My 318 started smoking about a year ago. Sometimes it won't smoke at all, but when I pull a trailer or go up hill from a dead stop, it looks like a train just dumped a load of coal in. I found out that oil was actually coming into my air breather through a tube that comes off my heads. Ive been told that I need a new crankcase filter (does that even exist?). All cylinders have great compression. My oil pressure gauge always sits about two thirds of the way up once the motor is warm. My engine has 213000 miles on it and I've seen 318s with way more miles that have no smoke. If any one could tell me why it's smoking and how to fix it, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

That tube is a crankcase vent. It's supposed to make sure you engine burns off all the oil fumes it pushes out. I replaced mine with a $5 chrome breather, so I just have a little thing that looks like a miniature harley air filter on my valve cover. That way it just filters and vents the fumes to the atmosphere. I think you'd have to be burning a LOT of oil from that for it to be a problem. You'd almost have to have the crankcase pressurized or something I think to even get anything noticeable from it. There isn't really anything to fail. Its just a tube, and the only reason I went to the breather is because i switched to an open element air filter.

 

Make certain that your PCV valve is working (they are cheap) and that the vacuum hose is not cracked and in good condition.

Do a cylinder leakage test on all 8 cylinders to get a general idea of how well your rings and valves are sealing.

 

I checked my PCV valve, it rattles like it's supposed to. I'm thinking about just getting a small air filter and putting on the end of the PCV valve and stopping up the whole to the air filter.