Has anyone here built there own oil catch can? I’d like to build my own with a max budget of $20. Sure I can just use a jar and a hose but I’d like to build a proper one with baffles and make it look presentable. I was thinking of using some PVC pipe since I have lots of scraps leftover from redoing some plumbing on the house. Also I’ve seen the $20 eBay kits but they are not baffled. Once I cut it open I have no way of welding it back together.
What has everyone else used?
I used this from the dollar store
At anything over about 6000 RPM, oil finds it's way out of my (too short) valve cover in a big way. Since I shift at 7500-8000, there was a lot of oil going out the breather tube, and into the throttle body.
I drilled, and put 2 fittings on top. One is a 1/4" hose barb. This connects to the valve cover. Inside the bottle, it extends to about 1" from the bottom. the other is a 1/8" barb, with a vac line running from the bottle top, into the air inlet hose just ahead of the throttle body. No manifold vacuum, but enough draw at WOT to keep the oil going in the right direction (into the bottle) and fumes going into the motor. It has worked perfectly.
kb58
Reader
7/28/10 5:32 p.m.
Any tank will do... be creative. Walking around any store with camping or kitchen supplies should turn up something that can be "misapplied."
Whoa, awesome idea! Yeah, I'll be doing this down the road.
Brennan
New Reader
7/28/10 7:06 p.m.
I bought one off of eBay for uber cheap. Decent quality for the money. My only complaint is the small fittings and no breather.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/750-ML-UNIVERSAL-ALUMINUM-OIL-RESERVOIR-CATCH-TANK-CAN-/180532747724?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a08971dcc
I plan on using a Harrison accumulator or two. They're about a liter in size, and one of the inlets goes through a giant J-trap.
I figure that it should work very well as a catch can, given that it was designed to prevent liquid refrigerant from getting to the compressor.
If you don't have one, then just got to a junkyard and wander around until you see one with lines on both ends (look in Swedish cars too, they used GM A/C a lot of times) so you can hack it off with some hardline stub hanging off so you can have something to clamp hoses to. If they charge more than $20 for it then they suck.
I saw a Civic at the dragstrip that had catch cans that looked for all the world like Toyota (or maybe Honda?) accumulators, with a sight tube on the side. I asked if he made them out of accumulators, and he said that no, he bought them as catch cans, but now that I mentioned it, they did look an awful lot like A/C parts.
Raze
HalfDork
7/28/10 9:23 p.m.
One of my favs: http://www.horsepowerjunkies.com/forums/showthread.php?p=591863
I've seen them made out of water/oil separators for compressors.
I never find the water separators big enough. Gatorade bottles work the best for some reason.