2003 astra 1600 club problem , air sucking in through oil cap and dipstick ??????????

[9obamartins]

has anyone ever heard of this problem before ? my mates astra has just started sounding abit iffy to say the least , it sounds like a fan belt loose or a bearing but on closer inspection i found that when you remove the dipstick there is alot of air being sucked into the engine and also when trying to remnove the oil cap while running there is alot of vaccum sucking the cap back into place , ive never come across this before , hes had it to a few garages and the latest one says its his manifold pressure sensor ? any other ideas ???????????

[9obamartins]

also it is hammering the fuel and when i checked the water it came gushing out if thats of any help aswell ???????????

[BigBird]

This is most likely to be a stuck open PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) valve and/or a blocked crankcase breather.

The PCV valve regulates the amount of air being sucked from the crankcase into the intake manifold. When stuck open it will create a greater than normal vacuum in the crankcase. A blocked breather pipe which normally supplies fresh air into the crankcase will also cause the same problem. Worst case would be a stuck open PCV valve and a blocked breather.

The breather is usually incorporated into the rocker cover which sometimes has a mesh filter located internally. this can become blocked with sludge; or it could be a blocked pipe supplying fresh air to the rocker cover.

The PCV valve will also be near the top of the engine or rocker cover and will be connected to a pipe leading to the intake manifold or air filter.

Not familiar with your engine but changing the PCV can really be as easy as shown here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-xIpNSADGM

As for the water gushing out - this is quite normal if the engine is hot. (">

Edit: Just spoke to my m8 who runs his own garage service business. These engines do suffer with a blocked breather. This is built into the rocker cover. Take off the rocker cover and blow through the breather with some degreaser as well to loosen the gunge. (">

[9obamartins]

the water gushing out isnt normal the way it was doing it though , i know sometimes it does come out when hot but not the way it was then , anyway i tried taking the rocker cover off and blew through both the breather pipe and the filter part thats built into the rocker cover and both were free of any blockages, i am going to go to the salvage yard tomorrow with him and get the pcv sensor and a few other sensors aswell to try them so i will come back tomorrow hopefully with the answer , is the pcv sensor also called the map sensor ?

thanks for your replys aswell

This is most likely to be a stuck open PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) valve and/or a blocked crankcase breather.

The PCV valve regulates the amount of air being sucked from the crankcase into the intake manifold. When stuck open it will create a greater than normal vacuum in the crankcase. A blocked breather pipe which normally supplies fresh air into the crankcase will also cause the same problem. Worst case would be a stuck open PCV valve and a blocked breather.

The breather is usually incorporated into the rocker cover which sometimes has a mesh filter located internally. this can become blocked with sludge; or it could be a blocked pipe supplying fresh air to the rocker cover.

The PCV valve will also be near the top of the engine or rocker cover and will be connected to a pipe leading to the intake manifold or air filter.

Not familiar with your engine but changing the PCV can really be as easy as shown here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-xIpNSADGM

As for the water gushing out - this is quite normal if the engine is hot. (">

Edit: Just spoke to my m8 who runs his own garage service business. These engines do suffer with a blocked breather. This is built into the rocker cover. Take off the rocker cover and blow through the breather with some degreaser as well to loosen the gunge. (">

[BigBird]

A MAP sensor is not the same as a PCV valve. A MAP (Manifold Absolute Pressure) sensor is used to measure the inlet airflow. A MAP sensor is used by some manufacturers instead of a MAF (Mass AirFlow) sensor. (">

[rids]

I no it sounds a naff shot but have you checked his air filter cuz if that's blocked you might find its sucking thru the rebreather pip ( think that's what it's called). Basically the crankcase breather pipe that releases positive build up of gasses recirculates and gets burnt again if the air filter is blocked it will pull more air thu it making it a negative pressure in the engine.

[BIG-TED]

Let's think, vac (negative pressure) in induction manifold, this is sucking the engine breather emissions as it should. Normally the engine crankcase is a positive pressure. First off remove to breather pipes going to the manifold and blank off the holes on the manifold side and leave the breather pipes to vent in the atmosphere. Does this stop the sucking, the removed pipes should blow.
Are there any other faults engine light on?
Is the engine running rough? A holed piston will cause this issue as the manifold depression will suck crankcase through the hole into the manifolds, when the appropriate valve is open. Any blue smoke? Worn valve guides.
Any work been done recently to the engine incorrect head gasket etc.

Ted

[cosmicma]

with you saying water is gushing out does this happen even when the engine is cold ?
if it does i would be having a closer look at the head gasket it sounds as if the exhaust gases are getting into the water chambers which is usually caused by a knackered head gasket

[9obamartins]

i checked that straight away while the engine was running so it cant be that , but thanks all the same for your input

I no it sounds a naff shot but have you checked his air filter cuz if that's blocked you might find its sucking thru the rebreather pip ( think that's what it's called). Basically the crankcase breather pipe that releases positive build up of gasses recirculates and gets burnt again if the air filter is blocked it will pull more air thu it making it a negative pressure in the engine.

[9obamartins]

not too sure if this happens when the engines cold , i only tried it once it had warmed up , maybe i will tell him to try this aswell , thanks