Oil- Flame trap and breather

Hi all,

Using some info I have got from this site I cleaned the flame trap. I can only describe it's contents as black tar/filler it was so hard.
Sprits and a pin were the handy tools!!

Should I relace the breather (black box trap is attached to)?
Or can I clean it as it too is full of tar?

it looks like a bit of water or moisture has got in the pipe from the air box as there is the cream mixture but hasn't appeared anywhere else

How often should you do this

Any things I need to look out for when doing this

Cheers

[Mike_Brace]

If the breather box (the black box trap) is clogged up the only answer is to replace it - about £25 from your dealer. It does worry me if there is this degrre of build up - it generally only happens on an engine well past its best - but saying that they can still go one for a long time in avery tired state. I personally check the breather every oil change but on a good engine it very rarely needs changing.

Mike

[Clifford Pope]

Also the connecting pipework, especially the thinner vacuum pipe and the nipple in the inlet manifold. It is worth cleaning the throttle body too while you are about it, the inlet duct, and the Idle Air Valve.
Be careful removing the oil separator. The plastic gets old and brittle, and it is easy to snap off part of the locating pipe and drop the bits into the sump. The box may be a very tight fit under the inlet manifold - so seemingly impossible that some people advocate removing the inlet manifold for access. There is no need. Mine had a projecting lug on the top apparently for holding the wiring harness. I cut that off to gain an extra inch of clearance, and clipped the harness somewhere else.

Does this "Breather Box" go by any other name? I've been told to replace mine but I can't find the part anywhere... Would you have any ideas or know where I can buy one? Thank you ~Aaron

[Clifford Pope]

I think it is officially called the Oil Separator. Volvo sell them, I am told not too unreasonably priced.
If you can still blow through it and it is not too badly carboned up, then it is possible to do a certain amount of cleaning. You could leave it soaking in carb cleaner, or may be Gunk, or even paint stripper as long as it was very thoroughly washed out afterwards. The difficulty is it is totally sealed, so impossible to do any mechanical loosening of encrusted crud inside.
Earlier models were smaller, and therefore much easier to remove, but presumably less efficient at separating oil mist.

[brens-s80]

hi mike , clifford,

on my 1988 glt ( ci injection) i noticed that I have what appears to be oil leakage from the inlet manifold. it appears as a small pool of oil in the circular recess under plug number one mainly.

I have had a look at the oil-breather pipes and they appear to need a good clean out and I assume the oilbreather/oil seperator as well.

now for the last 20 mins i have had my head stuck under the bonnet and i cannot see how to get to remove this item for the maze of pipes that surround it
.

Do I need to take off the bellows like device above the CI unit and how easy should it be to remove it ?.


thanks in advance lads

regards

brendan

[Mike_Brace]

It is probably easier to remove the bellos to get at the pipes and flame trap behind. The bellows can be fiddly to refit as it offset so needs to face correct direction (there is an arrow on them but easier to Tipex it).
The oil leak you decribe sounds like filler cap rubber leaking - these cost under £1 from the dealer.

Mike

[Paul240480]

I would definately go for removing the bellows. As said it will give better access. In my case I found the the breather plate (Venturii?) was covered in 'gunk' due to (I think) the PCV being totally blocked. Had I not removed it I'd never have known! All is clean now & has not blocked up since..............

[malb]

Creamy appearance you observed is moisture and oil mixing and foaming. The moisture is probably from oil contamination (normal in use).
The moisture is normally boiled off when the engine heats to running temperature and is drawn through the vent system and disposed off. This is why cars getting only occasional short runs need a good half hour run every few weeks, to get to full working temp and clear this condensation.

In your case, with the clogged vent system, the water vapour accumulates with oil vapour and creates the foamy brew you noticed as these vapours can't be drawn off and cleared.

[minesa240x3]

And don't forget to blow throw all the pipes you take off as the very thin one leading to the multiholed bit was totally blocked on mine and took quite a bit of bending and washing to clear, almost like tar. And yes when taking the seperator off it almost seems impossible. mainly due to the thick wiring loom that runs above it has probably got a bit hard over the years.