Smoke from Crankcase Breather Hose

[KidDingo]

Hi All,

I have been trying to isolate an idle issue on my 1981 Spider 2000 FI. All symptoms indicate an air leak. At idle, the engine won't sit at a steady speed, but varies between about 800 and 1000 RPM. So, I've been working my way through the air intake system: no problems there.

Today, I got to the crankcase breather hose that comes up from the separator to the nozzle where the air filter hose connects to the intake manifold. The hose is in good shape, but I blocked off the nozzle and ran the engine with the breather hose disconnected. That's when I noticed the smoke from the breather hose. I shot this 25-second video of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEokPnBf ... tube_gdata

Immediately before I started recording, the engine idled steady at 950 RPM, so I'm afraid that I've stumbled upon my problem, but that problem might not be something I want to admit to.

The engine stalled out a second or two after I stopped recording.

My question is: is this too much smoke to be recirculating back into the combustion process?

[majicwrench]

That is a quite typical amount of smoke.
Keith

[GeorgeT]

That's why the hose is connected to the intake: to capture the crankcase fumes and have them burnt. Looks normal.

[KidDingo]

Fabulous.

Thanks guys. I appreciate that.

That's a relief.

[wizard124]

Have u checked the Aux Air Valve? Pinch the hose closed and see if your idle steadies out.

[KidDingo]

Have u checked the Aux Air Valve? Pinch the hose closed and see if your idle steadies out.

Yep. That was one of those things I did before getting to the crankcase breather hose. I had inspected, tested and adjusted the AAR last summer, and the two hoses that attach to it are new, so I wasn't really expecting the issue to reside there.

As it turns out, given the steady idle after detaching the breather hose, I am leaning towards replacing the breather hose.