Anyone install an ebay catch can, or if anyone knows what the two metal pieces clamped with hose clamps on the piece of hose are, let me know. As far as I know they are not used on our xb's?

It's the piece in the bottom right of the picture. EDIT BOTTOM LEFT!


Yes it looks cheap, but the part itself is very sturdy, and I'm having mine powdercoated gold and I am ditching the blue hose.

 

I believe the clear hose you are talking about is a fluid level sight glass . ( lets you know when to drain it.

 

but one of the metal pieces has a hole in it, the other doesnt. so one snakes the hose size down, the other blocks it. The very bottom left piece....

 

Its a piece of crap. There is no real baffling in it. I tried one, threw it in the trash and got a canton brand. The two metal pieces are a a reducer to run the cheap blue hose, and a plug.

 

you need baffling in catch cans?

I dont get it, I tried to research them before buying, but there isn't a definitive article that i could find. I came the conclusion the only risk was it leaking air.

Would the baffling keep oil from blowing back out of the can?

 

Yes, you need baffling. The purpose of the can is to allow the oil vapor to drop out of suspension in the air coming from the valve cover. The Stock setup uses baffles built into the bottom of the valve cover. In stock form it pulls fresh air in on the drivers side end from the intake pipe, and sucks it out through the pcv valve directly into the intake manifold in vaccuum. All the baffles are at the pcv valve in on the underside of the valve cover. With a catch can, you are venting the vapor out of the negine where the air used to go in, and there are no baffles there.

 

what if you run it inbetween the PCV and the intake.. that will be after the VC baffles.
Of the two lines.. the one everyone uses (pre MAF sensor to VC) and the PCV line I mentioned.. the PCV line is the only visibly oily one anyway..
wouldnt that be an all around better spot for it.. solving all issues?

 

Why would you bother at that point? If you are running it back into the engine anyway its just a shiny thing under the hood. And with no baffles in it to separate anything the vc didnt, it might as well not be there.

 

thats true.. unless you cap the intake port and just run it out a breather from the can, but then again.. the can would still
be of little use.. might as well just breathe the pcv directly.. well.. I mean the can will actually collect in that scenario though.. without the vacuum sucking it out of the other end, it should settle in the can..
Interesting Windu hadn't really thought about all this..

 

There are no baffles in it at ALL. It's completely hollow. So from what I understand, this is basically useless right?

Crew, from what I understand I run the tube from the PCV to the cath can, then put a breather on the cath can, then cap the Intake Manifold? Then without baffles the can is more functional?

Without baffles and running it PCV - Can - Manifold the vac from the manifold renders the baffleless catch can non-functional?

 

the only "real" reason for a catch can is if you have forced iduction. it prevents oil from entering the intake.
put one on................. then check the can after a few month and see if anything is in it.

if you know this and are only doing if for show............ a nice polished one looks nice and will ad a little bling to your engine bay.

 

ya, this will be powdercoated gold.

however, when replacing my manifold with the WR one, I found the stock one was VERY SLIMEY after 50,000 miles. SO I was curious to see what ends up in the can. i dont want anything in my new shiny manifold.

 

and automan, that is probably why 90% of the articles I found relate to turbo applications. Truth is i wanted a little bling, but also a little functionality. If it's a little of both I'm happy. Long as it doesnt hurt performance.

 

Well, I don't know.. just thinking out loud.. I do know the pcv line is what sends the oily film into the intake you saw.. so the only way to avoid that with the baffle-less catch can .. that I see.. is to set it up with the breather.. but then its only real function now would be to keep that breather element clean.. I ran that set up for about 6 months without issue (cheap eBay one).. it did get the oily film inside the can, that once went to the intake.. so I was happy.. and I am reinstalling a nicer metal polished unit tomarrow the same way.. I also see that having it end at the brreather releives the problem of vacuum leak havoc too.. since the intake port will be sealed off.

 

The pcv valve has a spring inside of it to close the valve under hard accel/wot when intake vaccuum drops into the single digits. so you cant vent to a catch can from the pcv port unless the valve has been removed. I had mine hooked up with a breather on it. It was ok, but it did slobber out the breather and make a mess after a couple months and never actually caught enough to drain out.

 

and it slobbered out the breather because there were no baffles?

 

right, the oil vapor wasnt dropping out of the air in the can, just built up in the breather and dripped off the breather.

 

My oily build up with only 15K miles on the car..

 

I see its hard to make out, but the gaskets are literally wet
same as the inner walls, so was the PCV line to the intake

 

Hmmm I have a Cusco one installed in my car, I'm not sure if either I misunderstood the concept or you guys did?

The PCV system uses the vacuum from the manifold to suck air out of the valve cover (from the front outlet). This air has to come from somewhere, and thus the valve cover has that back outlet which sucks clean air at atmospheric pressure from the intake before the throttle body.

So in other words, the catch can has to go into the "dirty" line, between the front of the valve cover and the intake manifold, that way it can actually catch the oil that's in the air stream.

On the other side of the valve cover, one might want to skip the hose and just put in a little breather filter as that hole sucks in air.

Though I must admit I'm not sure what happens when forced induction comes into play and the manifold is at a higher pressure than atmospheric... you guys mentioned a valve in the valve cover, that's probably there for that!