"Venom" Energy Drink Oil Catch Can

[Sentientbydesign]

Note

I didn't forget about the dyno results from this past saturday, but when I came back to work today, they had done an update to my computer and the scanned image file was gone. It's at home so I need to scan it over again and post it. I'm sorry for the delay.

Problem

On to the next project though. While swapping out plenums, I noticed a nasty amount of oil coating the plenum and the manifold (?) part that connects the lower plenum to the block.

I spoke to one of the G owners at the Dyno Day and he mentioned an oil catch can. Now, this may make me sound uneducated, but prior to then, I had no idea what an oil catch can did. Just that it was an aftermarket part that I didn't have and didn't care about.

He showed me his temporary solution which was a Husky compressor filter and catch "bottle". It had maybe 1/2 an ounce of oil in it. He said that was typical of 300-500 miles of driving (he has a nicely modified G with internals, intake, exhaust...etc, but it's NA).

Background Information

So here is some background on how your Positive Crank Valve (PCV) works. Gasses (fuel, water vapor, oil vapor) accumulate in the crank case. Initially, these gases would just vent out into the atmosphere. In order to deal with smog and greasy roads, newer vehicles (practically all of them since the 80s) have PCVs. This system uses the intake pressure to draw out the gasses which are introduced into your intake tract.

My understand of the various types of PCV systems is limited, but it seems that only some of them have filters that prevent oil and water vapor from exiting the crank case. Others just let this crap enter your intake where it either accumulates or gets burnt.

I was told that this recirculated "sludge" actually lowers the effective octane of your fuel by mixing in with the air/fuel mixture.

Solution-In Progress

My old plenum, after sitting for a few hours, had accumulated a puddle of oil in one of the crevices equal to about 1 teaspoon. There was still more on the upper plenum and the blox spacer (which started out white and is now yellowish brown on the inside).

The oil catch can is designed to condense and catch the oil/water vapor and any other garbage that evaporates out of the crankcase.

Now, some people (even with the same cars) will not have any of this oil accumulation. I did!!! As such, I'm building my own oil catch can.

NOTE: It's probably cheaper to go on eBay and buy one of these than doing what I'm doing, but this is fun and 4drmadness has inspired me to be ghetto... j/k.

I'll do a full write-up on this when I have a good working version. I'll probably over to make these for anyone who doesn't want to do it themselves (but it's fun, so just try first!!).

Here is the first step:



I took a quick shopping trip to Target and found this Energy Drink. It has a stiff aluminum bottle which should work pretty well for our project (it's much stiffer than an aluminum can which does not yield to pressure).

I was going to initially use brass fittings for this, but the cost and availability was becoming a problem. I ended up buying some polypropelene (I think) tube from Lowe's (16 cents/ft) and went to Autozone for the elbow vacuum attachments.

So far, we have an aluminum bottle with holes drilled in it and two elbows with 1/4" I.D. tubing. It is being held in place by some Fast Steel (steel reinforced epoxy putty. Kind of like JB Weld). This serves as our "sludge gauge".

The first time I tried attaching the "sludge gauge" I made two mistakes:

1) I tried mixing enough putty to attach both elbows. This putty has a 2-4 minute working like (think pot life for those of you familiar with Fiberglass).

The first elbow attached "ok", but the second half of putty was starting to harden when I attached the second elbow and it didn't really bond.

2) I didn't work the putty into the holes well which meant that they leaked.

Solutions:

1) Only attach one elbow at a time. This gives you more work time for each.

2) The elbows are approximately 3/4" long. Crystal suggested that I run the putty close to inlet, then push it into the hole in the bottle. This would mean that the putty would stick to the elbow and when the elbow was pushed through the hole, some of the putty would also go into the hole creating a seal.

I helped this seal along by using my mouth (yes some sort of vacuum pump would have been better) to create a light vacuum in the bottle. This served two purposes:

1) It drew the putty into the bottle which helped form a better seal.

2) It allowed me to check on the air tightness of the seal without putting damaging pressure on it (if you blew or pressurized the bottle, the putty would try to evacuate the holes).

Tonight I will be shopping for some plastic 3/8" barbed fittings for the inlet and outlet.

Stay Tuned.

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

keep us posted!

[Ar878]

keep us posted!

that looks pretty nifty.

[eZg001]

I was previously ignorant of oil catch cans.

