DIY: Dual Catch Cans with Air/Oil Separators... On the CHEAP!
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Attached a photo of what the internal tubes look like, hopefully answers some questions about how the cans perform.
After about 500 street and dyno miles, there is a good amount of oil in the can and zero in the tube exiting the can. The oil on the paper towel is from the inlet tube (long one). There will be pictures before too long, but here is a text-only version of this DIY. If you need help using this DIY to set up your own system, shoot me a PM and I'll give any assistance I can! The purpose of this DIY is to give a guide on how to make an affordable oil/air separating system for our cars. There are other documented methods of accomplishing the same task, and those methods are awesome, but you can spend literally hundreds of dollars trying to accomplish this simple goal (because our car needs two of everything!). This was unacceptable to me, so I engineered a way to accomplish 99% of the work using <50% of the cost. I know it seems like a lot of words and therefore a daunting task, but it really isn't. Difficulty: 5/10 - Light fabrication work using hand tools and a Dremel. What you will need: Parts:
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Start it up, make sure it idles and drives like you expect. Check the cans by removing the inlet and outlet pipes with an allen wrench if you need confirmation that oil is being separated. If done right, you'll see evidence of oil dribbling down the one marked 'I' but no evidence at all on the one marked 'O'. If the car idles rough or tries to die, you've got a vacuum leak. Either your lines aren't secure or the cans have a leak. Fully installed reference image: http://www.the370z.com/attachments/m...130609_005.jpg http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1380338269 |
Awesome. Thanks
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Came for the DIY and stayed for that sexy aerospace gold foil.
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On other cars I've used stainless steel wool in the catch can to give the vapor something to condense on. Does the way you build the inlet pipe take care of that, or would some additional filter media help as well?
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The more complex inlet and outlet internal piping seems to be doing a well enough job that I don't think it's necessary. |
Sounds good. How much oil do you see collected in the cans? Do you see any oil in the intake tract after the cans?
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When I pulled the inlets out of the can, the one marked 'I' coming from the crankcase had oil dribbling down it and had obviously dripped oil into the can. The one marked 'O' that leads to the intake manifold was completely dry, not one spec of oil on it. |
I'll probably go with clear hose on the outlet, and that way we'll know for sure.
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I'll have to do some searching. I know it's out there. Turboxs had some nice clear PCV hose with a wire matrix in it with their Subie FMIC kits. Summit or Jegs will probably have some if I look hard enough.
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Semi-clear white, 3/8ths ID, 5/8ths OD would probably work. You should be able to, at the very least, shine a flashlight through it and see the oil. It's not too expensive either. This is the clearest you can get and still have a temperature rating that I would feel comfortable with (You need ~250 deg F, IMO and all true clear stuff is sub 200). |
I just called TXS about theirs, and he's going to check out where he gets it and call me tomorrow. I'm partial to the reinforced stuff, especially on a boosted car.
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Lemme know what you find out! Specifics like what exactly it's made of would be helpful. |
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Oh, and "Crush-Resistant White Silicone Rubber Tubing" on that same page is semi-clear white and rated to 35 psi. (the other stuff is rated to like 150 psi haha)
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It doesn't look like the majority of those that Mcmaster sells are fuel and oil safe.
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Meaning you can run fuel and oil through them at pressure 24/7. Silicone is silicone. It's not going to degrade from the oil and fuel residue your PCV system will have in it. McMaster rates their stuff based on the certified industrial ratings, ISO and OSHA and all those other agencies and organizations. Don't take them too literally for our hobby work, a large majority of the aftermarket parts people out there are using these same components and charging 2-3 x's as much and just leaving off their official ratings info. |
You're right. I doubt it would see the concentrations required to degrade the hose, but better safe than sorry.
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Anyway, post up what you end up going with! |
I'll probably end up with something like this -
SilbradeŽ Braid Reinforced Silicone Tubing | U.S. Plastic Corp. It's complete overkill, but I'm partial to overkill. |
Dude, that's exactly the same stuff that I linked lol
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You're right. I was looking at the Crush-Resistant White Silicone Rubber Tubing, not the High=pressure with the braid. Doh.
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Great DIY! |
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Looks like aluminum tube with end caps epoxied on, actually. Like I said, they're stupid cheap and functional. :P Good point though, I could totally strip that paint off and paint them something else... I honestly never thought of it... sad, I know! |
I will be definitely doing this soon. Great write up. Thanks
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Bumped for new photo and info.
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Good job, doing mine now, got my cans and tubing yesterday.. Great DIY.. +1 Rep....:happydance:
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Are the slotted pipes intended to act as a filter so it's not just blow through?
It's pricer, but I also saw a filtered Jegs separator on there too as another option. Nice DIY -- thanks! :tup: |
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1) create turbulence inside the tube to cause the oil droplets to come in contact with the tube wall and each other and coalesce. 2) bleed off some of the slower moving air along the pipe wall to reduce the velocity in the tube. Edit: If the velocity inside the tube is low (say, inches/minute), then the slots won't do much but look pretty. But I may be way off base. |
nice DIY good job ... :tup:
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When you complete the DIY, you can hear the air passing through the cans, it's obvious that the perforations are doing their job to break up the flow and cause turbulence. I haven't emptied mine in a while, I should open them up and see what's in there. (Only driven ~400 miles if that, but most of it balls to the wall or dyno time haha.) |
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The idea was to break up flow entirely so that there's no clear path for oil to enter and then exit the can. Hence the perforations, unequal lengths, etc. If these cans were made such that you could unscrew an entire end cap, I would have just filled the interior with large strand stainless steel wool type stuff, as it is, it has only small openings for the fittings and the drain, so it wasn't practical to try and fill the interior with any baffling material. |
And yeah there are pre-made alternatives that aren't too outrageously expensive..
I'd give these a shot maybe if I had to do it again, though a pair of them will still run you $150. Carbon Fiber Oil Catch can |
This is the one I saw also at the Amazon link that I thought was a good alternative if someone wasn't looking to have to fab anything
Amazon.com: JEGS Performance Products 52205 Air Oil Separator: Automotive The filter would need to be periodically cleaned or changed, but it should do the job well. Sh0velman, do see a lot of blowby NA? I thought catchcans were more for boosted engines. |
I think a pair of these would look good
Amazon.com: ADD W1 Red Baffled Universal Aluminum Oil Catch Tank Can Reservoir Tank Red Ver.1: Automotive |
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This from my own AOS I made after the Crawford. Just a FYI a friend gave me his manifold to use for porting and it's just soaked in oil. He's NA also with no AOS or CC. I let it sit for a day and oil pooled on the ground under it. Very gross for both! Blow by freaking stinks!! http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps8fd40e3e.jpg http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps5dfd48ac.jpg http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps8d64fab6.jpg http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...psfc37715f.jpg http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps457d1b46.jpg |
I just checked mine this morning. Between the two of them there was perhaps a tablespoon of cleanish oil. None of the coffee colored stuff Synolimit gets in his. This is probably because gasoline and water vapor doesn't condense in my cans but is instead evaporated back into the intake, only the engine oil stays in the can.
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DIY: Dual Catch Cans with Air/Oil Separators... On the CHEAP!
This thread is great. I just finished mine but I did a single can. Thanks for the write up shovel. I also had cleanish oil in my can and filter
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