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Hi all, I'm new to posting, but I have learned a great deal from browsing various posts of others. However, I have a question that I do not think has been addressed in the forums, FAQ, or any repair manual: Is the hose that drains the oil from the oil trap into the sump straight all the way down? The illustrations in the Bentley manual seem to show that it is, but when I stick my finger into the tube, it only goes about 2-3 inches and then the tube pinches, like it's changing direction or collapsed in some way. Is this abnormal?
Here's a little background if it helps. Car is an '86 wagon with approx. 150,000 miles (odometer stopped working before I bought it), B230F engine. It was showing the classic symptoms of a clogged flame trap, so I took a look. There was some crud on it, but I would say that at least 75% of the airflow capacity remained. The orifice on the intake manifold was not clogged, and the hoses flowed freely, though there was plenty of grime caked on the inside of the larger hose which enters the bellows before the throttle body. I figured that while these parts were not in great shape, their functionality was not reduced enough to cause high crankcase pressures. So I unbolted and checked the oil trap (aka breather). Again, some grime caked inside, but I could blow through its orifices without difficulty. So I don't think it could have caused the problem. The last thing I could think of was the oil drain tube, so I stuck my finger in it and felt pinching as described above. Then I tried using the oil dipstick to poke down the tube; it wouldn't go any farther than my finger. Next I tried a piece of small diameter vacuum line; it went slightly farther but certainly not down to the oil pan. This seemed strange to me, but I don't know if this drain tube is supposed to bend on its way to the sump or not. If not, could this pinching be causing my crankcase ventilation difficulties? And does anyone have a theory about how this drain hose could spontaneously collapse? It just seems like very strange failure, if indeed it is a problem. Thanks in advance for your kind suggestions.
John M
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