Engine: OHV 6 Oil breather cap

[christophe]

I noticed that a lot of mesh wire is missing from my breather cap. Do you think I could "refill" it safely or that some wire is likely to go in the engine?
Moreover, does anybody happen to know what is the difference between the OHV 6 and the V8 cap? Only #1558580 seems to be available but the parts catalog calls for #1563141. In fact, I'm not quite sure my beather cap is the right one.
Nice day to all.

[Bud]

I don't believe there is a way to replace the mesh in a breather cap. I don't believe there is a difference between the 6 and 8 caps. I've replaced the original breather caps on my cars years ago with Stant replacement caps. They don't look quite like the originals, but they have better filter mesh in them. Also keep in mind that the caps from engines with PCV valves have restrictors in them. I don't know if the restriction is necessary as both of my V8 engines don't know the difference. The restrictors could also keep oil from blowing out of the valve covers as there is no baffle in the valve covers below the cap. Bud

[christophe]

I don't believe there is a way to replace the mesh in a breather cap. I don't believe there is a difference between the 6 and 8 caps. I've replaced the original breather caps on my cars years ago with Stant replacement caps. They don't look quite like the originals, but they have better filter mesh in them. Also keep in mind that the caps from engines with PCV valves have restrictors in them. I don't know if the restriction is necessary as both of my V8 engines don't know the difference. The restrictors could also keep oil from blowing out of the valve covers as there is no baffle in the valve covers below the cap. Bud

Thanks for the reply Bud.
As my car is a 63 model, I got a PCV valve but the breather cap is unrestricted and with almost half of the wire mesh gone, air is perfectly free to pass trough the engine. My spark plugs seem to stay awfully white and I'm wondering about a lean condition. I think I'll try to remove the valve temporarily for testing as I'm not sure yet it has really an action on the engine.
Nice evening to all.

[53k]

I noticed that a lot of mesh wire is missing from my breather cap. Do you think I could "refill" it safely or that some wire is likely to go in the engine?
Moreover, does anybody happen to know what is the difference between the OHV 6 and the V8 cap? Only #1558580 seems to be available but the parts catalog calls for #1563141. In fact, I'm not quite sure my beather cap is the right one.
Nice day to all.

I believe the ohv six cap has a slightly larger diameter than the V-8 cap. It sticks in my mind that the R-3 and R-4 caps are the same size as the six cap.

[skyway]

Don't know about the diameter, but mine has a sheetmetal "shield" extending below the cap on only one side as if to diffuse air coming off the radiator fan?

[christophe]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll check all this. Mine has no sheetmetal shield but I really don't know if it is the right model or not.
Nice day to all.

[Neal in NM]

I made my own breather cap and filled it with a stainless steel kitchen scrubber.




After I cut up the stainless steel, I made sure there were no small particles left to fall into the engine. Neal

[christophe]

That's a very neat job, Neal! I thought of the stainless steel scrubber too. Something puzzles me, though. As the base of the breather is closed except for the part that goes in the engine, is the fresh air coming in by the nipple?

[Neal in NM]

That is a PCV valve. It was my attempt to do a PCV system on my '48 M-16 Commander engine but, do to the massive amount of blow-by it didn't work. I now have a straight barbed fitting with a hose ending at the air cleaner which is working great. This is a temporary "fix" until I can rebuild another motor. Neal

[christophe]

OK, I got it. Thanks Neal.