Hello and thanks for posting this install video! I noticed at the end of the video that you are still fighting a rear main seal oil leak. There may be a few more things you can try to see if the leak improves. First I would be interested to see how free flowing the fresh air breather is internally, in other words are there any restrictions inside before the hose attaches. Also, what diameter is the hose going to the air cleaner? We recommend 3/4" ID as a minimum, and 1" is better if possible. Having a free flowing fresh air source helps prevent crankcase pressure buildup under full throttle when vacuum drops to nearly zero and the PCV flow becomes limited. Also, you might want to try increasing the overall airflow by increasing the idle flow setting to see if that helps. Just remember to re-tune the cruise circuit when you do this and continue to monitor for oil consumption through the PCV like you were doing. I noticed that you have revision 8 of the instructions, we recently came out with revision 9 that has some updated flow recommendations (the flow recommendation was increased in your case to 2 turns out on the idle screw). These updates were based on years of feedback and working with users to see what worked for their applications. There are also recommendations here for incrementally increasing flow to dial in what your engine likes: mewagner.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/DF-17-Shop-Manual-R9.pdf Hope this helps, and as always feel free to email support@mewagner.com if you have any questions. Thanks! Matt Wagner - M/E Wagner Performance
Just for the record. That’s not a rear main oil seal leak. It it was, it would be drip, drip, dripping when the engine was running. Because the rear main seal is just on the other side of the bearing which has pressurized oil bleeding out from it. His leak is most likely due to the rear oil pan seal not sealing. These old Gen 4 blocks had terrible gasket seals. Which is why we use a combination of Permatex ultra grey & the seal. We glue both sides of the seal, and the gasket to the block. Then install the oil pan. They’re virtually leakless when a good type 4 PCV system is installed & functioning.
3:40 you didn’t mention if you have the high vacuum spring installed. I still don’t know what this PCV unit does better than the factory except being expensive if you live in Canada due to the exchange rate on the dollar.😢
Pcv idle speed test. Use a tachometer. Pull pcv from valve cover. Block flow. Idle should drop between 50 and 70 rpms. If less than 50 you need a larger calibrated pcv or adjust the opening. More than 70 and you need a smaller pcv flow.. This really effects where the throttle blades are set at. Too small a pcv flow and the throttle blades may be too far up the idle transition slot. Too much pcv flow they are too far closed and not expose the tiny amount of the idle transition slot.. The idle transition slot supplies the only fuel from idle to around 1800 rpm when there is enough air flow thru the boosters to start lifting fuel and feeding it in from the primary circuit.. With a 454. You are probably going to need a 0.036" idle feed restriction. Use a mirror and a timing light while you bring up the rpms till the primary boosters start to trickle. Back off about 50 rpm and look at your air fuel ratio. If its lean. Go up 0.001" on the primary idle feed restrictions.
I am not a mechanic but there is an issue with pressure. My truck has 1985 rebuilt 454 Big block engine and I passed smog check every time. When I started and drove about 300 feet it had no issues at all. I turned off the engine when I had to stop for about ten minutes then I turned it back on. I heard strange rattling noise but it did start and drove less hundred feet I saw red engine light. I could hear rattling again. I turned off the engine and tried to turn it on again. No start and red engine light on a dashboard. I opened the hood and saw that hose attached to the top came off and the engine spitted out some oil. I do not know if it was caused by PCV valve or any internal part of the engine. I will appreciate any suggestions if you have experienced some thing like this. I also do not know if Wagner valve is compatible with 1985 454 Big Block Chevy. Thank you.
I've seen it a lot on Engine Masters dyno engines, but so far never in a car. I like the idea a lot, but I think installation could be tricky and it may cause clearance issues with the headers close to the floor.
Great video, what have you found out in a year with this? Would it be worthwhile to get a vac reading off the dipstick tube for a baseline, you'd see what changes take place a little better.
@@SS454LS6 There's engine builders finding HP with vacuum. At 8-12 inHG they picked up 15 free HP. The more the pressure differential across the ring pack the better the rings sealed. They're running dry sump with an extra stage just for the crankcase.
