DIY Oil Separator / Catch Can
18 March 2008, 10:32 PM
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DIY Oil Separator / Catch Can
After failing to find a nice catch can solution that would suit my car i decided to make my own. Roger Clark Motorsport offer two lovely examples but unfortunately my battery occupies the space where both of these items are designed to fit. As a result of this i decided to design my own 'oil separator' which would fit where my battery previously sat.
I spent a few hours over the weekend moking up ideas in cardboard before settling on a fairly basic tank design. The CAD drawing was sent away to be cut on a water-jet machine and i collected the parts this evening.
The theory was to manufacture the tank (main) from one template, the baffling (top left) from another and the lid (top) from the third.
I was unsure what thickness of ally to have the parts cut from but after discussing it with my father opted for ~1.5mm.
This evening i set about folding the pieces.
Picture showing the -10AN fitting that will drain the tank to the cars sump.
Bottom folded, ignore the spooky camera effect... **** knows what happened there!
Baffling folded.
Baffling inserted. The three right-most ports are intended for the engine breathers and will be 1/2". The -10AN port is hiding below these ports under the baffling. The two middle ports are for a level gauge although hopefully it will never be required. The port on the left is for a 3/4" outlet breather; a mini K&N to start with unless the car starts to stink.
Shown where i intend to mount it.
I'm nosey so wanted a removable lid. I got some nifty little plastic rivets from RS to hold it in place nice and tight. The intention is to line the bottom of the lid with thin rubber sheet in order to provide a seal.
Some 'demister pads' housed immediately prior to the tank outlet.
Some of the rest of the pieces of the jigsaw.
I'm hoping to get the remaining bosses machined tomorrow before dropping everything off to be welded.
Overkill? Probably. Fun? Yes.
I spent a few hours over the weekend moking up ideas in cardboard before settling on a fairly basic tank design. The CAD drawing was sent away to be cut on a water-jet machine and i collected the parts this evening.
The theory was to manufacture the tank (main) from one template, the baffling (top left) from another and the lid (top) from the third.
I was unsure what thickness of ally to have the parts cut from but after discussing it with my father opted for ~1.5mm.
This evening i set about folding the pieces.
Picture showing the -10AN fitting that will drain the tank to the cars sump.
Bottom folded, ignore the spooky camera effect... **** knows what happened there!
Baffling folded.
Baffling inserted. The three right-most ports are intended for the engine breathers and will be 1/2". The -10AN port is hiding below these ports under the baffling. The two middle ports are for a level gauge although hopefully it will never be required. The port on the left is for a 3/4" outlet breather; a mini K&N to start with unless the car starts to stink.
Shown where i intend to mount it.
I'm nosey so wanted a removable lid. I got some nifty little plastic rivets from RS to hold it in place nice and tight. The intention is to line the bottom of the lid with thin rubber sheet in order to provide a seal.
Some 'demister pads' housed immediately prior to the tank outlet.
Some of the rest of the pieces of the jigsaw.
I'm hoping to get the remaining bosses machined tomorrow before dropping everything off to be welded.
Overkill? Probably. Fun? Yes.
19 March 2008, 09:55 AM
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what are the demister pads?
i posted about using steel wool on 22b.com and was shot down a little
the reason i used steel wool was i had searched 22b.com previous and that's what people were saying to use
anyway i removed mine, still collecting some brown sludge anyway, so the jobs a gooden
i posted about using steel wool on 22b.com and was shot down a little
the reason i used steel wool was i had searched 22b.com previous and that's what people were saying to use
anyway i removed mine, still collecting some brown sludge anyway, so the jobs a gooden
19 March 2008, 10:13 AM
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The battery's on the N/S chassis leg adjacent to the bulk head.
I have no plans to market it as there'd be very limited appeal what with where it mounts.
The demister pads are stainless steel scouring pads. I'm not 100% sure about using them yet as i've just found a tiny sliver that became dettached, i'd imagine if it found it's way into the oil pump things could get nasty quite quickly.
