crusty oil filler

[bmarler]

i found a bit of a problem with the oil filler/breather on my car the other day while changing the oil. the inside was really rusty and some of the mesh had disintegrated and was falling into the filler tube. i actually found a couple of pieces on the magnetic plug in the sump. i took the breather to my trusty lathe and turned off the lip, pulled out the innards, sandblasted everything nice and clean, put in some stainless mesh from a pot scrubber and welded the top back on. anybody with an old breather should inspect it carefully as the bits that come out of this thing are really nasty. another benefit of this proceedure is that the cranckcase pressure seems to be lower now. i was dripping oil out of the weep hole in the waterpump before doing this. just drove about 250 miles yesterday without a drop of leakage!

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[fay66]

Great photos Brian,
I knew of the problem but never actually seen a photo of what it looks like, all I can say is that I'm glad my 2c doesn't have this item, being a fairly early Fulvia I have just a filler cap and a tube that vents the fumes to the air beneath the car, very anti green, but I certainly don't have the problem this breather creates, what a mess!

Brian

[bmarler]

yes it was a real mess. not the kind of thing i had time for either. i was trying to take care of a few minor issues so i could take the car for a pretty long drive when i found this. luckily the fix was pretty quick and painless. guess i'll change the oil again soon and make sure there isn't any more nasty stuff in the sump.

[lancialulu]

Its a known problem and one that all Fulvia owners need to take care of (unles you are blessed with a very early antigreen berlina like Brian's).

Tim