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Oil surge: R400 Duratec with wet sump

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2nd Dec 2008 - 18:28
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John Vine
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Oil surge: R400 Duratec with wet sump
I run an R400 Duratec S3 with a wet sump. At a couple of recent trackdays (Brands, Donington), I noticed a fair amount of smoke on fast, sharp righthanders, especially when preceded by a lefthander (e.g. Mcleans). I've asked the chaps at Millwoods, who think the problem is oil surge, and that the best solution would be a dry sump. I agree in principle, but as I do only three or four trackdays a year, I'm looking for something a little cheaper if possible. What options do I have? JV
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2nd Dec 2008 - 18:44
Markiebabes
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Can you fit an Apollo tank like here not sure if you can with the duratec though ? Mark \" class=\"smiley\" /> R400 MW 203 bhp of pure fun ( more so with Aero fitted ) 7 pics here

R400 Superlight + Full Cage Nitrons Aero "Happiness Is A Way Of Life Not A Destination" 

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2nd Dec 2008 - 19:05
Gasmaninaseven
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Seems to be a feature of the car; breather venting into plenum ( look underneath to see pipe) can be blanked off ; CC do "kit", so worth a call. Symptom worse when well topped up with oil. Neil Build pictures here Guantanamo Bay Orange SUPERLIGHT R400......
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2nd Dec 2008 - 22:06
Willie.
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Could also be over filled with oil. Oil surges up the bores, past the pistons and gets burnt. Know less that nothing about Duratecs, but have seen this happen on other engines. Check your oil level. Willie
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2nd Dec 2008 - 22:12
Gasmaninaseven
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"Overfilling" an issue ( mine did it after a small top-up), but they seem to do it when the dipstick says appropriately filled, IME. Neil
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2nd Dec 2008 - 22:21
John Vine
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Thanks, chaps. Mark: I'm told that the Duratec doesn't need an Apollo (at least, it wasn't an option at order time). But isn't it intended to de-aerate the oil rather than help with surge? Neil: Thanks for that. I'll investigate tomorrow with Darren. Another Blatchatter has emailed me to say that his Duratec has two breathers routed to the catchtank, one from the camcover and one from the crankcase. Perhaps that's an alternative to blanking off the crankcase breather? Looks like a solution is just around the corner.... JV
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2nd Dec 2008 - 22:21
Willie.
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Neil, Best thing for anyone experiencing this is to drop the sump and have a look at the dipstick in position. Only then can you really see how full full is. Also have a close look at the construction of any sump baffles or gaskets. Can the oil return quickly to the sump, or could it be getting trapped above a gasket? Could a baffle be fitted to the suffering side to stop the oil surging up the crankcase? Willie
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2nd Dec 2008 - 22:31
John Vine
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So, it seems as though the problem is caused by oil surging via the crankcase breather into the intake plenum? I don't (yet) know how my crankcase breather is configured, but I'll have a look tomorrow. JV
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3rd Dec 2008 - 09:11
Rob Walker
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John, I run a 2L duratec with a Raceline wet sump and not had any problems with burning oil during cornering. Suggest you recalibrate your dip stick by draining all the oil out then refilling with 4.5L including the oilfilter as a max oil level on your dip stick plus a tad more if you have an oil cooler. I would also ensure that your engine breathers from the cam cover and the block are routed to a catch tank, you should have no further problems. I also do not think that uou need a dry sump. Rob
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3rd Dec 2008 - 09:22
Jason Plato
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Oil surge is not the issue here by the sounds of it. My Raceline wet sump is fine provided its filled correctly. If the oil is being burnt then its most likely getting fed through the breather to the plenum and into the induction. The breather will be fed to the induction to manage emissions. Your best bet is to route the breather from the engine to a catch tank instead of to the plenum. and then block the hole in the plenum. As John and others above have said here is C7 TOP Taffia joint AO with Al
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3rd Dec 2008 - 10:52
Gasmaninaseven
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Agreed, that's the way I read it. Neil
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