Cleaning OCV's
 

2013 BRZ MT

I have a catless UEL header and got the stage 2 tune from Delicious Tuning. That is the only engine related mod.

The tuner is telling me that my exhaust cams are not on target, not exactly sure what target he is referring to but says this is indicative of low oil pressure. I just changed my oil and it is full. He says to clean the OCV's. I know what this is and where to find them but how should I clean them?

You have a 2013 then you probably don't have the updated part number with a revision 2015-2017 has a newer designed one that fits right in the old cars Its right below the oil cap and oil filter with a black plug connected to it, there's four of them so I'm assuming he wants the exhaust one changed I crudely circled the right side ones:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/blob:...d-f8e0f754f8bchttp://www.ft86club.com/forums/blob:...d-f8e0f754f8bchttps://i.imgur.com/apAqTn0.jpg


I would find the 2017-2018 part number for those and replace them with the upgraded versions if you have the cash. Also make sure you're running clean 0W20 as that would effect the values he's getting. At a time people were getting P00B codes they released a TSB and redesigned the part on later models, I'm not sure how you would clean them, but I would make sure if your are removing them you properly replace the gaskets when you re-install. Also possibly using brake clean through them would help, but be careful of spraying the brake clean into the electrical contacts

First off, OCV stands for oil control valve so OCV valve is kind of redundant. Sorry. Pet peeve.

Subaru is terrible at naming convention. What they call the OCV is actually the oil control solenoid. The solenoid acts on the valve which is part of the sprocket assembly. Here's some light reading. https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123459

Here's some more 'official' light reading. https://demos.starbase7.net/t3Portal...0558A001X.html

Come back with questions.

Dangit, i knew what it stands for and I hate when people do that. I screwed up. I'ma fix it.


Thanks for the reply

Alright I'm only on page 7. What a freakin mess. Seems to be no real solution or root cause. I'm not getting any engine codes but could my issues be an early sign of potentially worse issues down the road?

lol :cheers:

Short and sweet - My current theory is that if the spool valve gets gummed up and jams, AND the engine is run that way for long enough, the learned correction value in the ECU creeps enough that when the spool valve is cleaned or the sprocket is replaced entirely, the system will be far enough out of whack that the ECU doesn't detect normal operation long enough to readjust itself.

A tech with the right tools for logging and testing, will be able to see a lazily operating servo. They can be logged with techstream or OBDLink, and the banks can be compared to each other.

Is the spool valve the valve that the OCV pushes on? Given your theory, would routinely taking off the OCV's and pushing on that spool valve alleviate any potential issues?

I got a P000A code a while back that came and went randomly. Took out the pertaining OCV and blasted the shit out of it with brakleen. The plunger freed up and moved just like the others, but I am still getting the code every now and then for "camshaft slow to respond."

I'll get around to replacing it one of these days. It is a 2013 after all. I should probably do all four.

Yeah. That's it. Maybe there are more issues with the OCV than with the spool valve but I have limited experience. All four are identical and they're easy to swap around so we have that.

I gained an interest in the system because of my friend's engine. A pretty big group of us gets together with some regularity and he has been the only one to see the issue. I don't think it's all that common.

Unless there are symptoms, I would leave it all alone. Get the OBDLink system to monitor performance real time. I'm not aware of any other Android app that can catch those parameters.

Dang thats be the most logical theory I've seen so far. It makes total sense that the ECU wouldn't want to drift the values back if the new correct values are so far off that it thinks it's in error. I still think it's nuts that there isn't a way to reset the ECU. So the moral of the story is to check your logs from time to time for drift and jump on it before it's so bad you need to do the ECU too.

Or that's the theory anyways. Hahaha

My friend's engine recovered. I think there's hope.


...or I'm full of shit. :iono: :D

I have ECUtek. Can I monitor the things you are referring to? If yes, what parameters should I be monitoring and what should the values be?

I don't think it's possible to monitor the individual channels with ecutek.

Look for Target VVT Angle, and Change Angle.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBoI42CGAtM[/ame]

Are those the values that the FA20 should be?