Updated Oil Catch Can

Updated January 2018: Here it has been almost five years since I originally posted this and between Photobucket carping out and the whole thing being a monumental failure some may be wondering why I didn't just delete the post...

Good ideas are posted by other members with photos that still work and most of their links are working...I didn't go through every line and check them but I can do that soon...just wanted to add why the post is still visible...other than my ego and seeing my name up in lights...but I'd rather it be for something that works than a fiasco that nearly bankrupted me...lol

Anyway...my links still work...some of them...but because of the problems I had and the ease of use the other ideas from other members provide I will simply remove the links to my images...

My apologies if this turns out to be a waste of your time but I did have good intentions...to try to keep a dying engine going longer than it should have lasted and, to be honest, it made it almost two years before I had to scrap the whole project and trade up to a 2.5 mounted on a 96 rolling frame...all I had to do was mount the body and box and rewire the 88 cab with the 96 harness and dash...now that was a project worth documenting...and I might do that some day too...

Updated June 2, 2013.

Original Poster: Mark_88

Difficulty: 1 out of 10

Time to install: About 30 minutes

Disclaimer: The Ranger Station.com, The Ranger Station.com Staff, nor the original poster are responsible for you doing this modification to your vehicle. By doing this modification and following this how-to you, the installer, take full responsibility if anything is damaged or messed up. If you have questions, feel free to PM the original poster or ask in the appropriate section of The Ranger Station.com forums.


Brief Explanation:

On carbureted 2.0 and 2.3 engines there is a vent pipe from the Valve Cover (VC) or oil filler cap that goes into the breather. With a bit of excess pressure in the engine this can lead to oil or foam pooling in the breather which is both messy and generally destroys a good air filter. The crankcase pressure can also force the oil out and cause a severe oil loss situation as well as allowing the oil to be drawn up through the PCV and into the combustion chambers resulting in oily smoke that is generally frowned upon by emission laws and other motorists.

In my updated version, both the Valve Cover (VC) and crankcase through the PCV have been routed to the catch can.

This has worked out exceptionally well...with one exception...

The oil separator, as inexpensive as they are ($10 at Princess Auto), do not last very long.

After changing my oil last month I developed a slight smog problem. I did try the 15w40 Oil and immediately afterwards the engine would produce this light haze of smoke that wasn't quite oil burning smog...looked more like anti-freeze burning...and it would persist throughout the day regardless of driving conditions. Then I noticed the oil smoke trail almost constantly.

So I added a quart or so of the 20w50 oil and it seemed to relent a bit...but still smoked. On a hunch I swapped in a spare oil separator that I had and the oil smoke/smog disappeared immediately.

I guess the new oil I put in had way too much detergent or whatever and the oil separator was a bit beyond its best before date...only had it in a month or so...

The head rebuild is in progress...but I do have my eye on a short block that seems to be in immaculate condition...if nobody grabs it in the next few days I'm going back for it and will have a nearly new engine shortly...although not to the specs I want...yet!

Interesting. I know they are really becoming popular with the blown Mustang crowd. That oil gets into a lot of places and just pools up or gets injested. I just bought one that has a cleanable screen on it and doesn't need a separate catch can.
Dave

Cool...do you happen to have a pic or part number on it?

I just picked up a couple more oil separators for the time. I'd like to have one that is cleanable and less expensive than the ones I'm buying now...I tried to take the old one apart but it looks like it's glued or molded as one piece...

EDIT: Oh, and I bought the short block today...I cranked it over a few times after spraying some oil on the pistons (soaked them actually) and let it sit for a few minutes...it pushed the oil out of the pistons...but couldn't see if anything got past the rings...

The block has only 105,000 km on it...so hardly even broken in...when I took the hoses off the anti-freeze looked new...and the oil looked like it was fairly fresh too...wonder why the car was junked...hmmmmm

Mac said:

I know they are really becoming popular with the blown Mustang crowd.

Click to expand...

