pcv freezing

[Exceptional62$]

i own a 2017 Equinox, less than 130000 miles on it. With no warning my car lost oil.. Now Im told it blew the real main seal, apon futher investigation of the engine timing chains, something froze causing all the damage to my car. Told that GM knows of this problem. Have been told GM has sent out how the car is to be drilled out to prevent this from happing again. I live in Michigan. We have freezing temps here. If these cars freeze causing damage, Why are they sold in Michigan. Total cost to fix 3300.00. Why???????

 

[ricklack]

It's not freezing, the PVC hole gets blocked by carbon etc. Temperature isn't an issue. What engine is in your 2017?

 

[Exceptional62$]

2.4l

 

[mrearly2]

Two years ago, the same thing occurred to my 2016 Equinox with the 2.4l four-banger. The PCV tube to the intake chamber froze because condensate can't drain from it, resulting in over-pressuring of the crankcase, which causes a blown rear main seal. It is a well-known issue with that engine. The most common remedy for that (of course after replacement of the RMS), is the installation of a vented oil fill cap, No. FC219.
As ricklack said, the orifice in the head becomes clogged with carbon. That's the root cause of the issue, isn't it? Carbon deposits, you know, are a "feature" of the wonderful GDI engines.

There are numerous posts on the Interwebz regarding this issue. Here's one: https://www.chevyequinoxforum.com/threads/rear-main-seal-blown.3156/#post-16808

And the vented oil fill cap doesn't always help...

Another: https://www.chevyequinoxforum.com/threads/rear-main-seal-blown.3156/#post-16808
and another: https://gmauthority.com/blog/topic/2017-equinox-lost-oil-and-blew-a-rear-main-seal/

 

[mrearly2]

I don't know how to make the links show up normally. Why don't they appear as regular text? Grrrr.

 

[pipwax]

Two years ago, the same thing occurred to my 2016 Equinox with the 2.4l four-banger. The PCV tube to the intake chamber froze because condensate can't drain from it, resulting in over-pressuring of the crankcase, which causes a blown rear main seal. It is a well-known issue with that engine. The most common remedy for that (of course after replacement of the RMS), is the installation of a vented oil fill cap, No. FC219.
As ricklack said, the orifice in the head becomes clogged with carbon. That's the root cause of the issue, isn't it? Carbon deposits, you know, are a "feature" of the wonderful GDI engines.

There are numerous posts on the Interwebz regarding this issue. Here's one: https://www.chevyequinoxforum.com/threads/rear-main-seal-blown.3156/#post-16808

And the vented oil fill cap doesn't always help...

Another: https://www.chevyequinoxforum.com/threads/rear-main-seal-blown.3156/#post-16808
and another: https://gmauthority.com/blog/topic/2017-equinox-lost-oil-and-blew-a-rear-main-seal/

yep, that's what I did. Replace the Oil cap with a vented cap.

 

[Tico007]

yep, that's what I did. Replace the Oil cap with a vented cap.

The vented cap can freeze as easy as the tube. It won’t save you.

 

[pipwax]

Ilive in Ga and my car is garage kept, so not a problem

 

[Tico007]

Ilive in Ga and my car is garage kept, so not a problem

Oh.. that cap is a Band-Aid for folks up north. It won’t do anything for you.

 

[Tico007]

Im up north in NH so I experience the same freezing problems you are having. You will read about catch cans hanging off the fresh air tube draining moisture. Pressure oil caps. None of that solves anything. The problem is still there. The engine is direct injected so there is no gas vapor wash for the intake ports, where the internal PCV orifice resides. So eventually the PCV orifice becomes blocked with carbon. The engine builds up with vapor/air pressure. With nowhere to go, the vapors reverse direction and exit out the fresh air tube. The hot vapor meets the cool air in the tube and you get moisture. Water. Up north ice. No good. The sad part is even if you clean the orifice you could still get moisture or ice because the tiny hole is just not efficient enough for all conditions. Venting through that cap is the equivalent of a vacuum leak and will eventually freeze shut as the hot vapors get stuck in the cap. I found that out the first week. See my picture.

The OEM orifice design is flawed. Your options are maintain the orifice removing the intake manifold to clean the holeonce a year. Drill a hole in the intake manifold so you can clean without taking it apart. Or what I do. Use an external PCV valve with a catch can under vacuum to remove pressure, fuel vapor, and moisture from the engine. Because it’s a PCV valve and not an orifice, air travels in one direction. Away from the fresh air tube. That’s just one of the problems solved by this set up.

 

[Tico007]

Something else I should mention. Oil consumption was reduced by at least 50% getting rid of the pressure. I can go 4500-5K and consume 1 quart. It was more than double that consumptionbefore the installation.