Does the oil-steam pipe (I'm not sure what you would call it) that goes from the top of the engine to the airfilter box have any mission, except letting the hot oil damp out?

The reason why I ask is simple..This air/steam/damp that comes out in the air filter box heats up the air that goes into the KE-jetronic system, (including messing up the air filter)
I wonder what would happen if I redirected this pipe to another place, maybe through a filter, just letting it out elsewhere, and by that getting cooler air into the engine..
I also had in mind rebuilding the air intake, so the engine could breathe more easily..


By doing this I maybe gain a few kW, and/or get a lower consume of gasoline..(I live in Norway! We pay appr. 5-6$ a gallon!!!

I would appriciate every reply



Eivind Soltvedt

Bad, bad, bad for the environment.
It is all part of your closed crankcase ventilation system.
Many years ago, it was determined bad practise, to dump oil fumes into the atmosphere.
The difference, if you were to re-engineer this to an open system, would be very minimal, as far as power output or fuel consumption goes.
If you really want to play, fabricate a cold air or " ram air " intake system.
Your engine & the environment will thank you.

__________________
2007 C 230 Sport.

So what you say is simple as this: Crankhouseventilation into the air-filterbox does not affect the power at all?

But we are going to rebuild the air-intake anyway! Thought about putting it lower to the ground..Maybe behind the front bumper..



ES

That's what I'm saying.

__________________
2007 C 230 Sport.

Thanks!

another question

What could cause the lack of power in my engine
It's a 90-300TE that is missing a lot of power!

First we are going to restore the lost power, and then we are going to rebuild the air intake, to get even a little bit more!

At present time the 300 have less power than my previous car, a 88-230E (M102)
duty cycle readings indicate nothing wrong with the electronics in the KE-Jettronic system.

That leads me to believe that either the catalytic converter (?) has gone bad (doesn't let exhaust go through) or the injection system is full of "mud"

Ideas on "breeding" new "horses" (Without spending a whole lot of money!) are wanted!



Regards


Eivind
(Who hasn't had the opportunity to practice his english lately...)

Eivind Soltvedt: I hope you are not expecting any measurable difference in power with a re-worked air intake because you will not get any., or so little, you will not be able to fell the difference.
Relocating the oil breather will also not give you any improvement.
Unless you are ready to invest a serious amount of Kroners into your engine, do not expect any improvements over stock by modifying anything outside the engine.
In my opinion, it would be more effective and more rewarding to correct the problem you are reporting by removing the cause of the loss of power.
Start with the basics first: Compression and leak down test, Ignition system and fuel system,
jackd

And exhaust.

__________________
2007 C 230 Sport.

Ignition and fuel system are in good shape..Exhaust system will be changed! (I'm going to sweden! half the price! I believe Norway is the most expensive country in the world for a car owner!

I belive that the cat. is the most plausible cause of my problems!
Before I got the car, it was used only on short trips! max 5-10km!
If terminating/changing the cat. doesn't work, compression test and double-checking both fuel pumps are next on the list!

(And at last, when everything is working properly, an ASR defeat switch)

Back to rebuilding the air intake:
A member of the MB club I'm in has had a dyno run of his E280 (M104) after making the same modifications I'm considering!
Results:
_______________Stock____Dyno____Calculated(bhp)
DIN Horsepower__193_____168,9____202,7
DIN Torque Nm___270_____238,1____285,7

Calculated with 20% powerloss.
Air-fuel ratio 13,5-13,8 at max throttle..
This is a stock car!



ES

I am sorry, but I can't believe the numbers you have quoted RE; hp/torque before and after an intake job. This is Impossible
This kind of improvement on a 104 engine requires much, much more than a revised intake system.
Other things have been done to this engine, or the numbers are totally fictitious.
jackd

The car has automatic transmission, and they tested it from 85km/h i third gear, and then they put the pedal to the metal!
According to the owner the car is equipped with original exhaustsystem, original engine mapping and modified air-intake, the car was imported to norway a few years ago..
Has been driven on german roads before!

You know, it's autumn here, appr. 10-17 degrees C.

I believe those numbers!
But the real power loss can be higher than 20%? (edit: I ment could be less than 20%..example: 15% powerloss instead of 20% gives 194bhp..)
He didn't take a dyno run before the rebuild. so we don't know what kind of numbers he had before..


I will take my on a dyno-run before and after i've found my lost power! and I will present them here!



ES

I know what your saying about the crankcase breather hose dumping oil into the intake system. Inside my C43 intake the oil was everywhere.

It would be reasonable to think that this oil can contribute to reduced performance as the oil can cause misfires, detonation and poor combustion effeicencey.

I replaced this hose with a longer one and routed it to an oil/air separator then back to the intake. It is good to keep the hose routed to the intake as it provides a vacuum to the crankcase which helps the rings seal and reduces oil blowby past the rings.

For the oil/air separator I used a unit for a large air compressor.

Jeff

Hello jackd,

I'm the owner of the dyno'ed E280 which Eivind Soltvedt wrote about. Yes, the car i pure stock except from the intake job which is very primitive using stock filter (removed innertube + increased filterbox inlet).
When dyno'ing the car I didn't expect any gain caused by this - and still don't. I want to believe that the dyno numbers are correct (of course!).
PS! The two guy's owning the dyno are racing their modified Lingenfelter Corvette's in low ten's.

Just before my run a newer BMW diesel was tested. The former owner had told him that the car was chipped. Well, the dyno proved the bluff. Anyway, I was hoping for 150+ dyno HP, but got surprised by 168,9 - and so was the dyno owners. The conditions were about 17 Celisius degrees.
My conclusion holds until a friend of mine have got tested his -95 E280.

regards,
Bernt Skadberg
Norway

Unless you have badly worn rings, cylinder walls, or valve guides, you will never see oil in the large crankcase vent hose. All the blowby will be drawn into the engine by the smaller on further back -- only clean air will be drawn from the clean side of the filter through the engine.

Engines with considerable wear will show oil here, this is a very quick and easy way to determine engine condition. If it makes enough blowby to flow backwards, it will need an overhaul soon.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

There is something else that might have affected on the dyno-run of the E280!
Octane level..In norway we are lucky enough to be able to use 98 octane!

Anyway, we are going to build a cold air intake on my M103, check the temperatures, compare before and after with g-tech instrument..Compare fuel consumption before/after

If it doesn't work, we can always put it back together!



ES

Eivind Soltvedt:
High octane gasoline does not produce more HP than regular grade or any other gasoline. If an engine runs without pre-ignition/detonation with say 91 no. octane, using 98 or 100 octane does nothing but waste your hard earned money.
This article might enlighten you on the subject.
http://www.buy-sell-repair-cars.com/octane.html
JackD