I would like to see the face of the dealership tech who opens up the hood and sees this 'rig'.

[Sentientbydesign]

I was previously ignorant of oil catch cans.

I would like to see the face of the dealership tech who opens up the hood and sees this 'rig'.

I'm going to have to set that up. On my I30, back in the ghetto tuning days, I had a dryer exhaust hose extending from my intake to below the car. I was laughed at by the tire shop I went to.

Now, I'm SLIGHTLY more mature and using energy drink bottles!!!

I actually looked into buying one of these on eBay, but I really wanted to do something unique and this bottle kicks ***.

[infinitgkid]

I've seen this done before, it works but it's something that I wouldn't put in my car. This guy that I know had the same concept but he used a Mountain Dew bottle instead. It sounded kinda sketch when he brought the idea up, but when I got a good look at how it was holding up it sure as heck looked ghetto, but it got the job done...

Good luck though, I wanna see how this works out

4drmadness has inspired me to be ghetto... j/k.

^ lol that's messed up... funny... but messed up...

[Sentientbydesign]

I feel special. This thread is #2 on google for "G35 oil catch can" lol.

Can anybody give me some insight on where and how to mount this?

I see TONS of the Husky style catch cans being mounted between the lower plenum inlet on the front down to the crank case, but I think that is actually just the PCV drain.

I could be very wrong, but I want this system to work well, not to just collect the oil that already collected in the lower plenum and put it in a little bottle.

[eZg001]

Guess this would be the Grand Poobah of catch cans

http://www.mynismo.com/products/?id=5962

only $420

[toddnos]

very ghetto fab.i like the compressor filter idea.my buddy with a srt-4 has been using catch cans for years.i mat see if he has any old ones laying around, as he has switched them a few times.

[Sentientbydesign]

Guess this would be the Grand Poobah of catch cans

http://www.mynismo.com/products/?id=5962

only $420

Did you notice that the item description was translated?

I think I'll contact Venom and ask them to sponsor me now!!! lol

I'd be happy with a Black and Dark Purple paint job with a snake painted on lol.

[BrandAidDesignG35]

That was hard to understand, I feel stupider after reading that link...

Anyway, Nate, you are a G35 GOD! How you keep coming up with these cool ideas is Awesome!

I've seen this done before, it works but it's something that I wouldn't put in my car. This guy that I know had the same concept but he used a Mountain Dew bottle instead. It sounded kinda sketch when he brought the idea up, but when I got a good look at how it was holding up it sure as heck looked ghetto, but it got the job done...

Good luck though, I wanna see how this works out

^ lol that's messed up... funny... but messed up...

Ahh, yes... the days of good ol' ghetto tuning... If I only had some pictures to post

I too had the ol' Dryer Hoses and whatnot... Industrial stregnth in Classic Yellow... but it was used, so it was faded and nasty looking.

Oh, don't forget the aluminum muffler tape holdin' it down.

...And the stock air filter box cut and stuck down in the lower grill to catch air... Like a big, nasty funnel...

Spraypainted fenders due to rust, Gutter guards for grille

Tweeters from China, Sony Xplode amp, Pioneer subs, Premier deck, but of course, the car was broken into and all was stolen, then replaced with even more ghetto stuff...

dual sub box cut out with MDF board, never carpeted.

No cats, racing headers, magnaflow exhaust... rhaspy as all hell...

This, all on a 92 Civic GHETTO TUNING MASTER RIGHT HERE!!!! I was a happy 15 year old, I only had my begginers liscence, I had pimped up my mothers Civic by the time I got my liscence @ 16.

Sorry to thread jack with all those ramblins, but it's funny to look back on your life sometimes, sorry.

Back to these bottles... Sentient, I know you're hard on other people sometimes, but I feel this is my time to say something.

You need to go and get a better "looking" bottle. Get Venom to sponsor your research, I'm sure they'd come up with some sick bottle designs, well better than the purple snake I like the look of the nismo one, just so costly.

I've seen some stainless steel water bottles that may better suit your purpose, once you get the bugs worked out of the current bottle, you could take your expertise and apply on a better application, my 2 cents.

[Sentientbydesign]

Your shinanigans are priceless. Here's one of my "intake" projects.



That would be a Civic intake tube that was cut, coupled, and zip tied to an AEM dry-flow filter.

That car sounded MEAN!!!

