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'scuse my automotive ignorance.. but.. what exactly is this thing and what does it do? Does it catch oil spilled while filling, or is it tied into the oil system....? and what are the benefits?
During the compression stroke of the pistons, small amount of gases in the combustion chamber escapes past the piston rings and into the crankcase. These a large percentage of these "blowby" gases are composed of unburnt fuel that can cause internal corrosion to the engine and also dilute and contminate the engine oil. The PCV (Positive CrankCase Ventilation) system uses the vacuum that the engine creates to remove these blowby gases from the crankcase. Oil tends to accumulate in the intake manifold due to the fact that a small amount of oil will be sucked through the PCV valve as part of the blowby gas removal. This oil is then sucked into the combustion chambers and can foul spark plugs. This catch can is installed in the vacuum line between the intake mainfold vacuum source and the PCV valve. This will "catch" any oil before it gets sucked into the intake manifold and into the combustion chambers.
I drained mine for the first time yesterday. It wasn't pretty. I'm so glad that wasn't headed for my intake. I had about a dixie cup full.
Were you at a track event, or was that street driving and if so how many miles did it take to accumulate the dixie cup worth? Was that about 1/3 to 1/2 the catch can reservoir capacity? Not sure how much a dixie cup holds in ounces.
Were you at a track event, or was that street driving and if so how many miles did it take to accumulate the dixie cup worth? Was that about 1/3 to 1/2 the catch can reservoir capacity? Not sure how much a dixie cup holds in ounces.
No, just daily driving, but that might as well be at the track lol! I went about 800-1500 miles as a guess. I have a sight glass on the side, so I can monitor the resevoir easily. I'd say about a 1/4 of the capacity. I used a dixie cup as a guess also. I'll measure it next time based on mileage. Sorry I couldn't give you a real accurate answer.
Last edited by zo6vetteman2003; Sep 27, 2006 at 05:40 PM.
No, just daily driving, but that might as well be at the track lol! I went about 800-1500 miles as a guess. I have a sight glass on the side, so I can monitor the resevoir easily. I'd say about a 1/4 of the capacity. I used a dixie cup as a guess also. I'll measure it next time based on mileage. Sorry I couldn't give you a real accurate answer.
Thanks for the info. It's surprising on how much oil gets to the intake manifold on the LSx engines ... even the LS6 with the "improved" PCV system in the valley cover. Catch Cans seem to be a must for these engines.