Oil filter attached to valve covers LEAK
 

Hello all, I use to have an account here when I was a bit younger but cannot for the life of me remember what the info was. I am located in Port Clinton Ohio and do all of my boating on Lake Erie, about a month ago, I picked up an 87 24 Pantera with a 400 small block. The boat is far from perfect however it runs out very well, I have put over 20 hours on her so far this past month and to be honest they are pretty hard hours. I cruise around 4000 rpm, to put me right around 50 mph, motor redlines at 5k.


Anyway, this pump, or whatever it is, started spewing oil out the filter this past weekend. When under load, I lost 1 quart of oil at 3,000 rpm during a 5 minute test run. I should add, 3,000 rpm was all the boat would give me, it could barely even plane off because as I throttled up I could only see about 2,000 until it planed. I am not a mechanic, and am not use to an engine like this. What I am wondering, is any reasons why this could be happening, what part this is, and what steps I should take to replace it.

The part is a metal cylinder with 2 hoses that attach to the valve covers. The metal cylinder has small springs inside and on top a filter is attached. The leak is coming directly from the filter of this unit.

A buddy of mine said just bypass this unit entirely and close the valve covers, not sure if that would.be the safest thing?? It has made an absolute mess of my engine compartment, everything is soaked in oil, granted, I own a detailing company, and this isn't the worst thing ever. Still very frustrating. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance guys.

pics would help greatly....im picturing a common log to vent crank case gasses but im not 100% sure what it is you actually have there.....most valve cover vents should be going to the air filter/flame arrestor to recirculate the gasses back into the motor....
you need 10 posts to put up pictures so you can just post 4 more times with a count down in each posting. ;)

Here are a couple pics of boat as well, maybe someone knows the boat, supposedly only had 2 owners before me. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...daf09b8e9.jpeg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...215499330e.jpg

Ah OK...thats a catch can with a breather....should really only be used on a car since you are potentially venting un-burnt combustion gasses into the engine compartment of the boat. I would start by looking under the valve covers as to why the oil is getting forced out them to this point...is there sludge under there causing the oil to back up and out? is there a baffle missing under the valve cover that should be keeping the oil from getting out? Maybe a leak-down test is in order on the motor? Possible you have too much blow-by causing the crank case to be pressurized and blowing the oil out....

good looking boat by the way :cool:

Thank you much Wally, so if this is meant for a car, should I convert this to a different setup?? This motor seems pretty damn dangerous to me if I am being honest. It does not even have a bilge blower. Will be pulling valve covers today to investigate further. That catch can was literally full of oil when I pulled it, sounds like it's not suppose to be that way? When I start the motor with the part installed within 30 seconds of idling it is billowing white smoke from the breather.

Also thank you! I've wanted a Pantera for about 7 years now and although I wanted a 28, the market is tight and this little 24 fit the bill.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...344ff17acf.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...e3610b7e18.jpg
On a "normal" boat setup you would have those hoses coming from the valve covers and attached to the flame arrestor where it would suck the unburned gasses back into the motor. If you are seeing smoke almost as soon as you start it up id say the rings on the pistons are seized or the cyl walls are scored and you have excessive blow-by getting past the rings and into the crank case. i would do a leak down test on that motor and see how things are sealing......sounds like its got ALOT of blowby!! see the pics i attached...if you look at the air cleaner (flame arrestor) you will two hoses coming up and attaching to it...those are the same hoses coming off the valve covers...that's how it "should" be setup. And you should make getting a bilge blower a priority as well!!!

oh and yes that catch can should be empty...its really designed more to trap the oil mist that normally would get sucked back into the engine...on a car where your engine compartment has tons a fresh air going around it you can vent it under the hood...on a boat where heavier gas fumes collect at the bottom of the boats bilge...you are asking for trouble!

You have a blow by issue. Either your crankcase is not venting or your piston rings are shot

Thank you! Not sure why someone set it all up this way, very foreign to me. I am going to head down to the boat and take some more pics and do some investigating, try to get those covers pulled.

Just got down to boat. I have elected not to pull valve covers as I'd rather just call a professional, which I am not. So I hear this red ignition is also for cars?? Heres some pics I took of engine. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...2ed4fb6e1d.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...6c92e8c5c3.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...d42c8ef64d.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...df7f144acf.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...fada0670a0.jpg

"technically" yes its automotive but people do use them on boats...the "marine" versions are blue and they are potted to better resist vibrations and i believe they have sealed connections to resist corrosion....the boxes seem to last longer when they are not mounted on the engine but on the back wall of the boat. I see your flame arrestor has the hose connections there all ready...wonder why the previous owner went the catch can route? Have you started the engine with no hoses attached to the valve covers? maybe the catch can is just messed up/dirty inside and causing issues.....

