Breathers to VTA mod.
 

Ive been asked by a number of people for details of this mod, so this is the simplest way I know of venting the breathers to atmosphere.
Its on a previous thread but the search is broken and its probably way back in the archive.
Credit for this must go to Andy.F, as he talked me through it on his PCV & VTA thread.

The theory behind this mod is to stop the oily blow-by gasses from being recirculated through the inlet pipe and onto the turbo.
These gasses leave oily deposits on the turbo and in the intercooler pipework.

What you need:
About 5m of Halfords hose (12mm)
Sharp Stanley blade
About 6 zip ties
2 large bolts
2 small jubilee clips

Firstly, disconnect the existing breather system.
The two cam breathers are on top of each rocker cover, small black plastic rectangular plate with a barb/nipple pointing upwards. Remove the black hose to each one and take the hose out completely. (ie disconnect the other end from the gold coloured hard pipes as well).

The crank breather is just in front of, and just to the left of the turbo, it’s a small plastic pipe with a 90deg. Dogleg in it.
You can’t see a lot from this picture but it may help you!
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...nkbreather.jpg

The two cam breathers are on top of the rockers at each side of the engine.
You can see the nearside breather in this picture, the off side one is identical but, obviously on the offside!
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ambreather.jpg

Next up, fit the new Halfords hose in place, but make sure they are long enough to tie off down on the ARB.
To get the lengths right, fit the hose over the breather, run it down to the ARB and cut it an inch or two past. Zip tie it at both ends.
You do this for all 3 breathers.

Last stage, blank off the inlet returns. (The following apply to MY99s, I’m not 100% sure it’s the same on earlier models).
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...letreturn2.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...letreturn1.jpg

There are two returns on the inlet pipe that were previously connected to the breather system.
One is between the turbo and the inlet manifold and the other is between the inlet manifold and the power steering reservoir.

Take a small piece of the original hose, give yourself about an inch and a half to two inches and cut it.
Use a jubilee clip to secure a hefty bolt in place and pop it back onto the inlet pipe.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b43/peanuts99/cap.jpg

You have closed off the original system and re routed the vents to atmosphere.
Job done :)

Andy (a lot of this was from memory, so feel free to correct)
Next week, removing the carbon canister?

;)

Star rating for this me thinks..?

Breathers seem to differ very slightly on newage cars (basically the same) so if anyone would like pics of newage breather locations let me know and I'll add them to this thread..;)

great job peanuts, thank you!

be a good idea to add them anyway Jas.
:)

:thumb:

whats the idea in removing the carbon canister?

less weight and more space in the filter area :thumb:

Will do, I'll try and get some pics up tomorrow..;)

newage pics Jase?

quick question

do you ever get oil drips on the floor if you leave the car parked up for a whille

I guessing it just goes like the sludge you get in the inlet but worth asking :)

top write up ..

Sorry mate had a bit of a nightmare week and to top it all misplaced bloody camera/PC lead ffs..! :(

I'm borrowing bro's tomorrow so I'll hopefully get them up ASAP.
;)

Rich, its not like a tap, its an oily vapour

Right, sorry for the delay..!

Here's the PCV system for newage scoobs:

This pic shows crank and rocker breather hoses flow:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ePCV4Small.jpg

This pics show crankcase (PCV) hose in a little more detail:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ePCV3Small.jpg

Note in the second pic the short hose from the block has a 'T' piece that directs oily vapours (blowby gases) either back into throttle body (TB) or (under boost conditions when TB valve closes) air inlet duct. Hence the oil in the intake/IC pipework..:(

Jason ;)

good work Sir.

Only following your lead sir..;)

if you use a catch tank do you put all the pipes together and connect them to one port on the tank and then the other port on the tank goes back into the air box?

or do you not plump it back into the airbox?

yeah just done mine all you have to do is connect the left hand breather to the engine vent i did this by buying a 22 to 15 reducer from wickes plumbing stuff copper pipe thing and took out pcv vent out of the engine vent and connected this to a piece of 12 or 13 mm hose and put reducer in to a pcv hose minus pcv t peice and run this via a nother t peice to the right hand rocker cover and then to the catch tank.took me a while but jobs done and no smoke from back when booted:lol1:i would not vent back to vta as does not throw back into the intake system.mine you if you want to be eco you can plumb back to the intake

And what happens at MOT time?
With the ever tightening emissions regs and pressure upon testers, surely this is going to be a no-no? If there is a good enough swirl chamber with suitable pressure drop then the oil will drop out of the airflow anyhow. Should be no need to vta unless your engine is shagged or very highly tuned.

Just wondered about the emission stance.
It's recirc'ed for a good reason?

Steve

my car has had 2 MOT's since this mod and passed both times.
Its recirc'd as standard because that is the most environmentally friendly way to do it, not so engine friendly though.
Im running 1.65bar on an 18g, mildly tuned.

Understood, thanks.

Steve.

I've got one question before I go shopping: by 12mm we're talking about inner diameter right?

must be.....
just ask for 12mm hose

Makes no difference to tailpipe emissions. Simplest way to think about it is you've got a tiny decatted exhaust under the front of the car, therefore the emissions from it are not measured. As someone else pointed out, recirculation is for 'greenness'. Obviously if you already run a decat exhaust all year round it makes no difference. If like me you run a sports cat system, then it needs to be run through a catch tank and back to the inlet, and the connection to the PCV valve under the throttle body is retained. I used to have a vented system like this on my old car and tbh you could smell it at standstill with the engine running and even a little when really caning it around and boost would get past the rings and blow oil through. I don't know whether it's noticeable on a Subaru with this breather mod, but having run a big side exit exhaust a while back, I kind of appreciate the idea of having all the engine smells running right out the back of the car, where I'm nowhere near LOL

Just had another thought about this mod; what happens if you go through a deepish flooded road. With how the weather seems to be fu@ked up lately you never know when you might face this scenario (sp?) (ie one min dry sunshine and the next monsoon= 5 mins, floods everywhere..!)

Bear in mind that unlike your exhaust a vta can suck air in under certain circumstances..!

Just a thought..!;)

What about the small pipe at the top on the front of the inlet?