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So I checked my air filter on my 02 7.3 and it was filled with oil. Not only that, the line going toward the turbo was filled with oil as well. I'm guessing one of the seals went bad. But what I don't get is how the air filter had oil and if it's from the turbo how it got all the way down to the fins of the air filter. The inlet of the air filter is dry but the air filter is drenched in oil. I'm hoping it's just the turbo and not something else. Someone help. Please
Welcome to FTE! How long has it been since the filter has been changed? After 5,000 miles mine looks dark, so if it went an extended period of time the filter would be really dark. Is the filter in the OEM airbox, or open air?
With the truck running, remove the oil filler cap and place it upside-down on the fill neck. Does the cap hover... or jack-rabbit?
Is the Crank Case Ventilation doghouse on the driver-side valve cover plumbed to the turbo inlet? If it is, and the hose looks sealed, then I would take the doghouse off and be prepared to fetch O-rings for the CCV housing.
Well I just got it not long ago and decided to check the filter. As you can see it is really dirty. And I don't think it's a filter that you need to have oil with. But I might be wrong. I bought a new filter and already put it on.. the oil cap I put it upside down and it just hover like air hockey. When I took it out the cap white smoke was coming out.
Maybe the PO oiled it for some reason or who knows what? Some people do some crazy things. I'd say if the new filter gets oil then theres a problem but oil in the intake is normal because of the ccv. Now if you have a lot of oil in there that's a different story, but I recommend just cleaning everything up and keep an eye on it for the next few days.
Jbom -If that is from a stock air box,you might want to make sure all the latches catch good & tight- Some of the boxes have had broken latches & dirt can go past the filter. Just a heads up.
Here are some pics of typical (normal) oil pattern on stock Motorcraft 1750 air filter in 2002-2003 model year revision of OEM air box. These filters all have less than 5,000 miles on them.
The source of the oil? The crank case ventilation vapors are laden with oil mist, and the turbo vacuums this oil mist through the CCV that is plumbed into the intake on the clean side of the filter. The mist that remains in the intake tract on shut down settles out of the air inside that tract, wherever it is "standing" mid air at the time.
Some settles on the bottom of the intake hose. We sometimes see that as a slick oily bottom inside the tract and the tubes. Some settles on the air filter... only the air filter is porous, not relatively impervious like plastic or metal or the silicon lining of a hose coupling. Gravity wicks the oil mist that settled on top of the clean side of the filter, down to the tips of the pleats, where it attracts the dirt drawn in by air filter next time the engine is operated.
This isn't a bad thing at all. As long as there is space between the pleats that isn't fully clogged with dirt, (as seen in the photos of my filters below) then the filter is functional, despite the pleat tips having collected the brunt of the oil mist that settled out of the intake tract above the clean side of the filter, drawn downward by gravity to the pleat tips overnight, or in between operation cycles.
Notice the consistency in pattern of the darker stained pleat tips between the OP's filter and my filters. Very consistent. Clearly, the internal air swirl dynamics of the stock airbox favor an L shaped portion of the panel filter. More dirt is drawn into the pleats within that pattern, combining with settled oil mist to darken that portion of the filter.
The filter of the OP, however, has more problems than just oil on the pleat tips. It has too much dirt accumulated inbetween the pleats, and of even more concern, it has over abundance of dirt accumulated on the side of the filter, near the gasket, which could indicate a compromised lid seal, as the air gets sucked in through the path of least resistance.
The following images are NORMAL and relatively clean:
20140102 04CB1562 Close up of leading pleat edges and valley embossments to keep pleats from collapsing together. This is a Motorcraft 1750 element, manufactured by Wix, using a patented pleating process.
20140102 04CB1563 Parts Service Motorcraft 1710 & 1750 side by side, showing the very consistent pattern of the uneven biased filter loading in the stock airbox.
07-28-2015, 11:13 PM
