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OIl catch can...Used in place of a pcv valve or direct atmospheric venting...seems like a better idea than dumping back thru the intake...
Can you re-use the oil...would you want to...?
Any thoughts...
OIL Catch cans...anybody use one?
- Thread starter geeeman
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Patman
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A lot of LS1 f-body owners use a catch can on their engine. The PCV setup on these engines sucks.
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Using one in conjuction with a closed PCV system is the way to go. That way you still have manifold vacuum pulling out crankcase vapors and your not gumming up your intake manifold.
I use two. One between the PCV and the intake manifold, and one between the valve cover breather and the intake. This is a closed loop legal setup and will pass emissions.
Some catch cans have little K&N type filters on top, which won't pass emissions depending on where you live and who's doing the inspection. The PCV valve needs vacuum to open, so if you want to do an open loop setup, you'll need to replace the pcv with an open connector and plug the hole where the hose connected on the intake manifold so you won't have a vacuum leak.
If you search some of the performance forums, you'll find several different ways of hooking up catch can(s). I just chose to keep mine as stock as possible with a little extra filtration.
This website shows a Campbell Hausfeld mini filter hooked up to a Ford Lightning and maintains the PCV:
http://www.timskelton.com/lightning/race_prep/reliability/oil_separator.htm
I used this model and it was very effective, but ended up buying two of the larger models from the same company.
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quote:This is the right way to go IMO. A can to catch any fluids but leaving the PCV system intact to allow any vapors to be evacuated...
Originally posted by Drew99GT: Using one in conjuction with a closed PCV system is the way to go. That way you still have manifold vacuum pulling out crankcase vapors and your not gumming up your intake manifold.
I use a catch can on my SR20DET. I tried to keep the PCV however when I had the other end of the rocker cover vented to atmosphere I just ended up having a big vacuum leak. So no go there... So i gave up, and vent both into a catch can bottle! There is 3 ports on the cam cover, and even one that comes from the block. So 4 ports.. Good stuff
The main reason I use it is because I dont want oil dirtying up my intercooler and intake plenum, and blowby gases are no good when on boost.
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quote:Idonno for sure, but I just don't like doing it. I had a puke-bucket installed, in fact it's still; there for my by-pass... How long does it take to fill up and how big? If it were me I'd just write-off as DoingBusiness
Originally posted by geeeman: OIl catch can...Used in place of a pcv valve or direct atmospheric venting...seems like a better idea than dumping back thru the intake... Can you re-use the oil...would you want to...? Any thoughts...
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quote:Heck yea. Plus, you'll gum up the heck out of your compresor housing with the PCV inlet coming in before the compressor, which is the only spost to draw vacuum when under boost. You could just hook up your catchcan inline between the PCV valve and the compressor inlet. I love seeing posts in some forums where people keep their PCV and breather hooked up to the intake manfiold with an aftermarket turbo kit and can't for the life of them figure out why their dipstick shoots out and oil blows everywhere!
Originally posted by Leo: I use a catch can on my SR20DET. I tried to keep the PCV however when I had the other end of the rocker cover vented to atmosphere I just ended up having a big vacuum leak. So no go there... So i gave up, and vent both into a catch can bottle! There is 3 ports on the cam cover, and even one that comes from the block. So 4 ports.. Good stuff The main reason I use it is because I dont want oil dirtying up my intercooler and intake plenum, and blowby gases are no good when on boost.
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You guys have inspired me!! My turbo has the crank case breather pipe feed in before the turbo....it sure would be nice to have an oil trap in line. I'll have to rig something unique.
Good spring project!
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I don't believe in disabling the PCV system either, but I do hate the excess oil that gets though. I'm going to try this;
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I was having this problem too. So as an experiment (I never thought of the catch can, but it sounds like a cleaner set-up than mine) I installed a clear inline fuel filter to trap as much gunk as possibly being sucked through the PCV valve. You see the garbage! Clean oil and some chunks of black gunk! I think the black carbon is from my over active EGR system. All in the name of getting the first pickup with the LEV certifications. Anyway, for now, the filther is blocking a fair amount of oil and carbon entering the intake.