Yes it is. Have you seen a K&N drenched in motor oil yet? I wish I would have taken a pic of the K&N on the Mustang of a guy I worked with. He wound up blowing the motor shortly after. Apparently an oil starved 3.8 has issues handling 12psi of boost.

Mark_88 said:

Cool...do you happen to have a pic or part number on it?

Click to expand...

Most of them I've seen are made by JLT - and they come with vehicle correct fittings. They are very nice units, but you have to pay to play. They are in the ballpark of 100 bucks a piece.



EDIT: Here's a kit by Steeda for 75 US dollars through Summit. Steeda is a very good brand..... but honestly, this isn't much different than the Festo stuff we use at work. Maybe you should look up Festo dealers up there. Great quality stuff!


http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SDA-555-3710/?rtype=10

Thanks Shane...+ rep for the info...

I don't mind paying that much if it is reusable...I've already spent $40 on the toss away type...

Go to www.americanmuscle.com and they have quite a few of the JLT separators. Looks like it's more in the 120 US dollar range though.

Sent from a Commodore 64 using a 300 baud modem

Yep, the separator I got is a JLT from Brenspeed and did run $120+. Nice billet alum unit about 2" dia, unscrews the top for cleaning. I'm sure there are better options out there for your use.
Dave

My original intention was to simply build a separator that would have a high capacity and be relatively inexpensive...so far the one I made hasn't lived up to it's expectations other than giving both outlets (PCV and VC vent hole) a place to let off steam...

Maybe I just need more steel wool...lol

Still trying to track down a better separator...might be heading to Niagara Falls in a week or so and if they let me across the border maybe I can find a parts dealer stateside and pic one up...but I'm also hoping to have the replacement motor shortly...

One I made with a buddy for a turbo lsx Sonoma, cost 25$, extra exhaust piping and breather. Worked FLAWLESSLY. No more smoke after a long hard run under boost.

Any questions just ask. Took us 1.5 hours including travel time to get fittings.

Installed

Looks interesting and I do have questions...

I think I recognize it in the lower right corner, but are there any return lines? It looks like they could both be in lines (the white tubes going in) but do you just vent it through the filter at the top or do you have lines going back into say the intake manifold so some of the air is burned off in the combustion chamber?

I'd also like to know what the base cylinder is or was and if it is readily available. My can is just an overflow rad tank and they are not necessarily easy to come by. I just happened to find it when I was looking for something else and thought I could make it work.

Thanks for the pics...and appreciate more info about your version...I'm sure there are others that could benefit from a system that could separate the oil and allow otherwise normal function from the PCV and VC vents.

That one just vents the pressurized crank case into atmosphere. The breather separates the oil from the air. You are correct no return lines on this one. No point insert ing hot engine air back into the intake. Cool clean air= power and mileage.

It was made out of a 3" piece of exhaust tubing that was 7-8" long. If my math was correct it would hold 1.2 quarts of oil. The end caps we just traced out of old sheet metal laying around from an old door and welded it.

Like I said it worked as goodd like that as my buddies 400$ one the vents back into the intake.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Ah, OK...that makes sense thanks.

I was thinking of venting mine out and not returning it to the carb/intake too but thought there was probably an emission law preventing that or that the carb actually needed that air for some reason...

But, anyway, I am venting some unfiltered air that I was concerned about and didn't want to put an oil separator on that line because it increased the pressure too much and that resulted in oil being forced out of the engine through other openings (like the base of the canister on the block for the PCV and even the base of the distributor)...

I really need to swap out the engine and hope to stop this blow-by thingy...

So.... is that hooked to vacuum? Seems like you're just creating a vacuum leak with the filter if so.

Forgive me if I am overlooking something. I spent the whole day doing inventory.

Sent from a Commodore 64 using a 300 baud modem

Shane it's hooked to atmosphere. So no vacuum. We welded two fitting to each valve cover. It does NOT create a vacuum leak because nothing on the intake side of the combustion chamber is touched. Many many many high hp cars do this as just a way to vent crank case pressure to the outside so ot doesn't blow by the pistons.