Hi Larry,
Your crankcase needs to breath to equalize pressure and emit fumes that can
build up in the engine. Modern cars have closed circuits with PCV valves and
other arrangements. Older cars simply vented the crankcase right into the open
air. You could run a hose as you suggested, but then will simply be spraying an
oil mist somewhere else.
But, all is not lost. One way to prevent that oil residue is to install a
"catch tank", as required in most forms of racing, to help reduce oil spills
and
residue on the track. It's a metal tank of minimum 1 quart size that has a
small fitler/breather on top. Various shapes and sizes are made. You'll find
them
at race-oriented auto parts stores or online at similar websites. Pegasus
Racing sells some types. A catch tank enables the breather circuit to operate
normally, but won't allow oil to spread all over.
The tricky part is to rig up some form outlet on the block, at the location
of the original breather tube, so that can link to a hose leading the catch
tank. I think the TR4A has "closed circuit" crankcase ventilation and has a
plug
in the hole that served the open circuit on the earlier cars. Get one of those
plugs, drill a hole in the center and put a short piece of approx. 3/8"
inside diameter pipe in the hole. If you can find a threaded piece at the
hardware
store, you can simply use a couple nuts to hold the pipe in place.
Alternatively, it could be welded or brazed. Then run a hose from the pipe to
the catch
tank. Catch tanks normally require draining every so often.
If you want to keep your car as original as possible, you might be able to
take a larger rubber hose off the existing breather pipe and get some sort of
reducer to step down to the smaller size fitting you'll find on most catch
tanks. The tank itself could probably be set up so it's removable, if you ever
want
to display the car in original condition.
But, you may first want to consider one thing! That oily substance slowly
spreading over the bottom of your car and kept fresh by the minute but regular
flow out the breather pipe is known to some folks as "British Undercoating".
And, it works! I've got a gearbox from a TR4 that had the same breather
arrangement all it's life and kept everything underneath coated in a nice
oil/dust/road
grime mixture that protected all the parts very well! After I cleaned the
grime off, the gearbox looks like it just came out the factory door. Even the
original black bolts and unfinished steel at the drive shaft joint look like
new
and show no signs of rust or corrosion. Just a thought ;-)
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif.
AMfoto1@aol.com
http://hometown.aol.com/amfoto1/amfoto1.htm
i noticed the breather pipe on my tr3 blows out the residual
from the motor(which is a normal function), but is there some way i can
prevent
a buildup of the oily substance around the lower firewall and chassis?. if i
run a hose from the breather pipe to the rear am i changing or harming the
motor? happy thinksgiving, larry schwartz
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