If I do not need an oil catch can, then please tell me what I need to do.
 

100 miles ago I removed my intake manifold to replace the oil pressure sending unit. i cleaned my intake in a de-grease bath, cleaned the head mating surface and installed new gaskets. The OPSU worked for about 1.2 seconds. Drove it around until now. Im doing some stuff to include, a remote OPSU. Manifild comes off, oil everywhere. Its encroaching on my injectors...car runs good. It can only come in through the PCV system. Right? Does my PCV system need some maintenance? I think its time for a catch can.

2000 FRC. Stock motor.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...a7781e0454.jpg
Oil
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...df64358074.jpg
Oil
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...5cd335ba35.jpg
Oil
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...a76878c4a8.jpg
....oil

The reality of it is that is totally normal.

You can install a catch can if you like but more often than not even with regular dumpings of the catch can you will still have an oily intake manifold.

In the grand scheme of things it really doesn't hurt anything.

Im new to the LS1. I dont like seeing all this oil. Back in my youth, the sight of this oil in my heads intake would send me into a tail spin which would end with the motor in pieces on my parents garage floor! I will not do that with my Corvette. I will not do that with my Corvette. I will not do that with my Corvette.....I will get a catch can.

It seems like so much oil. Maybe ill just pop the heads off real quick and clean them up. Couldn't add more than a few hours to the job...i had better not.

Check this out Bruss.

It's not a cure all but it's the most efficient way to do an LS1.

Lots of debate on each side of the catch can issue. I ran one on my last two C5s and run one on my C7. It does catch oil from the PCV system so to me that helps keep the oil out of the intake manifold. Not a bad thing to me.

A catch can is not required on a stock LS1. However, I think you will be happier with one. Check out Mighty Mouse. Their products are very high quality, and they have a variety of options to suit your needs.

It sounds to me like you don't need a catch can (or two), but that you want a catch can (or two).

I'm not sure if these engines are like the HFV6 in the Cadillacs, where the PCV flow reverses at full throttle. If that happens, you need one can for each side of the system (fresh air in, and in the vacuum line to the manifold).

Personally, I've never worried about the oil that gets sucked in. Just keep the thing topped up.

With the oil present in the attached photos after less than 100 miles (probably closer to 60 miles), this is normal? Its running down my heads, coating my intake manifold, the runners on my heads look aweful. I understand its normal, but I will not accept this amount of oil entering my engine. Oil catch can and perhaps LS6 PCV system.

I appreciate the responses, its good to know its normal and I dont have a more serious problem. I dont want to go down an insane rabit hole with this PCV system. But I think I can improve it. Thanks all! @Mr. Black good videos.

More importantly and I should have asked yesterday, do you have abnormal oil consumption? Some years of LS1s were pretty bad with actual oil consumption problems. Most do not though.

My 97 original stock bottom end might used a quart per oil change. That's nothing.

You have to remember a tiny little bit of oil goes a very long ways like if you spill it.

When I replaced my LS1 with an LS6 intake, I saw this mess too but mostly contained to the intake itself.
I then decided to add the catch can to it and I get a decent amount accumulated in it.
Last year I had the TB off to clean & inspect and I shined a light inside my intake opening and was pleased to see it was clean.

How low was the oil on the dipstick.

Some LS engines have pretty crazy "normal" oil consumption. A quart every 600 to 1000 miles seems pretty normal for some of them.

One of the LS engines I've been working with the most in the past few years consumes about a half quart in 6 to 10 miles, but that's actually 8 to 12 autocross runs flogging the living hell out of it. It may have a real issue. Sometimes there's a slight blue smoke in the exhaust under WOT acceleration. Although sometimes that may be tire smoke, so it's hard to tell.

The car is new to me so I do not have any data on oil consumption. When I did her first oil change it seemed about a quart low. However I do not know how long the oil had been in there. So I only have 50 to 100 miles worth of driving on this oils change. I will keep an eye on it.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...02d4e2c72f.jpg
I just replaced the plugs. They all looked like this. No sign of excessive oil..

Every motor can benefit from a catch can....especially direct injected ones.

My C5 has an Elite Engineering can, my wife's 08 Lexus IS 250 has an Elite Engineering catch can....and our 2021 Sierra 2500 6.2 gasser is about to get an Elite Engineering catch can. ANY amount of oil collected in the catch can is oil NOT in the intake.

How efficient a can is at catching oil is very hard to determine and depends on the motor it is installed in. And no, don't buy a cheap ebay one with a hollow cavity and no media to help condense the vapors.

Just the way ls engines are dont waste your $. It wont run or behave any differently clean or oily
No issues after 20 yrs of driving with none. If it would help Gm woulda done it.

Your plug looks just fine, theres proof.

BINGO on the direct injection PCV system. GM has known for a considerable amount of time their PCV system kind of sucks. They changed the original LS1 PCV system to a 'better' system when they went to the revised valley cover. They knew that even that wouldn’t cut it on direct injection motors, because the intake valve never sees any gasoline, detergent or not. I don't know what they went to for the new PCV system, but it must keep the oil out of the intake better than any previous system they've used. Sure would like to see it up close......:thumbs:

Bruss did you say the OPSU failed right away? If yes what do you mean by "failed"? Did it peg again (or go to 0)? Or is it leaking externally? Or did I misunderstand this post? I ask because there are other things in the same vicinity that leak oil. I just replaced the OPSU on my 98 and while there was oil all over the outside of the motor I didn't have any significant amount inside the intake runners. The ports in the head did have some gooey black buildup but not terrible. I have no idea what the mileage is on my motor though as I don't believe it is the original it left the factory with.

By that comment then I hope you have NO mods on your car and it's completely stock...because GM made the perfect car. Right? LT headers don't make more power, FAST intake manifolds don't make more power, MGW shifters are not a higher quality shifter :thumbs: These comments kill me. GM is still a business that have to abide by penny pinchers. Adding a catch can on a production car adds A LOT of money to make.

Do some research. Catch cans help. It's just hard to quantify how efficient the can is on any given motor.

I remember seeing videos on the new truck PVC system and improvements on the L8T motors on YT somewhere.

start at 17:42 they improved the valve covers.

it pegged high. With occasional bouncing around. I removed the OPSU yesterday and found a small amount of oil a had entered into the electrical connector. I replaced my torque wrench with a higher quality. I think I over tightened the shit out of it when I first installed it. I do not have any oil leaking from the motor.

Ok so OPSU and oil in the runners are separate problems, gotcha. If you haven't already installed it, when I was doing research prior to replacing mine I read on multiple forums that the brass body OPSU's are superior to the silver colored steel version. Its claimed that they last longer and there where other benefits to them cited that I cant recall at the moment. Not sure which version you used but food for thought.