Air/oil separators

[Pube]

I want to build an air/oil separator to combat my cam cover breather oil mist on my 1GGTE. I want to be able to automatically have the oil return to the sump. I am currently using a catch can which works ok on the street with on-off throttle but I found at the drags the other week that my catch can filled up within 3 runs with the throttle being contaantly wide open for a decent amount of time. There is little info on the net but I did manage to find this site which is quite informative.

http://peugeotforum.dk/images/Oilbre...er_systems.pdf

I have seen on some cars in magazines that have a cylinder mounter horizontally either on the firewall above the engine or above the top of the radiator. An example is in the current issue of Zoom Magazine with the 200SX however changes to the mag now have little tech info on the cars and is totally useless except for the pics. Is this what is known as a volume-chamber air/oil separator?

Now I could quite easily just plumb my catch can into the sump however I have concerns of pressurising my sump. Will this happen?

[The Real Roadrunner]

please dont look @ that heap of S#*T s15 for inspiration, those cans dont really work to well and being at the front of the bay most of the time it will put an oil mist into the rest of the bay (good if you like you engine looking shiny but sucks if you want to work on the thing).

plumb the one you have back to the sump but make sure you have some sort of restrictor in the line otherwise it may spew oil into the can due to windage.
also be sure that there is some sort of breather/filter on there and youll be sweet.

cheers
linden

ps did you get the iscv sorted.

[Pube]

The s15 is shite I know but just an example. I dont want to vent to the atmosphere either, just back into the intake. If I get my design sorted, there wont be any oil going into the intake after the separator. Im having real difficulty finding info on oil separators, so I might just get a fitting welded onto my sump while its off and get a tap/valve put onto the catch can drain hole so I can easily drain the can. Would be the easiest I guess.

[Pube]

p.s ISCV isnt sorted yet, havent got a chance to check the wiring

[MWP]

Fill your catch can with course steel wool, and pipe a drain back to the sump.

[The Real Roadrunner]

Fill your catch can with course steel wool, and pipe a drain back to the sump.

i prefer scotchbrite as its finer and will catch more oil, but yes its a good idea.
cheers
linden

the tap/valve would work well also but you still have to remeber its there.but much cleaner approach.

[30psi 4agte]

plumb the one you have back to the sump but make sure you have some sort of restrictor in the line otherwise it may spew oil into the can due to windage.

pay attention here /\
Not sure if the 1G already has a return spot on the block ??? like the 4age but if it doesnt try and put it on the lefthand side of the motor so the crank doesnt sling oil up through the drain............. This is a MAJOR problem with returning catch cans to the block on a 4a

The crank will sling oil straight in to the fitting (std return fitting from head to block on a 4a) and the crank case pressure venting through the drain will prevent oil from returning to the sump causing the can to fill up and overflow.
I have had this happen.

I tend to think that 2 things :

1. If an engine is running a decent amount of boost the oil will have a hard time returning to the sump because of the crankcase pressure venting throught the drain hole forcing the downward draining oil back up into the can.

2. have you seen the crap that is left in a catch can ????? Even on my engine which is pulled down all the time and basicly always new ,the oil is full of moisture and there is no way i would pour that stuff back into my motor !!

Something to think about...

[Talasas]

If you're worried about pressure in the sump, what you want essentially is to have a breather on top to have the excess air vented and a hose on the bottom of the tank to allow the built up oil to drain. Having something along the lines of two seperate chambers could help here to act as a buffer, maybe something like this:



That being said it's best not to return this stuff to your sump I reckon.

[30psi 4agte]

Thats exactly how mine used to be setup.
In theory its great BUT didnt work for me..... Not on a 4a anyhow cos of the above reasons.

The can can still fill up.

[bigmat]

how about a zig zag baffling in side so the oil has time to stop foaming and if that is to slow put some holes in the zig zag. no mesh or anything to fix latter.

[30psi 4agte]

Things like that can help but in the end if the crankcase pressure trying to escape and forcing the oil up is too great the can will fill up no matter how you baffle it.

[bigmat]

can you use a pump of some sort that only turns on under a pre caped pressure or fill line in the canister like a washer bottle. pump that spew back in.

[30psi 4agte]

you prob could but i reckon its a waste of time.. Either empty the can or go the ball valve option on the drain.

[oldeskewltoy]

Notice the fuel filter at the top of the photo....


In MY situation(4AGE driven moderately, to hard) I found a particular fuel filter for (oddly enough) older Toyotas[!] works rather well. It is a Fram filter, I've since forgotten the filter # ....(DOH!)
It is a 2 chamber fuel filter with three ports. The upper part of the fuel filter houses a filter element and one port, the lower part of the fuel filter houses a chamber and has two ports(one very close to the "upper" chamber port(see photo), the second AT THE BOTTOM of the lower chamber.

The normal flow of the filter is reversed for use as a catch can. Normally the fuel would go in the upper port/chmber flow through the filter media and out the two lower ports. When used as a catch can, you reverse the flow, having the cam cover vent into the lower chamber first... the filter acts as a partial separator, the soilds taken from the air drip into the lower chamber, run down the third port, and into the sump(or in my case drain to a bolt slipped into the hose making draining with filter changes easier....)

Let me see if I can draw it...hahahahahahahaha


Blue lines are fittings...
red is housings basic shape and design
yellow is filtering media
black lines show flow as a catch can
pink lines show flow as fuel filter

[ed]

suggest read this one
have mulled over this idea for some time. havent built it yet (hello linden ) but i suspect something like the last suggestion mentioned...

http://www.v-eight.com/tech_forum/viewtopic.php?t=238

cheers
ed