1996 1FZ-FE with 200k started billowing thick white smoke when accelerating from stoplight (1 Viewer)

[Chachi254]

Get rid of the catch can and install a new OEM pcv valve and hose. And ventilation hose of needed.

Alright fellas,

I figured out what I had wrong... Thanks to BILT4ME and others to their patience and kindness in helping me figure out this issue.

THE FIX:
tl;dr -- I replaced my PCV valve/grommet, removed my old cheapie oil-catch device, and installed the OEM hose back for a straight line from the PCV to the intake.

I now can drive for long distances on cruise, come to a stop, and accelerate again without any smoke!


Quick Background:
After many many miles (5k at least) I noticed my old oil-catch setup, which used an in-line oil-air separator filter from harbor freight, wasn't really ever collecting oil in it. It's very small, so I figured that I'd need to drain it frequently but it never filled up. But my car drove just fine and idled soooo smoothly so I didn't think it a problem... well, it was a problem.


Here's a photo of my (very crappy) PCV line oil-catch device which was most likely the sole culprit for my issues:

 

[Chachi254]

On a side note, while resolving my PCV Valve and Hose issue, I also realized I may have accidentally swapped these two vacuum hoses around... I had them set up one way, and decided to try switching them. Since then, I haven't pulled any "EGR A Insufficient flow" errors, or any other CEL's that I was getting every time I drove prior to fixing my PCV issue and switching the vacuum lines.

The down side is that my idle seems to be stuttering and slightly rougher than it was before, especially at stoplights after driving on the highway. So, maybe my vacuum hoses were correct from the get go?

The hoses in question are the ones in the photo labeled A and B. I guess I could look in the FSM for which one goes where, but I haven't yet. Also, the hoses were disconnected while I was on my 8-day vacation and I moved them quite a bit while doing my TB/EGR/Intake cleaning so they lost their natural "curves" which would have pointed me to which port they should have been hooked up to.

 

[Tahyoter]

Wrestling with p0401 I was stumped on which of those lines went where. May be the blind leading the blind here, but I didn't notice any difference in performance swapping their location. They drew the same vacuum on my harbor freight bleeder tool from the throttle body after removing carbon buildup as well. Congrats on the fix!

 

[Chachi254]

Wrestling with p0401 I was stumped on which of those lines went where. May be the blind leading the blind here, but I didn't notice any difference in performance swapping their location. They drew the same vacuum on my harbor freight bleeder tool from the throttle body after removing carbon buildup as well. Congrats on the fix!

Yeah, unfortunately my p0401 code is still coming back intermittently. I can't figure it out though... I can hammer on the gas, drive slow, sit and idle for forever, turn on and off my AC, and sit in my driveway revving but still can't get it to throw the code after clearing it. But then, for seemingly no reason at all it'll throw the p0401 code at random times while driving normally, sometimes even at a stop light without any physical symptoms of issue like stuttering or rough idle. I just cant figure out why it keeps coming on randomly! I clear the code immediately after it get's thrown and it stays off for 2-20miles and pops back on.

I can't make sense of it!

 

[Tahyoter]

My fix was here:
EGR VSV Success on my LX450 (fj80)

Solenoid was total a brick but the code throwing was random after clearing just as you're describing. I used a can of carb clean too on the vac lines to eventually get a good draw down in pressure when revving the engine.

Not a LC but I thought this guy's video was helpful too.



Oh yeah. Dumb luck never hurts either