The setup:

Ok, so I've got a modified catch can that is working as a breather tank hooked up to my car right now. The lines are setup as follows:

The vent tube from the valve cover to the intake tube is running to the catch can, intake tube nipple has been plugged.

The vent tube running from the valve cover PCV valve to the intake manifold is now running to the catch can, intake manifold nipple has been plugged.

So basically the two vent lines from the valve cover run to the breather tank.

The problem:


I changed my oil, probably over filled it. It definetly shows over full on the dipstick. ( I put in 5 quarts) Anyway, I noticed that the catch can (it was originally a Carbing which is roughly the size of a coke can and a little shorter)....it had a clear, almost oily substance in it, about 1/3 of the way full. Keep in mind this is the same day that I did my oil change. I checked it again, about a week later now and its closer to half full.

I took the drain bolt out to empty it, what came out was mostly clear at first and smelled like gasoline. As the can drained further towards the bottom it turned more towards a oily substance...kind of reminded me of that honey mustard looking substance you see on the inside of your oil cap when it hasn't been driven in a while.

So, I tested the compression, and it came back 245 245 250 245.


With a breather tank setup like this, would this be normal??

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

1. I believe you have it installed wrong. If you are getting a weird substance in the breather tank then the motor isnt getting enough vacuum to vent the crankcase. The crankcase has a positive pressure but i do not believe it is strong enough to vent on its on witout being aided by an outside force (intake manifold nipple)

2. i used to have mine setup that way and it never caught anything except for that oil grim.

3. I now have mine setup this way:

nothing on the breather.
hose coming off PCV and connected to catch can
hose coming off catch can and connected to the intake manifold

after a few months of running it this way, i decided to empty it and see whats inside. I got what I assumed to be regular motor oil

 

I set mine up that way basically because thats how the Endyn Breather Kit appears to be routed. So if there isn't enough vacuum to vent the crankcase the way it's setup now will that have any adverse effects on my engines over all health?

Would this setup be ok under boost applications?

I may try switching it around and seeing what it does.

 

i would say that interfering with ventilation and interfering with the way the PCV is supposed to work would have negative effects concerning your engine health. Maybe not right away, but as that oil builds up and isnt able to escape, it'll eventually cause problems.

 

Well I'm going to be putting on the turbo kit I'm amassing come this next spring, so I'll be sure and get it fixed here really soon. I don't want to blow the engine up all over a poorly routed breather tank. Thanks.

 

Well I connected the lines to the breather tank as you suggested, however I didn't take into account the breather filter on the top would cause a open in the system so it has a vacuum leak and jumpy idle.

Oh well I can live with that, what I'm wondering though is with that vacuum leak will it still pull/evacuate the crankcase effectively?

 

i have a filter on top of mine as well and i dont have any kind of leak....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B.Rabbit &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1. I believe you have it installed wrong. If you are getting a weird substance in the breather tank then the motor isnt getting enough vacuum to vent the crankcase. The crankcase has a positive pressure but i do not believe it is strong enough to vent on its on witout being aided by an outside force (intake manifold nipple)

2. i used to have mine setup that way and it never caught anything except for that oil grim.

3. I now have mine setup this way:

nothing on the breather.
hose coming off PCV and connected to catch can
hose coming off catch can and connected to the intake manifold

after a few months of running it this way, i decided to empty it and see whats inside. I got what I assumed to be regular motor oil</TD></TR></TABLE>

How would you not get enough vacumm ....leak ?

 

I just recently found out my upper radiator hose is leaking. Is it possible that the system is taking in air through that hose so there are bubbles in the coolant causing the jumpy idle?

 

because the way he currently has it setup, there is no vacuum source.

 

Well I mean I changed it earlier today, Setup goes as:

Line from PCV on valve cover to catch can, line from catch can to PCV vacuum nipple on the intake manifold.

It's a modified Carbing catch can with a breather filter on a threaded nipple drilled into the top.

So I would think since there is a vacuum source involved in these lines and the opening in the system being the filter on top of the breather tank that this would cause a vacuum leak?