Scrymerr
20+ Year Contributor
- 1,367
- 4
- Sep 22, 2002
-
Vacaville,
California
This has been an issue of mine for a while now, and after a search, did not find many people who had this problem, let alone solved it. My issue is this: design flaws with my current catch can, and others I have seen/used prior. Hopefully, after solving this problem, I would like to steer away from the term 'catch can' and more towards 'air oil separator'.
My valvecover retains all the factory baffles underneath. I enlarged the two 1/8 NPT breather ports on it, and attached some fittings which accept -10 on the other side. From there, both -10 lines go to a vented catch can. I would like to leave the product name out of the discussion, as it is irrelevent at the time being. It will be an issue which I would like to discuss with the manufacturer personally, although I do not have high hopes. Anyway, the catch can is essentially an aluminum cylinder 6" tall, 3" in diameter. The two breather lines attach to the can on opposite sides, 1" down from the top.
My problem with this piece is that it simply does not work very well. It seems to catch most of the oil, however this is inadequate when the rest of the oil collects on the filter, and mists the engine bay. It really does not take much pressure, or much oil, to cause a headache.
My question is: why does this popular catch can (and so many others like it) contain no internal baffles or anything to help prevent this 'oil mist' from passing through it and out of the filter? It really seems like such an obvious problem (and solution!) to incorperate some baffles inside the catch can to help 'catch' the oil before it leaves. Right now, the only thing keeping the oil in the can is gravity, which has a very hard time separating an aerosol.
Right now, I have temporarily 'solved' the problem by creating another: route rubber hoses underneath the car, try not to drive the car, and have to clean up drops under my car in the garage.
I have no doubt that with a little bit of testing, I could design something that would do a much better job of separating the oil (and there are many similar factory units all over). I want a simple vented unit that just works. I am not going to worry about going with a vacuum pump or other system; atmospheric pressure will be fine with me. I am not running a crazy amount of boost, nor do I have many goals for the car at this point. I just want a way to vent as much of the pressure as possible, without venting any of the oil.
Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know of someone who makes such a can? Or maybe someone has some suggestions about some factory unit I could get from another vehicle? Again, I could make one myself, but I want a quality piece without having to invest much of my time. Sorry, I am over doing projects right now, and would rather just fork over the cash to get exactly what I want. If it is not made, I just might have to design one and sell it.
Dan
My valvecover retains all the factory baffles underneath. I enlarged the two 1/8 NPT breather ports on it, and attached some fittings which accept -10 on the other side. From there, both -10 lines go to a vented catch can. I would like to leave the product name out of the discussion, as it is irrelevent at the time being. It will be an issue which I would like to discuss with the manufacturer personally, although I do not have high hopes. Anyway, the catch can is essentially an aluminum cylinder 6" tall, 3" in diameter. The two breather lines attach to the can on opposite sides, 1" down from the top.
My problem with this piece is that it simply does not work very well. It seems to catch most of the oil, however this is inadequate when the rest of the oil collects on the filter, and mists the engine bay. It really does not take much pressure, or much oil, to cause a headache.
My question is: why does this popular catch can (and so many others like it) contain no internal baffles or anything to help prevent this 'oil mist' from passing through it and out of the filter? It really seems like such an obvious problem (and solution!) to incorperate some baffles inside the catch can to help 'catch' the oil before it leaves. Right now, the only thing keeping the oil in the can is gravity, which has a very hard time separating an aerosol.
Right now, I have temporarily 'solved' the problem by creating another: route rubber hoses underneath the car, try not to drive the car, and have to clean up drops under my car in the garage.
I have no doubt that with a little bit of testing, I could design something that would do a much better job of separating the oil (and there are many similar factory units all over). I want a simple vented unit that just works. I am not going to worry about going with a vacuum pump or other system; atmospheric pressure will be fine with me. I am not running a crazy amount of boost, nor do I have many goals for the car at this point. I just want a way to vent as much of the pressure as possible, without venting any of the oil. Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know of someone who makes such a can? Or maybe someone has some suggestions about some factory unit I could get from another vehicle? Again, I could make one myself, but I want a quality piece without having to invest much of my time. Sorry, I am over doing projects right now, and would rather just fork over the cash to get exactly what I want. If it is not made, I just might have to design one and sell it.
Dan
