Air Filter: Half Covered In Oil???

[elbles]

Hi all,

Well, of all the things I've changed out on my 240, the air filter has been the thing I've neglected: I've had the car for 2 and a half years now, and I just changed the air filter for the first time. :-/ I know how bad that is, heh.

Anyway, I opened the air filter box up, and pulled the old filter out, to find half of it covered in some sort of oily substance. I was expecting it to be dirty, but I certainly was NOT expecting that. The part that was oily was the portion closest to the engine (towards the passenger side of the car), and I have NO IDEA why it was. I've never spilled oil in the engine bay, so unless the previous owner did so, I'd have to imagine there's something wrong with the car that I'm missing. If any of you have seen this, or know what it might be, PLEASE POST, heh. I've got a nice 600 mile trip back to school tomorrow (spring break is too damn short), and I'd like to at least know what was causing the problem before I leave. Thanks!

[elbles]

And for what it's worth, the car is running just fine . . . no check engine light, no hesitation, nothing of that sort. The check engine light was on the other night, but I just dismissed it, though my thought now is it may have been throwing the MAF code due to any oil being sucked in through the filter. I did clean the MAF with carb cleaner, and took it out for a drive after doing so, and all seemed fine . . .

[ricebike]

is your AIV hose still connected to your stock air filter box?

[240marcuSX]

The only instance ive ever heard of remotely similiar to this is when my friends mom filled her lawnmower up to the brim with oil and ran it for a short time. That filter was covered.

[sleepyRPS13]

do you fully warm up your car before you drive?

[240sHorTy]

Do you have an oil leak on the front oil seal? It is *possible* that oil droplets expelled from the accessory belts from a leaking seal on the crank could be sucked in by the intake vacuum.

Or perhaps your valve cover breather is open and some blowby oil 'vapor' is expelled into the air and sucked in thru the intake.

I'm really grasping at straws, but maybe over a couple of years??

[navysnail]

it sounds like your AIV is malfunctioning, which isn't too uncomon. lucky for you, you dont need it. Just plug the line and the opening on the airbox and you will be fine.

[Red coupe]

is your AIV hose still connected to your stock air filter box?

Maybe but AIV is a path from the exhaust to intake(well technicaly intake to exhaust...).It would have to have oil going though the cylinder, with out burning, then though the aiv and past a defective reed valve then into the intake...I would almost say PCV but air from that in introduced way closer to the throttle body then the air filter, and I cant see it traveling against the air stream to make it to the filter...At anyrate if you can pull the PCV valve out try shaking it. It should rattle.

You could also check the hose leading to the intake resinator (hose going into the black box containing the filter) as well as the PCV hose (its one of the two that conect to the intake tube right before the 90 degree bend leading to the throttle body) for traces of oil.

[fatboy]

you got some serious blowby for sure.