What is this???
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Joined: Aug 2006
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From: Kansas City Mo
What is this???
I'm thinking of puchasing a 2001 coupe and noticed this under the hood. What the heck is this? I'm getting the car from a smaller car lot. I have it at a chevy dealer gettting a pre-puchase inspection now. They said it looks like a moisture separator. But need to look into it further. IS this good bad or anything to wonder about. The liquid in the tubes and a little clear bottle in between in the second pic is a brown color. Seems that the water drops in the bottle from both tubes. I think thats an odd color to be coming from an engine.
here are the pics
here are the pics
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 10,554
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From: Not on either liberal coast.
It appears to be a home made oil catch can. If that's what it is, the intent is to trap oil before it enters the intake system.
Some people prefer to go "cheap" and use these home improvement center plastic air compressor moisture traps. Others prefer to use aftermarket products. Mine is from ELITE ENGINEERING.
You can search in C5 tech using keywords "catch can" for it's purpose, pros/cons and endless debates...
Some people prefer to go "cheap" and use these home improvement center plastic air compressor moisture traps. Others prefer to use aftermarket products. Mine is from ELITE ENGINEERING.
You can search in C5 tech using keywords "catch can" for it's purpose, pros/cons and endless debates...
Last edited by hotwheels57; Mar 16, 2009 at 04:11 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,631
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From: Clever, MO aka SOMO
Yeah, it's a homemade "catch can", set up to trap excessive oil vapors before they enter the back of the throttle body. The tubes are attached to the pass. side valve cover openings. Nothing to be afraid of. Normally installed on vettes that are driven at higher rpms where the oil vapor problem is more pronounced. Personally, I don't have one of these on my car, but I don't drive my C5 hard, and did not have excessive oil in my intake manifold when I had it off for porting and painting.
Good luck on the buy!
Good luck on the buy!
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 60
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From: Kansas City Mo
Sorry guys i know just enough to be almost dangerous, which amounts to really stupid with cars mechanically and car parts. What is a homemade catch can? Is it a danger or an issue if i was to purchase this car? What is it for and what is its purpose?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,631
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From: Clever, MO aka SOMO
What is it? Read #5 above again. No, it's not a danger, just a device some guys install to trap excessive oil vapors that are ingested into the intake manifold. No moving parts, nothing to worry about. What year C5 are you looking at?
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Thread Starter
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Joined: Aug 2006
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From: Kansas City Mo
I think I was typing my post at the same time as people were describing what it was. You guys are awesome on here! I knew if i posted something with a pic i could get an answer quick.
I'm looking at a 2001 coupe with about 38K. Its been through three owners in carfax though.
I'm looking at a 2001 coupe with about 38K. Its been through three owners in carfax though.
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Joined: Aug 2006
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From: Kansas City Mo
One thing with it is it seems to idle rough at stop lights when out of gear and sitting waiting for the light to change. The needle on the RPMS does not bounce or anything, it just has a slight shake in the engine compartment when still at a light. It has been sitting on a lot for over 100 days so i thought maybe it was just running on old gas or something. I have only driven about 3 C5's, so i didn't know of it was normal or not.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2002
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From: Clever, MO aka SOMO
One thing with it is it seems to idle rough at stop lights when out of gear and sitting waiting for the light to change. The needle on the RPMS does not bounce or anything, it just has a slight shake in the engine compartment when still at a light. It has been sitting on a lot for over 100 days so i thought maybe it was just running on old gas or something. I have only driven about 3 C5's, so i didn't know of it was normal or not.
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From: Kansas City Mo
Well the chevy dealer says its an internal misfire. They can't see it form the outside they have checked the plugs wires etc all the easy things. So, is this something that could be a bigger issue? $$$$?? I'm headed up soon to see if they can think of anything else or give me an idea of what it could cost to find it. I just don't want to dump a ton into it right out of the gate for sure. Anyone had any issues with internal misfires?
Drifting
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From: Holly, Michigan
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Joined: Aug 2006
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From: Kansas City Mo
Well I passed on it. The dealer checked the wires and all the plugs and could not find what the idle issue was. I read through the above link on the idling issue. Good info, but you just never know. The guy at the dealer service told me he would honestly pass on this one if he was thinking about it for himself. There just wasn't something not right with it. It was a nice one from the looks, but underneath it had a few issues. They said the clutch was a little funny and they didn't like the way the rear end felt while driving. I figured it was best at this point to pass it up. I myself thought it felt a little off while driving it. Oh well the hunt is still on. Thanks for all the replies. You guys can really help a guy about to make a big decision.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Dyer, IN
Well I passed on it. The dealer checked the wires and all the plugs and could not find what the idle issue was. I read through the above link on the idling issue. Good info, but you just never know. The guy at the dealer service told me he would honestly pass on this one if he was thinking about it for himself. There just wasn't something not right with it. It was a nice one from the looks, but underneath it had a few issues. They said the clutch was a little funny and they didn't like the way the rear end felt while driving. I figured it was best at this point to pass it up. I myself thought it felt a little off while driving it. Oh well the hunt is still on. Thanks for all the replies. You guys can really help a guy about to make a big decision.