On a related subject, my intake manifold is covered in this oil film. I'm very skeptical about spraying a cleaner in there to clean it out. Will doing this while the engine is running harm any thing like catalitic converters or O2 sensors (my truck has four!)?
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Leo - I'd love a photo!!
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quote:Just make sure it's sensor safe. I use 3M Throttle Plate cleaner.
I'm very skeptical about spraying a cleaner in there to clean it out.
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Thanks Vader!
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quote:Pablo, do you only have one crankcase breather tube with a PCV? If so, just rig a fuel filter inline between the PCV and the compressor inlet. An even better rig is to do that with a moroso catch can. Even better is to find any crankcase evacuation fittings on the block and hook up to them, but do not put a K&N breather on your valve cover if you've got any of the fittings hooked up to a vacuum source, or you'll end up with the worlds largest vacuum leak like LEO said.
Originally posted by Pablo: You guys have inspired me!! My turbo has the crank case breather pipe feed in before the turbo....it sure would be nice to have an oil trap in line. I'll have to rig something unique. Good spring project!
![[Cheers!]](/forums/graemlins/cheers.gif)
You can use the Campbell Hausfeld mini filters in the link I posted above, or this larger one for only $20:
You'll find them in the air compressor section at Wal Mart. Lowe's and Home Depot sell similar filters, but they're more expensive.
Moroso is supposed to be the best, but there's no way to tell if it's full or not. A company called Endyn sells a modified Moroso catch can that doesn't need to be emptied. The oil is automatically drained back into the crankcase. It's only for Hondas, but I'm sure something similar can be rigged for other cars. Here is the link:
http://www.theoldone.com/components/breather/
By the way, if you plan to try the inline fuel filter method, just make sure that the case itself won't collapse under vacuum. I tried an inline Purolator that fit perfectly, but would crush under vacuum. The second one had a stronger case, but the oil would collect near the top instead of getting trapped by the filter itself. If you're looking for a cheap filter, the Campbell Hausfeld mini filter is the way to go.
[ November 26, 2003, 04:15 PM: Message edited by: JPowers ]
You'll find them in the air compressor section at Wal Mart. Lowe's and Home Depot sell similar filters, but they're more expensive.
Moroso is supposed to be the best, but there's no way to tell if it's full or not. A company called Endyn sells a modified Moroso catch can that doesn't need to be emptied. The oil is automatically drained back into the crankcase. It's only for Hondas, but I'm sure something similar can be rigged for other cars. Here is the link:
http://www.theoldone.com/components/breather/
By the way, if you plan to try the inline fuel filter method, just make sure that the case itself won't collapse under vacuum. I tried an inline Purolator that fit perfectly, but would crush under vacuum. The second one had a stronger case, but the oil would collect near the top instead of getting trapped by the filter itself. If you're looking for a cheap filter, the Campbell Hausfeld mini filter is the way to go.
[ November 26, 2003, 04:15 PM: Message edited by: JPowers ]- Messages
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I agree with JPowers. If you've got the room, a pneumatic filter (like that Campbell Hausfeld pictured) is definitely the way to go. I had one on my Integra for a while, but found I really had to keep up on the maintainance. When the filter looked like it was pretty well finished, I swapped it back to the OEM setup. Once I find some replacement filters I'm going to put it back in.
quote:I had this setup for a while, till I noticed the one between the valve cover breather & the intake wasn't catching anything. Figuring I had it installed backwards, I turned it around... still nothing. I figure clean air is entering the valve cover from the intake. A filter at this location is not needed; on my B18B anyway. I've got the OEM tubing between the valve cover breather & the intake.
I use two. One between the PCV and the intake manifold, and one between the valve cover breather and the intake. This is a closed loop legal setup and will pass emissions.
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Drew - Volvo doesn't use PCV's. They use what is called an oil trap, but still it's not super effective, then next down the line is the flame trap on the non-turbos(same thing as a PCV but no moving "valve") - on turbos there is no flame trap, because they assume the turbine would stop a flame front. But there is only one line from the block.
JPowers - On the larger unit, what are thread sizes? Looks easy.
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