Hopefully my 3/8" NPT tap is waiting for me at the Post Office, i'm off to fire the lathe up!
I have no plans to market it as there'd be very limited appeal what with where it mounts.
The demister pads are stainless steel scouring pads. I'm not 100% sure about using them yet as i've just found a tiny sliver that became dettached, i'd imagine if it found it's way into the oil pump things could get nasty quite quickly.
Hopefully my 3/8" NPT tap is waiting for me at the Post Office, i'm off to fire the lathe up!
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19 March 2008, 11:57 AM
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Carl, I would consider a 15-16mm (5/8ths) inlet for the crankcase inlet from research I have done on here / 22B.
I too have fabricated my own tank, well I modified an off the shelf item to take a 5/8ths inlet for crankcase, alongside a 1/2" inlet for the paired cam breathers.
Nice work BTW, having experienced your manifold spacers / injector adaptors, I didn't expect anything else
I too have fabricated my own tank, well I modified an off the shelf item to take a 5/8ths inlet for crankcase, alongside a 1/2" inlet for the paired cam breathers.
Nice work BTW, having experienced your manifold spacers / injector adaptors, I didn't expect anything else
19 March 2008, 12:06 PM
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Your catch volume is limited by the lower inlet, shouldn't be a problem when draining back to sump, although I believe Steven dumped about 1 litre into his tank on a hard launch
19 March 2008, 08:10 PM
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Thanks all.
Having the parts water-jet cut cost £60 including the material. I machined six of the seven bosses myself from aluminium off-cuts so they were free. The -10AN fitting was in stock at Earls UK but i'm not sure how much it cost as it was bought with the rest of the bits required. The bill from Earls was scarey! I've always bought my fittings from the States in the past but as i hope to fit the tank before Sunday i needed a domestic supplier... and paid for it! The Earls bits should have cost around £130 plus carriage/duty. I discovered today however that the chep eBay catch can i bought could have donated a couple of its fittings and saved me some money. 
Jay, thanks for your thoughts regarding the crank case breather. There should be sufficient diameter in the bosses i machined to bore one out to 5/8's. I'll see how i get on with the 1/2" in the mean time and consider going larger when i fit the EJ257 towards the end of the year.
I also read about Stevens findings. My design has approximately 0.964l ullage up to the lower breather and 1.410l up to the middle breather. These calculations include material wall thicknesses, the sump, baffle etc. Hopefully with it draining back to the sump i won't have an issue.
Once again, i have absolutely no plans to produce these. Price-wise i couldn't compete with the already excellent RCMS tanks which would suit 99.9% of applications.
As mentioned i got the bosses machined today and dropped everything off to be welded. The rubber sheet arrived so i cut the gasket for the lid. Some bling blue Mocal oil hose also arrived. All i'm waiting for now is the welder to call to say the tank is ready and for some oil to arrive so i can refill the car once the tank is installed.
Having the parts water-jet cut cost £60 including the material. I machined six of the seven bosses myself from aluminium off-cuts so they were free.
The -10AN fitting was in stock at Earls UK but i'm not sure how much it cost as it was bought with the rest of the bits required. The bill from Earls was scarey! I've always bought my fittings from the States in the past but as i hope to fit the tank before Sunday i needed a domestic supplier... and paid for it! The Earls bits should have cost around £130 plus carriage/duty. I discovered today however that the chep eBay catch can i bought could have donated a couple of its fittings and saved me some money. Jay, thanks for your thoughts regarding the crank case breather. There should be sufficient diameter in the bosses i machined to bore one out to 5/8's. I'll see how i get on with the 1/2" in the mean time and consider going larger when i fit the EJ257 towards the end of the year.
I also read about Stevens findings.
My design has approximately 0.964l ullage up to the lower breather and 1.410l up to the middle breather. These calculations include material wall thicknesses, the sump, baffle etc. Hopefully with it draining back to the sump i won't have an issue.Once again, i have absolutely no plans to produce these. Price-wise i couldn't compete with the already excellent RCMS tanks which would suit 99.9% of applications.
