Oil Catch for PCV system

[2002 Maxima SE]

^^^
Agreed. The problem here is that the separator blows in from the top and hits a "hat" over the top of the filter that acts as a baffle. It has fins cut into it that allow the oil to drip down past the filter. Mine usually runs down the sides. To truly catch it, there needs to be a tube from the top to the bottom where some material (some have used plastic SOS pads) would baffle the vapor separating the heavier material.


Drilling a hole in the filter would allow it to suck in that dripping oil/water/fuel. Drilling a hole in the bottom would suck in oil that splashes (not sure if that happens but the bottom of the filter cover had a coating of oil/water/fuel).

I think the less restrictive filter is the way to go, but what other type of filter is there that is as small as this one (roughly 1" tall with a diameter of 1/2").

 

[kang]

I wonder if a set of baffles would work better than a filter. As the air flows around all the baffles, the momentum of the droplet of oil would cause it to smash against one of the walls, where it would then flow down to the bottom. Baffles wouldn’t impede the air flow as much as a filter.

 

[mjo]

I have been trying a remote filter & mount as a catch can. The first couple of weeks the L10241 filter filled half full with water and sludge junk. So I bought an L30001. My advice is that if the filter is too restrictive your engine will burn more oil. Also I've resituated the filter so that it sits vertical instead of laying horizontal. I'm hoping that this will keep the crud at the bottom of the filter and not allow it to get plugged up. Maybe if I drill some holes in the ADBV the filter will be drainable.

 

[metroplex]

I have a 1981 Ford 302 V8 that has used the stock PCV setup for the past 24 years. Try to convince me a separator is needed for long engine life.

The only reason I'd consider installing a separator is to remove the oil vapors from the air intake stream for added horsepower from boosting the timing. The hot oil vapors increase the temperature of the combustion chambers.

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

quote:

---

Originally posted by metroplex:
I have a 1981 Ford 302 V8 that has used the stock PCV setup for the past 24 years. Try to convince me a separator is needed for long engine life.

The only reason I'd consider installing a separator is to remove the oil vapors from the air intake stream for added horsepower from boosting the timing. The hot oil vapors increase the temperature of the combustion chambers.

---

Don't forget, oil lowers octane.

In low compression/regular fuel scenarios I don't think it will hurt anything. However, I have had a low RPM (thats right, low RPM) ping that started in my car after about 20k miles. Nissan says its normal. Turns out, that little bit of oil mixed with the air/fuel and lowered the octane, causing a ping. Ping is not good for an engine.

Would it last 200k? Maybe...more than likely it would. But that rattle/ping was very annoying.

In your car (mine too) the system is doing what it is supposed to, burn off the waste product. Like you said though, there is a performance benefit to removing it from the intake stream.

 

[boxcartommie22]

this oil seperator sure does work great oil collects in the bottom of the seperator..i left the filter out because there is noting to filter and i don't want the restriction..or i guess one could put a big hole in the bottom of the filter..that works great too

 

[mjo]

Using the STP equivalent to the L30001 oil filter (connected to the PCV), I've tried situating it vertically instead of on it's side for a couple of days and No More Oil Burning! Next I will try to drill holes into the orange ADBV and see If I can remove, then drain the filter. If this is possible, then I can reuse the oil filters as catch cans several times over.

The reason why I became interested in this project was because I figured that it would filter out the sludge/oil/water from entering the intake. This keeps the intake and intake valves cleaner and may result in better mileage & longer engine life. 4 stroke gasoline engines have a hard time burning off oil compared with gasoline. If the engine burns a little cleaner then there will be less contamination entering the engine oil.

 

[boxcartommie22]

mjo, there is no need to filter anything the air is already filtered...the think you want is to separate the water and oilly vapors which it does very nicely..i been driving with this setup in my vehicles..i removed the separator and removed the fittings on the clean side there was no i mean zero oil not even a film and it was dry!!! the other side had an oily film before it was separated..also the input to the intake was dry and clean no film at all!!!

 

[robbobster]

I pulled the little filters out of the separator for the reasons stated above. Seems that they offer a bit of restriction and the potential to clog with oil.

 

[mjo]

quote:

---

Originally posted by boxcartommie22:
mjo, there is no need to filter anything the air is already filtered...

---

You're right... I wish I could somehow drill the filter element out of the filter. It is otherwise a relatively cheap, easy way to hook up a pcv catch can.

