Just Me

Really? Mine are 12+ years old (OEM) and just fine, even after a few track weekends.

The ones on Mom's 1995 were just replaced before i sent it on to its new owner.

Most - although not all- SS ones are not DOT approved and do not have an outer protection, and therefore are subject ot external abrasives. I realize that you specifically mentioned those, but that covers the minority of aftermarket braided lines.

For general advice i agree with 4D4 - OEM, which are NOT "just rubber hoses" are best.

Grant

BeOhBe

Hello again!

So I decided to drive to NYC to see my girl last week, and before I left, my CEL came back on. Drove over to my friends house and ran an auto scan with his Ross Tech, and it's throwing the SAI insufficient flow codes again. The CEL didn't come on when I started the car, but rather right after I left the house. Oddly, it came on right as the SAI kicked on for a second time while driving. This seems unusual to me, as I was under the impression it's only supposed to kick on once, from a cold start. Possible faulty SAI relay issue? Perhaps a faulty check valve? I don't understand why it's kicking on the second time. I stfa for more info, but it seems like people who encounter this issue have a problem with it kicking on while the key is not even in the ignition and it drains their battery. This is not happening to me. My battery seems fine, getting ~13.5 on my voltmeter while idling, slightly higher on the highway. And it only kicks on the second time once, about ten minutes after it kicks on the first time. As a result, I've been letting it idle for about 10 to 15 minutes before driving, instead of my usual 5 to 10 minutes.

Second issue: So when I got back from NYC, I decided to check the hose that connects to the combi valves from the SAI pump, the hose I had originally replaced and was having trouble getting to fully seat on the passenger combi valve. Sure enough, with a relatively gentle tug, it popped right off the combi valve. Checked the harder to reach drivers side, and I have the same issue there. I removed the hose from both valves, felt for the o-rings mentioned by 4D4 (I didn't check for an o-ring when I cleaned the passenger connection before), and I don't seem to have an o-ring in either of my combi valves. Anyone have a p/n for these o-rings? I can't seem to find one.
Anyway, I got the hose to seat on the valves pretty well, started her up to see if I could locate an air leak, but the SAI didn't kick on. It was a cold start, but not a particularly cold day, was about 50 degress f. That seemed weird, since I don't recall it not kicking on from a cold start since I purchased it in Feb, but it IS warmer lately, so I didn't give it much thought. That's when I noticed my new issue...

Third issue: After letting her warmup while donking around with my SAI hose, I noticed some smoke coming up from the area of my drivers side turbo. On closer inspection, it appears I have blown the cam plug on that side, and the oil is dripping onto my manifold and then onto the turbo. There was also oil seeping out of the two holes in the valve cover that the engine spill cover clips into on that side. I checked the dipstick, and sure enough I'm low on oil. The dip wasn't completely dry, but it's low enough to barely make a mark. After stfa, I'm leaning towards a pcv issue. I live close to work, so a lot of my daily driving involves some fairly short drives. From what I'm reading, this causes condensation in the pcv system, due to not having time to burn off, which then freezes in cold weather (temps still dip into freezing range overnight here in central PA) and causes an issue with the pcv system. Does this seem to match up with my issue?

I'm currently in the process of removing my y-pipe so I can investigate further and check my pcv and sai hoses more thoroughly. I got my Bentley manual last week, but it's pretty vague on the SAI system, and even more vague on the pcv system. In fact, I can't seem to find any info on the pcv system in the manual at all, but I might not be looking hard enough.

Too long, didn't read? Here's a recap:
-No o-rings in combi valves, need a p/n
-SAI pump kicking on a second time, about ten minutes after the first. Possible failing relay or leaking check valve?
-Leaky cam plug on drivers side, possibly pcv related?

Thanks again for any guidance!

SloopJohnB@mac.com

IIRC most of those types of connections have the O-ring on the female connector on the kombi valve. If you're missing the O-ring it won't seal although it should hold fairly securely. Try getting an O-ring from Home Depot or your dealer.

BeOhBe

Yeah, that's where I was checking for an o-ring (female connector on combi valve), missing from both valves. Wish I had checked for em when 4D4 mentioned it earlier, but I had already cleaned it up and got it to allllmost clip on. Apparently not good enough. Will try Homey D, thanks.

BeOhBe

Just a slight update on o-rings for these hoses. Got a new PCV system in the mail today, and I noticed that the o-rings are on the male connections. Here's a picture for anyone that might be interested:



That's the PCV system, and when I checked my SAI hose, sure enough, there they were. Sooo apparently I do have o-rings, it's just a PITA to get these hoses to actually clip onto the connections. Will try treating it like a **** star tomorrow, and hit it with some lube before jamming it in again.

Sorry for posting such annoyingly large photos, too tired to resize.

Cheers!

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Great pic…don't apologize…size matters! (Since we're using **** metaphors…) And BTW, your original pic showed the O-ring on the male connection(s).

BeOhBe

Haha, yeah, indeed it does.