Here's the can in it's current state. I'm going to add a drain to it and it'll be done.



I actually really like the purple and black bottle. I was torn between this bottle and the Venom with sugar (this has artificial sweeteners ). The "sugar" bottle was red and this one looked a lot better. I ended up dumping the contents of this bottle lol.

My initial goal was to find one of those Swiss Glacial waters with an aluminum bottle, but this worked out well. Size is a big issue too. This thing barely fits behind the radiator resevoire (has to be angled). I might route it all the way to the battery compartment if it will fit (this should help the condensation too).

Contacting the company will be fun!!!

[BrandAidDesignG35]

Your shinanigans are priceless. Here's one of my "intake" projects.

Actually Nate, what we have here is a project intake.

But you lose, mine was much more ghetto looking, I'll have to get some pics now!!!

Good luck with this project, Im hoping to do this, and the plenum polish over the winter, I won't be ridin the G anyway

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

Why don't you just flip the bottle over and use the top as a drain...

DJ

[Sentientbydesign]

Why don't you just flip the bottle over and use the top as a drain...

DJ

Two reasons:

1) The plastic gasket would probably disinegrate with the fuel/oil mixture that gets caught in the bottle.

2) Can't really turn it upside down now because the air flow needs to stay above the sludge build up. If I turned it upside down and it started collecting a significant amount of sludge, it would eventually just suck it directly into the intake-Exactly what we were trying to avoid.

I also omitted a small detail from the build. I designed a small finned obstruction that is attached to the cap. The goal is to get the aerosol to coalesce and drip. We'll see how well this works.

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

I thought it had an aluminum top... I don't drink energy drinks... If I want something that is acidic I will drink a couple shots of Jack Daniels

DJ

[Sentientbydesign]

Here is the condenser/filter/coalescer:

[infinitgkid]

wow the idea's in this thread just amaze me...

I'm waiting for the person to post up how to make a turbo out of a can of sprite, a can of sardines, and a hand held fan.

[Sentientbydesign]

1.75 teaspoons of oil since Thursday afternoon. That's approximately 200 miles.

Pictures tomorrow.

[4drmadness]

hmmm. so not all g's are gona have this problem. well i guess i have to find out if i need this cath can or not. time to take off my plenum.

[BrandAidDesignG35]

So, what the hell is going on with this? Nate? just had to poke .... lol

I was hoping I'd get an energy drink for Christmas so I could tackle this project.

Happy new year

[Sentientbydesign]

Sorry about that.

I'll see about doing the write up today. Do you have access to these cans or a different thick walled variety?

Eh...I'll just start part of the write up here, then reorganize it when I'm done.

How to make your own oil catch can from "recycled" containers and a few autostore fittings.

Disclaimer: I can't speak to the complete efficacy of this design in comparison to a $500 Nismo GT-R oil separator, but I have about 1.5-2 oz of oil in the bottom of mine since I installed it in November.

Items Needed:

Venom energy drink bottle- Basically you need a bottle. Preferably aluminum (thick walled) and with a wide cap. The Venom Energy drink bottle was perfect for me as the bottle has a wide cap, holds 500ml (actual full capacity will likely be 350-400ml), and the aluminum is relatively thick.

12oz aluminum soda/beer can. Have fun drinking it, then leave the can in good condition.

4-6ft of transmission cooler hose 3/8" I.D.- I've read that silicone hose can also work. Just make sure that the hose can deal with a decent amount of vacuum. I first tried fuel line, and once it heated up, it started to collapse FAIL!

1ft translucent 1/4" hose- You can go with larger hose if you want, but this is meant for the oil level indicator. 1/8-1/4" I.D. is the range to aim for. Also, I went with tranlucent PVC(?) based on a recommendation from the hardware store guy. In the future, I'd probably look for transparent hose instead. A glass tube could be used, but then you have durability issues. The ideal tube is clear PVC or similar that resists oil and fuel deterioration.

2 plastic barbed elbows- Be sure to match the O.D. of the barbed end to the I.D. of the translucent hose. It needs to be snug, but not impossible to install.

2 plastic or brass elbow connectors 1/2" threaded O.D. x 3/8" barbed O.D. The threading is not necessary, but it makes life easier and the epoxy putty won't have as much stress on it.

