Newbie Air box oil leak ,,,, no drain pipe?

[Jonnydaz53]

Hi guys , I hope someone help me. I Have a 72/73 targa 2.4 I Topped up the oil just under the max on the oil dip stick, the car was not running . But once the engine was running the oil was pouring out of the drain off from the air box on the oil switch then on to the heat exchangers .... There was so much smoke I thought I was on fire !!!!. The drain off had no pipe on it . I drained some oil out then all was ok.

Would someone be able to send me a picture of where to run the drain off from the air box also is it a special pipe. Not sure about the oil level it sits just over the minimum cold .

Your thought are much appreciated .

Regards john

[rwest]

John,

On the 911, the oil level can only be checked when the engine is warm, which you just learned the messy way. You might (probably) still have too much oil in your system. Try and figure out how much you put in and compare with the factory number, use the lower spec to get started, then add once warm to about the middle of the dipstick for best results.

I'm not familiar with the drain on a 73, but on my 77 it is just a rubber hose that comes off the bottom nipple of the air box and through a slot in the engine tin by the firewall.

[E Sully]

As rwest stated, if you filled the oil with the engine off, it is over filled. You will need to drain some out, or as you found out it will get sucked into the intake system.
The drain nipple on the bottom of the air box should have a tube leading to the metal drain valve shown in this photo. At the end of the metal drain tube there is a rubber flap valve which prevents air from being drawn into the intake housing. Unfortunately the design does allow some oil to drip onto the exhaust and ground. With a proper oil level, which is usually halfway between the 2 lines with the engine warmed up and running, you should be fine.

[steely]

Thanks for the pic Ed!

[Jonnydaz53]

Thanks guys for the replies especially the photo. It all seems to make a bit more sense now but the parts that were shown in the photo I don't have , any idea if these parts are still available if not would anyone out there have these for sale ?

Once again thanks

[RSBob]

Drain out 3 or 4 quarts. Run your engine until warm. Check oil level on dip stick with car running at 3000 rpm on a level surface, use the hand throttle to set. Add oil until, like the posters said above, so it's midway between the two lines. After you take the car out for a long drive, check the oil level again.

Be very careful with the dipstick that you have it properly seated in its tube because if it misses and drops in the tank, it's nearly impossible to fish out.

[Driver_X]

Classic new owner mistake. There is an oil level guage. These can be inaccurate, but in my car it mirrored the dipstick almost perfectly. Once up to operating temperature (180+) every stoplight became an opportunity to check oil level with just a glance.

Proper procedure is to check level at operating temp, on level surface at idle. As noted, be careful replacing dipstick, you don't want to drop it in tank. It won't actually harm anything, just a total pia to retrieve. Once you confirm level on stick, compare to guage. After a few months, you'll know if you can trust the guage or not.

[fanaudical]

Welcome to the forum, John.

I have found on my '75 2.7 that the drain is not necessary if you are careful with the oil level.

I do snap open the airbox every so often to make sure there is not any excessive oil vapor/condensate trapped in there. I have never had to swab it out.

[scarceller]

I personally never fill above the 1/2 way mark, I've found that 1/4 to 1/2 on the stick tends to keep the oil tank breather cleaner and thus the air box stays a tad cleaner as well. I found this to be true for my 75 2.7L as well as my 84 3.2L, in the 3.2L the rubber 90 degree boot stays cleaner than if I fill past 1/2 way.

[Jonnydaz53]

Thnks for the messages explains how to correctly fill the motor, looks like I need to the metal drain valve. Couple of questions are these available to buy also what is the correct name for this part (air box metal drain valve?)

Would anyone have a spare they are not using ? Let me know

Thanks guys

[E Sully]

The metal pipe is part #911 108 021 02
The rubber flap valve is part #253 260 180
and drain hose is #999 180 030 50

[patz]

As mentioned, newbie overfill syndrome. I did it once with my 914/6 back in 1978. Drain excess, run it and check the stick. Make sure the engine is warm. If you have a fender-well cooler, the pipes will get warm when the thermostat opens.

On the air box, clean the excess oil out with shop towels that don't leave dust or lint. That oil will continue to be sucked into the intake. Most breathers that run from the oil tank to the intake have restrictors that are supposed to reduce liquid from being sucked in.

[E Sully]

I don't think the restrictor was used before 1981. Early cars had a kink in the breather hose to reduce oil from being sucked in.
While it may reduce oil being pulled into the intake, I believe the restrictors main purpose was to help later engines maintain some vacuum when the oil cap was removed to help the car idle. This restriction was not needed on earlier cars, their idle was not affected when the oil cap was removed.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by RSBob

Drain out 3 or 4 quarts. Run your engine until warm. Check oil level on dip stick with car running at 3000 rpm on a level surface, use the hand throttle to set. Add oil until, like the posters said above, so it's midway between the two lines. After you take the car out for a long drive, check the oil level again.

NO. it should be warm, IDLING (950 -1000 rpm) on level ground.