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Oil bleeding into the intake from the PCV system? One common issue I've seen on higher mileage LT1 engines is oil consumption via the PCV system. The oil separator in the valve cover doesn't do the best job at keeping oil out of the intake.
Oil in the intake track is not a good thing in terms of performance. In addition oil consumption increases emissions and "could" cause a bearing failure due to running low on oil.
I started to notice my car would feel sluggish the first race or so on Saturday nights. After that, the car would pull as if it had an extra 20-30 rwhp. After various trouble shooting steps, I found a large amount of oil was being sucked into the intake via the PCV system. Oil instantly lowers the octane rating of the gas being used by the combustion process. This is bad, because the LT1 is at least 10.4:1 static CR (compression ratio) in stock trim. With thinner head gaskets (Impala head gaskets) and milled heads, my LT1's static CR is around 11:1. With oil in the intake, being mixed with 93 in the combustion chamber the effective octane rating of my gas is lowered, causing pre-ignition. Pre-ignition is a piston killer and a thief of Torque.
I was given a good idea by Nuke on the Cz28.com board. His suggestion was to add an additional oil separator to the PCV track. I researched the cheapest, yet most effective way to implement the solution. I found the BF412 Breather Filter to be an idea solution for less then 3 dollars.
Once the plastic elbow was removed, the BF412 dropped right into the factory rubber grommet. The extra oil separation has proven very effective at keeping oil out of my intake track with a very factory look.
I hope this helps those of you wanting to retain the factory PCV system and solving the oil consumption/induction problems you may be having.