2 hose clamps. I think the 3/8"-1" or basically anything that will be able to fit around the transmission/silicone hose (you can buy 4 if you want, but the 2 existing clamps will work).

Tools/supplies needed:

Electric/Cordless DrillDrill bits- Minimum off 2 with the same diameters as the elbow fittings.Dremel-Optional if you don't have the correct sized drill bitsSuper glueSteel reinforced epoxy putty- Quik Steel or the like. DON'T use JB Weld unless it's one of their putties. The regular JB Weld and JB Quik are too runny for this application.Utility knifeSand Paper to scuff off paint and the aluminum lining in the can/bottle

Difficulty-2/5

Time needed-Varies depending on skill. 1.5-2 hrs of work and additional time to allow the epoxy putty to cure. 2 evenings would be ideal.

More to come...

[BrandAidDesignG35]

Thanks for the info Nate, I'm planning to do this mod soon... I was curious also if you noted any effects post install? I think tollboothwilly did this also. I await your next post anxiously

[Sentientbydesign]

I'd like to report super improved fuel economy, 20hp and a slew of other effects, but I haven't really felt any.

On the flip side, I've had my grounding kit off, a new clutch, and a new flywheel, plus my ECU was reset during the clutch/flywheel install, so EVERYTHING feels off lol.

If the catch can does nothing more than keep my plenum clean, I'm happy.

[BrandAidDesignG35]

If the catch can does nothing more than keep my plenum clean, I'm happy.

Hey, that's always a good thing! I just read one member is having starting problems, likely a dirty throttle body / manifold as it seems to sputter and die. ... anyway.

So, what do you think, is it worth it? Remember, I'm like a million miles away North from you right now covered in snow right now, so doing this would have to be worth it... Any sponsorships from venom?

What's up with your plenum polishing project? You're inspiring dude! keep it up!

[Sentientbydesign]

Got a linky on the member with a problem? I haven't run across this yet.

I did have some nasty wooshing noise caused by the fuel hose that I was using, but that has since been fixed.

Plenum hasn't been touched since it was installed. Too many other issues to deal with right now unfortunately, including doing a Carbon Fiber wrap on a 350Z STB.

I'd like to get back to the plenum polishing, but it's going to have to wait a couple of weeks.

So what do you mean by "...is it worth it?". I'm kind of lost on that one. Is it effectively collecting oil? Yeah. It is keeping my plenum clean? Probably. Am I seeing any performance increases?...Not really.

I should probably run a LITTLE Seafoam to clean out the intake entirely. Maybe I'm no longer adding to the problem, but it still exists from before?

[BrandAidDesignG35]

Sorry, I just meant like, is it going to be worth going out in the cold to work on the car to do the install...

Would it be better to wait until summer? I guess I'm just a *****...

I've been wanting to do a thorough cleaning to my TB as well... much overdue... I saw it when I put in my Blox spacer and well, let me just say that it's pretty nasty looking.

I see the benefit, not questioning your motive, it's just my winter wonderland is less than appealing to go out working on the car with cold tools, hands, etc... I changed my oil in both cars last week, and I don't want to have to do that again untill summer it's really cold

[BrandAidDesignG35]

http://forums.g35club.org/zerothread/395205 Here's the thread... see what you think.

[Sentientbydesign]

Sorry, I just meant like, is it going to be worth going out in the cold to work on the car to do the install...

Would it be better to wait until summer? I guess I'm just a *****...

I've been wanting to do a thorough cleaning to my TB as well... much overdue... I saw it when I put in my Blox spacer and well, let me just say that it's pretty nasty looking.

I see the benefit, not questioning your motive, it's just my winter wonderland is less than appealing to go out working on the car with cold tools, hands, etc... I changed my oil in both cars last week, and I don't want to have to do that again untill summer it's really cold

I'm not sure if you're ok with bringing the tools inside, but I'd say 95% of the time I spent on the project was at the kitchen/living room table.

I did go to the garage to drill out the holes, but everything else was done indoors.

As for the installation. If your engine cover is off, you'll need a pair of long noise pliers for the clamps and maybe a 10mm socket to move the radiator resevoir (depends on where you put the catch can. Mine's below the resevoir). Installation should take less than 15 mins.

[Sentientbydesign]

http://forums.g35club.org/zerothread/395205 Here's the thread... see what you think.

I thought this was somebody who had an idle problem with a catch can. Don't think you'll have this issue.