@@robertjackson7590 for sure there is power with vacuum. I do not think you will get any power from installing a Wagner though. It may reduce pressure, but I can't see it making a decent vacuum.
Your rear main seal leak is due to poor assembly. You can change it without having to remove the crank as long as you can get the oil pan off in your car
Did the leak on the rear main seal eventually went away when using the Wagner pcv valve? Did the Wagner PCV VALVE fixed the problem or did you replaced the seals? I have the same problem and I’m planning on ordering the adjustable pcv valve.
Did you make note of an AFR difference at idle? Or vacuum change? I put a Wagner pcv in about 6 years ago. Previous to that I did some testing with different pcv valves, and found that the Standard Products V173 was good for low idle vacuum engines. Caused a gain in idle vacuum of about 1.5” compared to a generic pcv. This was confirmed on 2 engines I had.
@@jakefriesenjake it sure cleared mine up. I was running collector evacs. was pulling too much vacuum. should only be run with open headers, i was running mufflers. anyway, undid and blocked off bungs and it cleared up on the first pass.
You probably don't have any baffles in those poorly designed but cool looking junk mickey thompson rocker covers, those baffles were designed by engineers for reasons. Aftermarket sucks.
A good read about baffles on the M/E Wagner website:
mewagner.com/?p=1221
Don't forget to retort your oil pan bolts might help with your leak if you haven't already check them.
I bought one of those about 7 years ago. You'll love it. 👍
Hello my Friend, thank you for the detailed video. I've now ordered one too. Greetings from Germany 😎
These are about the only aftermaket part fits musclecars that has no downside : )
Hello and thanks for posting this install video! I noticed at the end of the video that you are still fighting a rear main seal oil leak. There may be a few more things you can try to see if the leak improves. First I would be interested to see how free flowing the fresh air breather is internally, in other words are there any restrictions inside before the hose attaches. Also, what diameter is the hose going to the air cleaner? We recommend 3/4" ID as a minimum, and 1" is better if possible. Having a free flowing fresh air source helps prevent crankcase pressure buildup under full throttle when vacuum drops to nearly zero and the PCV flow becomes limited.
Also, you might want to try increasing the overall airflow by increasing the idle flow setting to see if that helps. Just remember to re-tune the cruise circuit when you do this and continue to monitor for oil consumption through the PCV like you were doing. I noticed that you have revision 8 of the instructions, we recently came out with revision 9 that has some updated flow recommendations (the flow recommendation was increased in your case to 2 turns out on the idle screw). These updates were based on years of feedback and working with users to see what worked for their applications. There are also recommendations here for incrementally increasing flow to dial in what your engine likes: mewagner.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/DF-17-Shop-Manual-R9.pdf
Hope this helps, and as always feel free to email support@mewagner.com if you have any questions.
Thanks!
Matt Wagner - M/E Wagner Performance
Just for the record. That’s not a rear main oil seal leak. It it was, it would be drip, drip, dripping when the engine was running. Because the rear main seal is just on the other side of the bearing which has pressurized oil bleeding out from it. His leak is most likely due to the rear oil pan seal not sealing. These old Gen 4 blocks had terrible gasket seals. Which is why we use a combination of Permatex ultra grey & the seal. We glue both sides of the seal, and the gasket to the block. Then install the oil pan. They’re virtually leakless when a good type 4 PCV system is installed & functioning.
3:40 you didn’t mention if you have the high vacuum spring installed. I still don’t know what this PCV unit does better than the factory except being expensive if you live in Canada due to the exchange rate on the dollar.😢
It's fully adjustable
Pcv idle speed test. Use a tachometer. Pull pcv from valve cover. Block flow. Idle should drop between 50 and 70 rpms. If less than 50 you need a larger calibrated pcv or adjust the opening. More than 70 and you need a smaller pcv flow..
This really effects where the throttle blades are set at. Too small a pcv flow and the throttle blades may be too far up the idle transition slot.
Too much pcv flow they are too far closed and not expose the tiny amount of the idle transition slot..
The idle transition slot supplies the only fuel from idle to around 1800 rpm when there is enough air flow thru the boosters to start lifting fuel and feeding it in from the primary circuit..
