Both hoses are clear, both connections at the plenum are clear and the valve covers are clear. When I take off the oil cap when the engine is running it makes a sucking noise. There is negative pressure at idle in the block then. So why is the valley pan clunking and bending?

 

So the clunking is getting worse. Nothing is clogged. When I remove the oil cap there is a vacuum. When I remove the oil cap the pan gasket clunks then clunks again when I put it back on.

 

If the PCV system isn't clogged I am at a loss

 

What happens when you remove the vent lines from the valve covers and place the oil cap back on, do you still here the clunking.

 

I believe it would'nt but I haven't checked yet. I am going to do another compression check tonight when I get home to make sure nothing has changed since I did the compression check a week after the rebuild. I am sure that's not the case though. I just know if I was reading this post I would want me to check it again.

It gets cold on the Kawasaki this time of year so here's to hoping I get this fixed before the rain and snow falls.

 

This is a stupid question but did the cylinders get checked for ovality? I went back to your rebuild thread and you had the cylinders honed with 190k on em and new round rings gapped. I assumed a shop would check top, middle, bottom, in both the horizontal and most importantly the vertical dimensions but if your rings are letting go either by gap or by ovality I could see you having excess crank case pressure..... do the compression test dry and give each cylinder a number of twirls, it should drop the needle a bit but not like off a cliff. Run without the PCV system hooked up, just vent the covers to atmosphere and plug the plenum. Take for a drive and see what gives when you park it running in the drive, like does it chuff out of the covers? I know that if you don't resolve this soon you'll be blowing oil out of seals, valve covers, pan, dipstick tube, cylinders and so on.......

 

The cylinders did get checked for ovality and they were squared. But what I have is vacuum not pressure. The oil filler cap is being sucked on to the valve cover. The valley pan gasket is clunking when that vacuum is released then clunking again when I put the oil cap back on as the valley pan is sucked back into its normal shape. I also did a compression test about a week or two after the engine was back together (2 months ago) because it was clunking then too and I had that misfire code from the crank position sensor I was still trying to troubleshoot. I had 120psi (before the rings seated after break in mind you) in all cylinders except the number 5 cylinder that was 117psi. I have read threads that pistons have been put in backwards and such causing ring failure and massive blow by destroying valley pans and that is why I did that. But I had a hand written check list of everything I did as I built the rotating assembly so I didn't think is was going to be the issue. I will be doing it again because it needs to be marked off the list but the engine runs real well and I have no codes so I doubt it will be a problem. I was going to do this today but I got home late and lost my motivation button somewhere.

 

So I just drove it a little while so that it would warm up. I unplugged the hoses and clogged the inlets to the manifold. It clunked loud when I pulled the hoses off. Then it clunked with the hoses not attached to the manifold and when I plugged the hoses that were attached to the valve cover. But it is definitely a suction with everything hooked up like it should be for normal running and then without the hoses there is no chugging or positive pressure I can feel at the oil filler cap. . And please correct me if I'm wrong but this is the PCV system right? There is no actual valve on this motor that regulates block pressure right? Cause I certainly haven't seen one during any of this rebuilding, fixing or breaking. This is a system that just takes a negative pressure on the block via the manifold and calls it good. I am also going to check the vacuum on the manifold when I get a chance. Maybe I am just bending the valley pan somehow when I install it?....?
Halloween is going to slow this process down as I have to be out late on Wednesday with my daughters and such. Why I don't just give up on this whole thing at this point is so beyond me...

 

This is ridiculous but I found the problem. I got my vacuum pressure gauge and a leak down tester today and decided to do a quick vacuum test before me and the Family trail off to the bay area. Not in the Disco of course. I hooked up the gauge to the manifold on the passenger side and it was a steady 18in/hg. While it was running I would get different popping noises from the valley pan gasket every time I disconnected one hose or another. I had no vacuum reading at the oil dipstick. I was thinking that if the vacuum from the manifold is smooth and steady then there shouldn't be any blow by.
Longer story shorter, I put an oil trap in the drivers side valve cover since the motor was built. I took it out and the vacuum that was sucking the oil cap on was gone and there was not a noise coming from under the manifold. I revved it, let it warm up and revved it some more and no noise. SOLUTION=DO NOT PUT AN OIL TRAP ON THE DRIVERS SIDE VALVE COVER!
So you guys who said the PCV system was clogged were right. I will further support this diagnosis when I am back on Monday.

 

Someone put a capper in with the dried chicken bones in a jade bowl......