under side of the regular oil fill caps on most vehicles.


Maybe an "Oil-Watrer Separator Catch Can" is needed for the vented filler cap? lain:
Or a small heater element built in around it? No. . . that might drain or weaken the battery over night and compromise starting. ..

Hey JayTee, who was it that recommended a Oil/Water separator for the not so clean, clean side of the PCV system last November/December? H'mm. Who was it that was concerned about the vented filler cap, collecting small amounts of oil/water emulsion and freezing? Who referred to the separator idea as a Jerry Rigged solution? The Jerry Rigged solution costs less than the vented cap, it holds vastly more sludge than the vented cap, it prevents this sludge from being ingested into the engine, causing more carbon build-up, it only needs to be checked once a week or at fill up, and even if the sludge freezes, air will still pass and keep crankcase pressures from damaging the seals.

The more important question, how can we reach as many Equinox and Terrain owners out there to let them know about the problem and offer a solution, before this happens to them. Dealers and independents are not likely to do so, and instead continue to collect handsomely on problem that could be prevented.

I still like the idea of using filler cap and incorporating a catch can, PCV valve and more robust vacuum port. These engines do not remove the moisture and crankgases as it should, which leads to this problem. Our fellow member who created the video has a good start on it, and I think Copperhead suggested adding a catch can and a similar product. I wonder if we could put a Tee on the EVAP vacuum line and utilize the higher volume port.

 

[c&wsinbad]

Admin/Moderators--Is there any way to 'flag' this thread so it always appears at the top of the forum threads. That would draw attention to it as being something that all new (or old) members should read and be aware of. Just a thought to add to its visibility as sydnesb suggested.

 

[JayTee2014]

Hey JayTee, who was it that recommended a Oil/Water separator for the not so clean, clean side of the PCV system last November/December? H'mm. Who was it that was concerned about the vented filler cap, collecting small amounts of oil/water emulsion and freezing? Who referred to the separator idea as a Jerry Rigged solution?


Hmm .. my comment was tongue in cheek. Having a "catch can" on the clean side could freeze just as easily as an oil filler cap. Plus, the cap adidas has (with the check ball) is the CFM after market cap. . . not the GM FC219 vented cap the GM recommends.


In addition. . no one ever said a vented cap could be installed and left all winter with no inspection or checking. Just as a make shift catch can could not be left indefinitely without checking and emptying.

Who was it that said (me) that regular weekly ( or more) checks should be made even if a vented cap is installed. Especially in very cold under 20F temps.

 

[Copperhead]

Hey JayTee, who was it that recommended a Oil/Water separator for the not so clean, clean side of the PCV system last November/December? H'mm. Who was it that was concerned about the vented filler cap, collecting small amounts of oil/water emulsion and freezing? Who referred to the separator idea as a Jerry Rigged solution?


Hmm .. my comment was tongue in cheek. Having a "catch can" on the clean side could freeze just as easily as an oil filler cap. Plus, the cap adidas has (with the check ball) is the CFM after market cap. . . not the GM FC219 vented cap the GM recommends.


In addition. . no one ever said a vented cap could be installed and left all winter with no inspection or checking. Just as a make shift catch can could not be left indefinitely without checking and emptying.

Who was it that said (me) that regular weekly ( or more) checks should be made even if a vented cap is installed. Especially in very cold under 20F temps.

Well, I suppose a catch can on the clean side could freeze, depending on the design. Something like the Elite Engineering can, I can't imagine how that could happen.

I got one of the CFM check ball oil caps and determined there was no way it was going on my Nox. I did not like the design. The ball os a very light plastic piece similar to a ping pong ball that one could move just by breathing. It is likely the it would always vent. it should have had a light spring to keep in place instead of floating freely. The goofy thing rattled around any time I moved the cap. The CFM has a neat appearance of quality, it just doesn't have the design quality to match the looks. As they say in Texas.... this device is all hat and no cattle.

 

[JayTee2014]

Well, I suppose a catch can on the clean side could freeze, depending on the design. Something like the Elite Engineering can, I can't imagine how that could happen.

I got one of the CFM check ball oil caps and determined there was no way it was going on my Nox. I did not like the design. The ball os a very light plastic piece similar to a ping pong ball that one could move just by breathing. It is likely the it would always vent. it should have had a light spring to keep in place instead of floating freely. The goofy thing rattled around any time I moved the cap. The CFM has a neat appearance of quality, it just doesn't have the design quality to match the looks. As they say in Texas.... this device is all hat and no cattle.

The guy I quoted . . . used a jerry rigged rather small catch can. Check his earlier posts for pictures. It is rather small. Not like the Elite. Plus, in very cold weather . . . people have even had moisture freeze in the top filter area of an Elite, so something to be aware of when temps get down to single digits or even -29F like it did last winter in the upper midwest.

 

[Copperhead]

That is why my vehicles reside in a heated garage when they are not in use and the temps get that low here in the upper midwest. That is also why my vehicles resided in a heated garage when not in use when I lived in the interior of Alaska for 10 years. A Sterling ceiling mounted propane garage heater that has been going strong every winter for quite a few years. Well worth the money. My Nox and my Silverado 2500 both reside inside out of the cold.

 

[JayTee2014]

Not everyone, venture to say most people, have their vehicles reside in a heated garage in the upper midwest. Certainly people in apartment buildings and the like with no inside parking facilities.


Also, many who had the freeze up and came here to the forum in the past 2 years or so, had it happen while their Equinox or Terrain was parked outside for 8 to 12 hours while at work. . . . and likely after short drives.
So difficult to control the environment to some limited "ideal" conditions. Based on the threads just here on this forum, many have had PCV freeze ups one way or another.
Maybe a good amount of those sportsman hand a feet warmers wrapped around the problematic parts every few hours when out in the cold might help . . . :grin:

 

[Pakacki]

You will have to watch and see if you get any DTCs . . . fail code or check engine light.

It would help if you had an OBD II scanner and could monitor for any pending codes.

A ball check valve may not be enough back pressure to seal in the oil breather cap at idle. Have someone depress the gas pedal and hold 1,500 RPM or so and see if it still sputters. If it still sputters at 1,500 RPM you may indeed have blocked PCV valve.

Maybe ask other forum members to check their 2.4L by removing the oil filler cap and see if they can hear or feel air pulses at idle. It may be normal until more throttle is applied.
This is one reason I suggested a spring operated "pop off" pressure relief type valve mounted on a stock oil cap. They are adjustable and could be tweaked to provide a good seal under normal conditions.

I bought a couple of these for trial on daughter's 2.4L engine. Purchased from Amazon, but I modified it with a lower pressure spring I bought from Ace Hardware and cut down to size /
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007GDXT3O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Modified Adjustable Valve - - :

Valve as purchased from Amazon - - -

What kind of spring did you buy to replace the one that came in it?

 

[JayTee2014]

What kind of spring did you buy to replace the one that came in it?

I bought one similar to what the valve came with , but thinner wire from Ace Hardware. They usually have them in the hardware department in different sizes. I bought a couple that would fit inside the valve and timmed the length down to allow low pressure relief operation of the valve.
The spring I bought is similar in wire gauge size to what you might find in a ball point pen, but larger diameter to fit the valve better.

 

[Deangmc]

All hail Adidias !
Ordered this part. Hoping I got it right. Hopefully no modifications needed.https://www.c-f-m.com/performanceparts/pc/catalog/cfm-1-10201_1136_detail.jpg

 

[Deangmc]

Have 2016 2.1 l. Doesn't fit down. Edge catching on cover. Same for u?

 

[Deangmc]

Nevermind. Der