Also may want to pull that flame arrestor off and see if thats a marine carb or not...

Should I get some plugs for those valve covers before testing it?? Also I believe the carb is wrong as well. It idles way too low in gear and I have to give it a finite amount of throttle around the docks to keep the idle at 650 or it falls to around 500 and idles out.

Normally I would agree but both of my 540s pushed a lot of oil out the valve covers and they were healthy. Did so from day one. I rigged the same device as the OP has but had to drain the can every few hours.

No, do not plug the valve cover holes.
Turn the idle up a tad (screw on the throttle lever on the carb)

No just start it up with no plugs and see if it starts puking oil again...maybe have a rag handy in case it starts getting messy and shut down right away if it does. You may get a little bit of splashing/splatter from the rockers working when running but it shouldn't be puking its guts out!
Idle rpm's can be adjusted...thats not a big deal. if the engine runs good otherwise through the power-band i wouldn't worry about it...only thing about not having a marine carb is the "J" tubes which if not there you can actually remedy with some rubber tubing...but the shaft seals also have the potential to leak fuel past them...again not a big deal on a car with lots of fresh air but on a boat, the fumes can potentially collect in the bilge and possibly go boom!

Ya know...just look at th epics of that catch can again....Im also wondering if the lines going from your valve covers to the catch can are too small and restrictive...mine are like a 5/8 ID hose i wanna say...if those are like a 3/8 fuel line then maybe there is not enough room for the oil that collecting to drain out and back down the line as what ever blow-by is trying to run out the filter....then the catch can is doing its job of collecting the oil but its filling up too fast and then you get the puking of the oil.......

i think you need to ditch that catch can and get some valve cover breathers like this: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mor-68781/overview/ I have actually found them at my local advance auto parts store before...
then get the 5/8" hose to connect them to the flame arrestor.

interesting. My question is, why would it be dumping such copious amount now just because it is full?? I drained it out now, maybe i should try reinstalling?

If you lost a quart of oil in 5min at 3k rpm then thats more then that catch can holds to begin with....it wont hurt anything to empty it and try again but i think you will still be in the same situation as is....

Just started the boat and absolutely no oil leaked from the valve covers. Just had some smoke coming out. Took a video I can post to YouTube and link if you would like. The boat is a weird set up. I have to turn a fuel primer on, then turn and ignition switch and then start with another button. Absolutely no key for the boat.

That's what I would do. 400+ cubes is a big small block. The pistons are going to displace a lot of air inside the crankcase. That air has to go somewhere (out the valve cover holes) and it is mixed with oil vapor, which is accumulating in the catch can as designed.

I originally had my 540s vented to the flame arrestor. They pushed so much oil that the air bleeds in the carbs would get oil fouled and cause idling issues. That is why I went to the puke tanks.

That "smoke" is oil vapor which is turned back into oil once it is collected on the catch can (puke Tank).

That's a little excessive and doesn't sound too good. I'm thinking you probably burned a hole in a piston.

Maybe your mic is sensitive to valvetrain noise but from here it's sounds horrible.....way too much clacking. And yeh, that is a bunch of smoke coming from the valve cover. Can't tell you if real bad or not, unfortunately, from my computer screen.

Do the valves clacking sound bad to you in person ?

Will it still make the same power as it did when you bought it?

its stuck around 3,000 rpm in gear but at idle seems it will go higher... havent tried to rev it up too much at the dock because this thing is straight piped and excessively loud... don't really want to make the neighbors mad.

It was down on power a bit last time I had it out, which was Saturday, didnt want to plane off and wouldnt go over 4k. Yesterday during my trial run around the harbor, it took forever to plane off with just me in the boat, could only see 2k on the hole shot and 3k once I was finally planed off.

Also, are you in the water or have a water hose hooked up just now? If not, you most likely smoked an impeller.

You've burned a hole in a piston or pistons.

Would it be safe to idle a mile to the boat ramp or am I going to need to tow this thing?

Tough call right there. It's definitely not going to improve your situation, may or may not do further damage. Maybe SB will chime back in..........he's a little sharper that I am.

Tried to PM SB but his box is full. He'll be back though.............

Can't answer that as it may or may not makes things worse. Your call.

When you get into the diagnostics and repair, keep us informed and ask as many questions as you fell like.

In the mean time, did the previous owner leave you with a detailed list of the engine build ?