With a 454. You are probably going to need a 0.036" idle feed restriction. Use a mirror and a timing light while you bring up the rpms till the primary boosters start to trickle. Back off about 50 rpm and look at your air fuel ratio. If its lean. Go up 0.001" on the primary idle feed restrictions.
I think this would be effective with a carb, but probably not with EFI since it self tunes the AFR and idle speed.
I am not a mechanic but there is an issue with pressure. My truck has 1985 rebuilt 454 Big block engine and I passed smog check every time. When I started and drove about 300 feet it had no issues at all. I turned off the engine when I had to stop for about ten minutes then I turned it back on. I heard strange rattling noise but it did start and drove less hundred feet I saw red engine light. I could hear rattling again. I turned off the engine and tried to turn it on again. No start and red engine light on a dashboard. I opened the hood and saw that hose attached to the top came off and the engine spitted out some oil. I do not know if it was caused by PCV valve or any internal part of the engine. I will appreciate any suggestions if you have experienced some thing like this. I also do not know if Wagner valve is compatible with 1985 454 Big Block Chevy. Thank you.
I'll have to try that! Thanks.
What’s your thoughts on adding oil catch can ?
Definitely nothing against it.
Have you looked into the Moroso valve cover/exhaust venturi evac valve?
I've seen it a lot on Engine Masters dyno engines, but so far never in a car. I like the idea a lot, but I think installation could be tricky and it may cause clearance issues with the headers close to the floor.
Great video, what have you found out in a year with this? Would it be worthwhile to get a vac reading off the dipstick tube for a baseline, you'd see what changes take place a little better.
I mean I would never discourage scientific testing. For me, the reduction in leaks was good enough for me.
@@SS454LS6 There's engine builders finding HP with vacuum.
At 8-12 inHG they picked up 15 free HP.
The more the pressure differential across the ring pack the better the rings sealed. They're running dry sump with an extra stage just for the crankcase.
@@robertjackson7590 for sure there is power with vacuum. I do not think you will get any power from installing a Wagner though. It may reduce pressure, but I can't see it making a decent vacuum.
Your rear main seal leak is due to poor assembly. You can change it without having to remove the crank as long as you can get the oil pan off in your car
Did the leak on the rear main seal eventually went away when using the Wagner pcv valve? Did the Wagner PCV VALVE fixed the problem or did you replaced the seals? I have the same problem and I’m planning on ordering the adjustable pcv valve.
Did you make note of an AFR difference at idle?
Or vacuum change?
I put a Wagner pcv in about 6 years ago. Previous to that I did some testing with different pcv valves, and found that the Standard Products V173 was good for low idle vacuum engines. Caused a gain in idle vacuum of about 1.5” compared to a generic pcv.
This was confirmed on 2 engines I had.
vacuum stayed the same, and my EFI will self adjust to keep the AFR's the same.
SS454LS6 Great video thanks! Did this eliminate your rear main seal leak?
I wouldn't say 100%, but a massive improvement.
interesting fix !
Does it matter what side the PCV is on?
Shouldn't matter as long as you have the rest of a PCV system set up. So your breather would be on the other valve cover.
Put a k and N breather on each side, oil leaks will be gone. as long as the gasket isn't leaker.
More breathers will only help oil leaks at idle or only full throttle?
@@jakefriesenjake it sure cleared mine up. I was running collector evacs. was pulling too much vacuum. should only be run with open headers, i was running mufflers. anyway, undid and blocked off bungs and it cleared up on the first pass.
@@matzrat5006 nice
My truck is burning oil. I have just headers and a short pipe, but I will eventually straight pipe it to the back. So, should I do what you said?
Or maybe Im leaking small amounts oil.
Its just the valve cover leaking behind the head
Why are you referring to yourself as 'we'?
Because the viewer and myself are into the projects together.
You probably don't have any baffles in those poorly designed but cool looking junk mickey thompson rocker covers, those baffles were designed by engineers for reasons. Aftermarket sucks.
I also keep my stock VC's for the internal drip rails, gotta keep those rockers juiced!