$10 catch can install

[zAlucarDz]

I just got finished installing a catch can on my 2009 4.6 Genesis and I figured I would share how I did it if anyone else wanted to see.

So I've found that air-water separators for air compressors make great catch cans, mainly because they are cheap and have a fine brass filter/screen in them which is great at grabbing the oil vapors out of the crankcase before entering the intake manifold. I previously had one from Lowes ($35) on my old big turbo 300zx and it worked great. This time I am trying out the separator from Harbor Freight ($10).

For anyone wanting to understand how the air-water separators work here's a good picture showing it.

View attachment 17525

Here is the separator from Harbor Freight I used this time, but pretty much any separator should work.

3/8 in. Compact Air Filter

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For the 4.6 (not sure about 3.8 or 5.0) you'll need about 2 feet of 3/8 hose and 2 feet of 15/32 hose, I got 3 feet of each just to make sure I had enough but I think 2 feet would have been fine. Also you must use fuel hose or PCV hose as the crankcase vapors can eat through vacuum and coolant hoses, also make sure you have all the hose clamps you'll need. the 3/8 is for the PCV side of the system and the 15/32 is for the intake side of the system. You will also need barb fittings with any angles you want for however you decide to route your lines. The separator is 3/8 NPT with bushing to go to 1/4 NPT so you can use either size.

Here is everything I had laid out when I started, I already had the fittings in the separator at this time. Make sure when putting all your fittings together to use thread tape on the threads and get them good and tight so they dont leak out any oil or let in any air. One thing I didnt get any pictures of is sealing the valve at the bottom of the bowl (you can see the metal fitting at the bottom of the clear bowl). This needs to be sealed off so it wont leak as it's not designed to be under vacuum like it will be in this application., there are several ways to do it but I basically covered it with a healthy layer of oil-friendly RTV.

View attachment 17527


Next I drilled and tapped a hole for a m8 bolt in the top of the separator housing so that I could mount it to the bracket I made. There are 4 holes in the housing for m4 bolts if i remember right, but I wanted to keep my bracket small so I went for a single m8 bolt. Make sure you clean the housing out really well after drilling and tapping to make sure no metal shavings are left in there. Make sure to put thread tape on the m8 bolt as it goes into the separator and could cause a vacuum leak if not sealed well. Also make sure to put your fittings on the right sides of the separator. The PCV side (3/8 hose) should go to the 'inlet' of the separator and the intake side (15/32 hose) should go to the 'outlet' side so that the air going through it comes in/goes out in the correct direction.

View attachment 17528


View attachment 17529

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View attachment 17531


After that was done I mounted my bracket onto the car. You want to make sure you mount it high enough that you can still get the bowl down and off when draining the oil. I used 2 short self-tapping screws to mount it to the wheelwell, this spot will only work if you have a cone filter style intake.

View attachment 17532


I was then able to mount the catch can and run my lines.

View attachment 17533


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I have a question you set this up on the PCV side but the breather is still going to the intake track? is there a reason you did not run them both to the catch can?

 

[Flarfignewton]

I have a question you set this up on the PCV side but the breather is still going to the intake track? is there a reason you did not run them both to the catch can?

The breather allows fresh air from the intake to enter the crankcase to vent the vapors that go through the PCV valve. There's no need to run a can on the breather on these engines.

 

[edizzle89]

The breather allows fresh air from the intake to enter the crankcase to vent the vapors that go through the PCV valve. There's no need to run a can on the breather on these engines.

^This. The side i put it on is where it goes from the intake manifold to the valve cover, which is the suction side of the pcv system. Like Flarfignewton said the other side is were fresh air is drawn in from so that the suction side doesn't just create a giant vacuum chamber out of the entire crank case.

 

[Adrian5.O]

I just got finished installing a catch can on my 2009 4.6 Genesis and I figured I would share how I did it if anyone else wanted to see.

So I've found that air-water separators for air compressors make great catch cans, mainly because they are cheap and have a fine brass filter/screen in them which is great at grabbing the oil vapors out of the crankcase before entering the intake manifold. I previously had one from Lowes ($35) on my old big turbo 300zx and it worked great. This time I am trying out the separator from Harbor Freight ($10).

For anyone wanting to understand how the air-water separators work here's a good picture showing it.

View attachment 17525

Here is the separator from Harbor Freight I used this time, but pretty much any separator should work.

3/8 in. Compact Air Filter

View attachment 17526



For the 4.6 (not sure about 3.8 or 5.0) you'll need about 2 feet of 3/8 hose and 2 feet of 15/32 hose, I got 3 feet of each just to make sure I had enough but I think 2 feet would have been fine. Also you must use fuel hose or PCV hose as the crankcase vapors can eat through vacuum and coolant hoses, also make sure you have all the hose clamps you'll need. the 3/8 is for the PCV side of the system and the 15/32 is for the intake side of the system. You will also need barb fittings with any angles you want for however you decide to route your lines. The separator is 3/8 NPT with bushing to go to 1/4 NPT so you can use either size.

Here is everything I had laid out when I started, I already had the fittings in the separator at this time. Make sure when putting all your fittings together to use thread tape on the threads and get them good and tight so they dont leak out any oil or let in any air. One thing I didnt get any pictures of is sealing the valve at the bottom of the bowl (you can see the metal fitting at the bottom of the clear bowl). This needs to be sealed off so it wont leak as it's not designed to be under vacuum like it will be in this application., there are several ways to do it but I basically covered it with a healthy layer of oil-friendly RTV.

View attachment 17527


Next I drilled and tapped a hole for a m8 bolt in the top of the separator housing so that I could mount it to the bracket I made. There are 4 holes in the housing for m4 bolts if i remember right, but I wanted to keep my bracket small so I went for a single m8 bolt. Make sure you clean the housing out really well after drilling and tapping to make sure no metal shavings are left in there. Make sure to put thread tape on the m8 bolt as it goes into the separator and could cause a vacuum leak if not sealed well. Also make sure to put your fittings on the right sides of the separator. The PCV side (3/8 hose) should go to the 'inlet' of the separator and the intake side (15/32 hose) should go to the 'outlet' side so that the air going through it comes in/goes out in the correct direction.

View attachment 17528


View attachment 17529

View attachment 17530


View attachment 17531


After that was done I mounted my bracket onto the car. You want to make sure you mount it high enough that you can still get the bowl down and off when draining the oil. I used 2 short self-tapping screws to mount it to the wheelwell, this spot will only work if you have a cone filter style intake.

View attachment 17532


I was then able to mount the catch can and run my lines.

View attachment 17533


View attachment 17534

I know this is not related to this but what intake set up do you have please and thank you