 

[boxcartommie22]

mjo, if you are using the campbell hausfeld from wal mart the filter just unscrews...leave it out and just put in the separator

 

[wileyE]

On my old 40 chev they vented the crankcase into the cars frame on the drivers side. It was well preserved, LOL! smoked a bunch when I was welding on it, pu.

 

[Drew99GT]

If ya'll want to get serious, you can buy catch can kits that are made specifically for this prupoes, and you can even set it up with a drain that'll drain collected oil back to the crank case. I'd feel a hole lot more confident in a setup like that which is designed for it's intended purpose. For turbo/blown applications, they're a must of you want an oil free intercooler/intake plumbing.

 

[blupupher]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Drew99GT:
If ya'll want to get serious, you can buy catch can kits that are made specifically for this prupoes, and you can even set it up with a drain that'll drain collected oil back to the crank case. I'd feel a hole lot more confident in a setup like that which is designed for it's intended purpose. For turbo/blown applications, they're a must of you want an oil free intercooler/intake plumbing.

---

You mean like this?

 

[KC]

Using steel wool (the type that we used for scrubbing) - in place of the cotton filter may be a viable option. It is less dense and does not have the tendency to clog up because it does not absorb oil. Oil vapor would condense on the steel wool, get trapped and flow down to the container; the question is to get the right size and to make sure there are no loose bits that can get blown into the engine and cause damage.

I remember back in the late 80's, my Mazda 626 has sort of steel wires wound up like a small ball - stuck inside the PVC breather hose to trap the oil vapor. Though it was not 100% effective, but it does help to reduce the amount of oil in the intake plenum.

 

[robbobster]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Drew99GT:
If ya'll want to get serious, you can buy catch can kits that are made specifically for this prupoes, and you can even set it up with a drain that'll drain collected oil back to the crank case. I'd feel a hole lot more confident in a setup like that which is designed for it's intended purpose. For turbo/blown applications, they're a must of you want an oil free intercooler/intake plumbing.

---

At least so far as blown modular motors go, they work no better than the homemade setups.

I've got several friends running high-boost turbos on a variety of cars/trucks, and those setups don't work any better for them, either.

We're all searching for the 100% solution, so far there is none for our somewhat unusual engines.

 

[kang]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Drew99GT:
If ya'll want to get serious, you can buy catch can kits that are made specifically for this prupoes, and you can even set it up with a drain that'll drain collected oil back to the crank case. I'd feel a hole lot more confident in a setup like that which is designed for it's intended purpose. For turbo/blown applications, they're a must of you want an oil free intercooler/intake plumbing.

---

Two more:

http://www.accmachtech.com/pcvcatchcans.htm
http://lowrider.cardomain.com/item/GRE12003510

 

[mjo]

Well, the verdict is in. Remember, the catch can setup I mentioned above that uses an oil relocation kit? Well, it works. So far, after several hudred miles, I haven't noticed any drop in the oil level. So if you have a spare kit or relocation filter housing laying around thats part of the kit you might consider using it. Here are a few tips:

1. Get the cheapest biggest filter you can find that will fit the boss threads (bolt onto the filter housing).
2. Drill into all the small holes outside the center thread - right through the anti-drainback valve (looks either gray or orange).
3. If your filter housing is steel or forged iron, apply some grease to the boss threads to protect them from rusting.
4. Make sure the filter stands vertical with the rounded closed end pointing downward toward the center of the Earth. This is to help align the metal walls with the magnetic north and south (just kidding) and also allow the oil to drop to the bottom of the filter and not get sucked into the filter outlet.

5. If you want to try something really whacky, tap the bottom of the filter and bolt a needle or ball valve into the bottom. This would serve as a way to drain the filter of oil. If you are really geeky you should also tap your oil pan and run a hose from the filter to the pan as a lazy-mans oil drain. Of course, use a check valve to prevent your intake manifold from sucking every last drop from your oil sump.

 

[kcryan]

i just yanked the filter out of my walmart unit and i still get almost as much if not just as much oil out of it.

 

[Gary Allan]

mjo, you can get filters without ADBV. You can also mount them horizontal so that they can drain back. There's no forced lubrication going on here ..so the stuff will probably just drop out and drain back when the then engine is shut off. I mean you're not going to fill an oil filter to the point where you're pushing oil into the outlet. If you do, you've got issues that need more than this for resolution.

The main thing in all these items is that you lower the velocity and/or provide a baffle. It would require, in most cases, nothing more than a long tube of a larger diameter. The bigger and longer the better. Isn't your intake just one big/long tube?