Catch can... the making of
Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:26 pm
Well, after searching for a breather type catch can to route my valve cover and pcv to, and finding them up there in price to say the least, ingenuity took over.
I searched for something that was a thick metal to no avail. Wanting to keep it cheap anyways I found a stainless steel water bottle at shopko on sale for 3 bucks.
Then it was off to the parts store. Being the bottle was pretty thin, brass fittings were not gonna work without alot of effort.
then while looking around it hit me (not literally) on what I could use.
Parts list is as follows...
ss water bottle 3.00
tranny plug kit 3.00
2 ford pcv elbows 3.00 each
2 pcv 1/2" id grommets 2.50 each
1 3/8" brass straight nipple 2.50
Make sure the top on the water bottle is fairly flat. mine was with a finger loop which was cut off. drill and tap for the brass nipple, snug it in and that parts done.
Now turn the bottle itself over and drill a small pilot hole dead center, then drill the size needed for the tranny drain plug kit. Now your gonna say hth! am I supposed to get that together? rather simply. pull the small plug out of the kit piece and insert a rod, then install and run the rod through the top of the bottle (you bought one with a wide mouth didn't you?) simply drop the washer then the nut and use a socket with an extension. stuff some paper towel in the socket so it will still grip the nut but allow compression to allow screwing the two pieces together.
Now installing the grommets can be a bit tricky. drill a fairly large hole (actually as large as you can) and finish off with a dremel. the hole must be small enough you have to use a screwdriver to help the grommet in. Do this for both sides.
Now lube the grommet (i had simple green handy) and work the elbows in. if the grommet center hole looked round it will go in trust me. It may take some finessing but they will go (mine took alot of finnessing).
The result, and I must say I impressed myself, was better than the cheap ebay crap.
As a bonus, I found a bottle that was similar to sonic blue. For a mount, mine will be attached to the lower frame rail on the drivers side. bolting a piece of flat stock with a clamp, then simply clamping the bottle to it.
front
back
inside
bottom
top
various
I searched for something that was a thick metal to no avail. Wanting to keep it cheap anyways I found a stainless steel water bottle at shopko on sale for 3 bucks.
Then it was off to the parts store. Being the bottle was pretty thin, brass fittings were not gonna work without alot of effort.
then while looking around it hit me (not literally) on what I could use.
Parts list is as follows...
ss water bottle 3.00
tranny plug kit 3.00
2 ford pcv elbows 3.00 each
2 pcv 1/2" id grommets 2.50 each
1 3/8" brass straight nipple 2.50
Make sure the top on the water bottle is fairly flat. mine was with a finger loop which was cut off. drill and tap for the brass nipple, snug it in and that parts done.
Now turn the bottle itself over and drill a small pilot hole dead center, then drill the size needed for the tranny drain plug kit. Now your gonna say hth! am I supposed to get that together? rather simply. pull the small plug out of the kit piece and insert a rod, then install and run the rod through the top of the bottle (you bought one with a wide mouth didn't you?) simply drop the washer then the nut and use a socket with an extension. stuff some paper towel in the socket so it will still grip the nut but allow compression to allow screwing the two pieces together.
Now installing the grommets can be a bit tricky. drill a fairly large hole (actually as large as you can) and finish off with a dremel. the hole must be small enough you have to use a screwdriver to help the grommet in. Do this for both sides.
Now lube the grommet (i had simple green handy) and work the elbows in. if the grommet center hole looked round it will go in trust me. It may take some finessing but they will go (mine took alot of finnessing).
The result, and I must say I impressed myself, was better than the cheap ebay crap.
As a bonus, I found a bottle that was similar to sonic blue. For a mount, mine will be attached to the lower frame rail on the drivers side. bolting a piece of flat stock with a clamp, then simply clamping the bottle to it.
front
back
inside
bottom
top
various