As mentioned i got the bosses machined today and dropped everything off to be welded. The rubber sheet arrived so i cut the gasket for the lid. Some bling blue Mocal oil hose also arrived. All i'm waiting for now is the welder to call to say the tank is ready and for some oil to arrive so i can refill the car once the tank is installed.
19 March 2008, 08:24 PM
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awesome work....
I have only one question having a dual can system myself........
They fill with both moisture and oil especially on cold days wouldn't that be a little detremental to recirculate back to the sump?
I have only one question having a dual can system myself........
They fill with both moisture and oil especially on cold days wouldn't that be a little detremental to recirculate back to the sump?
19 March 2008, 08:25 PM
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I emailed Olly Clark with my dissapointment, but he was obviously too busy to get back to me.
Good on you Carl, I have nothing but praise for the quality of the items you produce and your customer service...
19 March 2008, 08:38 PM
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20 March 2008, 07:20 PM
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Fraser, the fittings came from Earls UK. I've always used Earls fittings as they can be comparitively well priced when ordered from the US. Unfortunately costs nearly double when ordering domestically, even with discount. 
10AN Banjo Adaptor (20mm ID), 997610M20, £29.79
M20x1.5mm Banjo Bolt, 9775M20, £8.61
I'm sure Think Auto will be able to beat those prices (albeit for Aeroquip, not Earls fittings) by some margin. Don't forget to order some washers for the banjo bolt too.
No progress today bar machining a 3mm washer to sit behind one of the tabs which will bolt the tank to the inner wing. I'm not holding out much hope of the welder calling before i go offshore either what with the Easter holidays now upon us.
10AN Banjo Adaptor (20mm ID), 997610M20, £29.79
M20x1.5mm Banjo Bolt, 9775M20, £8.61
I'm sure Think Auto will be able to beat those prices (albeit for Aeroquip, not Earls fittings) by some margin. Don't forget to order some washers for the banjo bolt too.
No progress today bar machining a 3mm washer to sit behind one of the tabs which will bolt the tank to the inner wing. I'm not holding out much hope of the welder calling before i go offshore either what with the Easter holidays now upon us.
21 March 2008, 04:38 PM
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Thanks Carl, thats just what i needed
Do you know if they do that retun in a -12AN as thats what i have returning to my oil pan?
Cheers again and props for the work, suitably impressed as always
Frayz
Do you know if they do that retun in a -12AN as thats what i have returning to my oil pan?
Cheers again and props for the work, suitably impressed as always
Frayz
22 March 2008, 12:03 AM
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Check the size of the thread on the fitting then compare it with this chart and all will be revealed. It'll be 8AN (3/4" UNF/SAE - 16TPI) or 10AN (7/8" UNF/SAE - 14TPI) i imagine.
11 April 2008, 08:07 PM
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Well it's been welded. However, it needs a few minutes on the mill to tidy the lugs that will hold it to the inner wing before it can be powder coated.
Rather than using plastic rivets i've decided to screw the lid down, hence the addition of some riv-nuts on top.
The car has been in bits for the past couple of days so i took the opportunity to fit some the new breather hoses. Unfortunately their route doesn't suit a VTA application. So i'm slumming it for a bit.
Diet of course... for the RA.
Rather than using plastic rivets i've decided to screw the lid down, hence the addition of some riv-nuts on top.
The car has been in bits for the past couple of days so i took the opportunity to fit some the new breather hoses. Unfortunately their route doesn't suit a VTA application. So i'm slumming it for a bit.
Diet of course... for the RA.
12 April 2008, 10:27 AM
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how did you bend the last bit of the lid, or was it cut and welded.
Nice Job btw.
Nice Job btw.
12 April 2008, 10:45 AM
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I left that part to the welders David. It's not as nice as the rest of the folds but that's to be expected as it was far more awkward. If i were to do it again i'd design it to fold from the rear so that the front has to be welded instead.