All,

I installed fabricated valve covers on my car. I made my own baffles for the cover and installed the PCV. The PCV is connected to my Ededbrock 1406 carb. The oil pressure has now increased from 40 psi at 2200 RPM to 50psi. It is sits at about 35 to 40 psi at idle. Could this be related to the new set-up?

Also, with the valve cover swap and new baffle/breather/PCV set-up, I now get some black/blue/gray smoke from my exhaust. Could that possibly related to the above issue? My PCV pulling oil into the carb?

The PCV cannot change oil pressure.

Does your new valve cover set have baffles? You could be sucking oil into the intake now.

The new valve covers have moroso baffled breathers on both side.
http://www.moroso.com/catalog/images/68780_part.jpg

I plumbed the PCV into the left breather line and back to the carb....

Are you sure they are both breathers? I have similiar looking breather pieces and one is actually a PCV valve with the exterior appearance of a breather. When I flip it over, it's acutally a PCV valve. You may want to check that.

Yep--both breathers...

wrong !!! looking at your engine from the front of the car on the left should be air breather(lets fresh air into engine) on right should be pcv valve. your engine needs the correct air flow through it to work properly.the vaccuum from carb pulls air from breather through engine to pcv.

What is the PVC valve?
well in the old days the block had a breather pipe that vented access crankcase pressure to the outside and usually down onto the road...
Old worn engines would blow smoke from this vent pipe in great amounts.
Then the greenies came along and said "this is no good"
So the engine manufactures put their thinking caps on and came up with an idea
Why not suck the crankcase gases into the engine and burn it?
But to do this they had to limit how much vaccuum or pressue was allowed to build in the crank case....so they added a valve, that would only open with crankcase pressue...and called it a PVC valve
Then they got to thinking, hey, pulling fresh unfiltered air into the crank case is not very good....so they added a pipe to this vent to inside the air filter of the carb.

Differnt engines have differnt manifold vacuums, and diff vaccuums/ air flow charactorists at the inside the air filter...so not all VC valves are the same....there is a reasonable tollerance, but try using one that is way off spec for your engine and one will get problems....like sucking oil thru, even with baffles....

wrong !!! looking at your engine from the front of the car on the left should be air breather(lets fresh air into engine) on right should be pcv valve. your engine needs the correct air flow through it to work properly.the vaccuum from carb pulls air from breather through engine to pcv.
He doesn't have a pcv valve and that is exactly the problem. Why would you want to pull manifold vaccum on the crankase without a pcv valve? Run it to a breather can to do it right...or dump it to the ground.

Did you use the same pcv that was in before? Somehow it does sound like you are building psi ( air) In the engine. Did you have a breather on the oposite side before? Is the breather with the pcv have dripping oil on the bottom side when you pull it. You should be able to hear the pcv move when you plug the line with your finger. Try pulling the plugs to see whats happining there, if they are all fouled or just one?

I do have a PCV valve--it is plumbed through the breather (i.e. a hose comes out of the breather, connects to the PCV and then goes to the carb. The breather is baffled...

I am using the same pcv as before but now it is most likely more restricted because it is coming through the breather...

It is not dripping any oil...

It is on the same side (driver's side) as before..

Maybe a I need a "looser" pcv now that I have it plumber throught the breather? It might not be opening and therefore allowing psi to build in the motor...maybe??

Hmmmm...I guess I need to experiment with a different PCV...one from a high lower compression engine maybe...that way it will open sooner and relieve the pressure.

That said, don't these two issues come from opposite ends of the problem--too much pressure build-up in the crankcase doesn't make sense if I have too much oil getting through the PCV hose....???????

What is the PVC valve?
well in the old days the block had a breather pipe that vented access crankcase pressure to the outside and usually down onto the road...
Old worn engines would blow smoke from this vent pipe in great amounts.
Then the greenies came along and said "this is no good"
So the engine manufactures put their thinking caps on and came up with an idea
Why not suck the crankcase gases into the engine and burn it?
But to do this they had to limit how much vaccuum or pressue was allowed to build in the crank case....so they added a valve, that would only open with crankcase pressue...and called it a PVC valve
Then they got to thinking, hey, pulling fresh unfiltered air into the crank case is not very good....so they added a pipe to this vent to inside the air filter of the carb.

Differnt engines have differnt manifold vacuums, and diff vaccuums/ air flow charactorists at the inside the air filter...so not all VC valves are the same....there is a reasonable tollerance, but try using one that is way off spec for your engine and one will get problems....like sucking oil thru, even with baffles....

Hmmmm...I guess I need to experiment with a different PCV...one from a high lower compression engine maybe...that way it will open sooner and relieve the pressure.

That said, don't these two issues come from opposite ends of the problem--too much pressure build-up in the crankcase doesn't make sense if I have too much oil getting through the PCV hose....???????

Ya good point, plus why wouldnt the preasure come out the breather w/o the pcv. Got pics of the new ones from the inside? I would probably install the old ones and see how the engine runs (smoke wise) just to be sure it is a problem with valve covers somehow. That was the only change you made at that time right?

Yep--the changes were--new (unbaffled) valve covers and plumbing the PCV in-line with the breather hose.