Intake Tube

[Kevin Lang]

I always thought that the intake breather tube allowed air to go to some other part of the engine for dealing with the pcv setup, but after reading some posts and thinking about it, I think the tube is actually the culprit responsible for dumping the gases and "harmful emissions" from the crankcase back into the intake to be burned off. Is that correct?



If that is the case, than I will be promptly ordering a Zabteck Orange Intake Bypass kit, making my first mod....one giant leap for mankind.



The Zabteck website says that the bypass is primarily for looks, but it doesn't have any adverse effect on engine functionality and performance, does it?



**If my assumption is correct, and the crap flows _out_ of the breather tube, then what is the filter for? To prevent anything from flowing into the pipe?



--Kevin

 

[Todd Z]

Kevin,

The breather tube is actually the "IN" side for the pcv system.... The reason you can fail emission tests is it removes the close loop on the system. But it will not cause a CEL or any thing, it is a visual part to check by the inspector.



The PCV valve on the other valve cover is where the engine draws through into the bottom of the intake. If the pcv valve becomes dirty or clogged, and if you rev the engine over 5000K rpms it cause positive pressure in the engine, THATS where the air can flow back wards through the breather tube into the engine.



I have had my kit on there about 30K miles now and no effects other then clean intake pipes and throttle bodies....



Todd Z

 

[Kevin Lang]

Thanks for correcting me on how the system works. Knowing is half the battle...



I don't think I've ever revved her over 5000 rpms; I could go check my scangauge II to see, but I seriously doubt I've broken the 4500 barrier.



On emissions, I'm good for 2 years as I just passed the test, which I was shocked to discover required no body inspection, and took a good 5 seconds to complete. My 92 LeSabre, being obdI, took 20 minutes plus to test, but I didn't expect a technology difference of 4 years (till obd2) could make such a drastic time difference.



So if I would fail emissions (it's just a 14 dollar tax on driving here), I'd have 2 years to fix it, and I believe one of the functions of the spiffy ScanGauge II is to tell you if your ride can pass emissions or not. Is there anything, besides reporting useful information like oil pressure and amount of air going into the engine, that it can't do? (those failings not being its fault)



So I pop on the orange breather kit, see no decrease in gas mileage (right?), have a cooler engine bay (figuratively), and a cleaner throttle body on top of it all. Is there anything to loose?



Besides, the only mod I've done to my ride engine-wise has been to pull out the air silencer...I'll take hotter air for the cool noise right now, and it showed me that my air box is slowly disintegrating...either that, or it doesn't mix with water



Thanks again,

--Kevin

 

[Todd Z]

Kevin,

This will not keep the engine cooler, It will not cause a drop in MPG, IT will help keep the intake cleaner....



I know nothing about the scangauge, I allways use the laptop for my stuff....



Todd Z

 

[Kevin Lang]

Lol--I knew I shouldn't have used the word "cooler" there...vernacular got treated as technical, or something like that. I should have said that the intake would make my engine bay "more visually appealing" or something along those lines.



So no disadvantages to the intake kit? Well then, I'll have to rally my fundage and order an orange one from you guys....the CAI is still "any color you want, as long as it's blue", right?



Hmm....a laptop to monitor data would be nice. I have a setup for my OBDI LeSabre, but between the heinously expensive connector and the ridiculously expensive software for the laptop, I never bothered to use the laptop for OBDII. GPS and data in one place...can't go wrong with that. What setup do you use for data gathering?

 

[Todd Z]

Kevin,

Yup any color in the word as long as it is blue...



The orange filter is in stock...



I use the SCT software, Free download, and since I have the Xcal2 I can data log right through it and monitor with it...



Todd Z