CCV recirculating catch tank

[bilgladstone 13]

I will borrow a camera as soon as I can and take some new pictures. For now, here is a schematic of the container and connections I installed today.

The container is a hard plastic kitchen shaker. It has a stainless screen - the label says it's for tea. The lid has 4 clips that hold the lid on well.

I cut two 1" holes in the lid and added a pair of rubber grommets so the 1/2"ID reinforced clear hoses go through the sealed lid. The intake hose comes from the valve cover and goes both through the lid and the screen underneath. The outlet hose just goes through the lid and terminates above the screen. The stainless steel scrubber provides a matrix on which the oil vapours will condense.

There is a fair good amount of room for this 9" tall vessel because there is no EGR actuator. In fact, the wiring bracket from the EGR is used to anchor the new catchtank.

Now, the point at which the CCV tubing enters the tank is a little higher than the outlet at the valve cover. I've heard recommendations bothe ways - should be below so oil drips into the tank - should be above so oil runs back into the head whwere it came from.

We'll see how this one works... It was certainly the cheapest one I've made so far!

You can sort of see the cavity where the catchtank is in this earlier picture

Bil

[Duck 16]

Excellent, Bil - Excellent!!Can't wait to see the photos...-Iain

[Speedie 4]

Under the Black Tridon part there is a nice gap - here is what I am going to make up next time I have a few free hours.Cheers,Cameron

[Bigrick 0]

You guys are my heroes! Waiting anxiously for the final design specs/pictures so I can do likewise.Rick

[Duck 16]

"Stainless Scrub Pad" goes inside the tube?BTW Bil you know you can get a Digital Camera for around $100, right? -Iain

[bilgladstone 13]

Under the Black Tridon part there is a nice gap - here is what I am going to make up next time I have a few free hours.Cheers,Cameron

Tidy idea there! But how do you know when it's full? When oil starts pumping out the dipstick tube...

[bilgladstone 13]

"Stainless Scrub Pad" goes inside the tube?BTW Bil you know you can get a Digital Camera for around $100, right? -Iain

Yes I do. I can probably afford one for $20

[cassini75 0]

if you have some diamentions i could fab up some in Stainless,

Under the Black Tridon part there is a nice gap - here is what I am going to make up next time I have a few free hours.Cheers,Cameron

[houseofdiesel 9]

You don't want to much restriction in there...I found that out with other diesels and filled up the intercooler with oil, many liters in very few minutes. The crankcase vent has to breath very well or it will either fill the intake with oil or blow oil seals out and leak. I like the idea though, I ran 2L pop bottles on my VW and Mercedes td's that had to much pressure and it work fine without any "screen". Does the CDI have a block vent or just a cylinder head vent? The block vents are a much better idea as VW found out and implemented.

[Speedie 4]

Yep the scrubber goes inside to trap oil particles.You should drain it at first once a week or so to see the build up and judge the frequency from there.Dimensions? You mean you don't just build it with what ever is in the scrap bin? I am looking at some 2" pipe about 10" long.Stainless would work but aluminum is what I got handy.I plan on using inlet/outlet tubing bigger than the normal pipes to keep the back pressure down and keep the distances as short as possible - also the inlet is not near the bottom to keep oil from blocking it. The vent is just a cylinder head one - no poppet valve for back flow or nothing.Cheers,Cameron

[bilgladstone 13]

With endless thanks to Monsieur lebikerboy I now am able to take my very own digital pictures!

So here are the first ones, "hot off the presses".

1. overview of CCV recirc fittings:

2. line attachment to existing CCV out from valve cover:

3. which goes into the condensing tank (darkened hose):

4. through the container as shown in the illustration up-thread:

5. and finally, fumes with oil removed are returned to the air intake through a rubber gasketed fitting in the end of the K&N filter:

I am thinking this needs just a wee bit more tweaking, but this is substantially the end result of a whole lot of fuss and bother over three years of tinkering.

Bil

what was life like before we had zip-ties!?

[Duck 16]

Lookin' good, Bil! The plastic is good enough to survive the heat in the engine bay?-Iain

[lebikerboy 96]

Looks good Bil. However, I need you to trim the sharpies off those zip ties!

[bilgladstone 13]

Lookin' good, Bil! The plastic is good enough to survive the heat in the engine bay?-Iain

If you mean the plastic of the kitchen canister... I'm not sure. It seems made of a hard plastic, but time will tell. I plan to change it out for an aluminum water bottle at some future point. They also come in purty colours.As for all the other plastic stuff like tie-wraps etc. Oh yeah, they survive nicely.@ lebikerboy, there's just no pleasing some people, eh? Edited July 21, 2009 by bilgladstone

[lebikerboy 96]

Nope, it's just that I've seen the lacerations caused by malignant zap straps...

[Speedie 4]

Bil - since your car is the test mule - I should let you evaluate the one I am making - got the pieces cut - have to get some time to weld them up.Cheers,Cameron

[bilgladstone 13]

Bil - since your car is the test mule - I should let you evaluate the one I am making - got the pieces cut - have to get some time to weld them up.Cheers,Cameron

Yeah, I might could do that. Post pics and proposed location when you get it fabbed.B

[NJV 1]

Very nice Bil. I guess the darkened hose is from the oil being sucked out of the valve cover? Shows us how much is ending up in the air intake, and intercooler.

[smartsk88er 0]

I dont understand... what does this mod do?

[bilgladstone 13]

I dont understand... what does this mod do?

The crankcase builds up pressure from blowby past rings etc. In the old days, these dirty fumes were just vented to atmosphere. Then they were piped to the air filter intake housing to be reburnt in order to keep emissions down. In the smart, they are recirculated from the crankcase almost directly to the intake, after the air filter, and immediately in front of the turbo inlet.What we notice in this short-pipe hot-to-cold configuration, especially if the oil level is even a teensy bit above 3/4 or so on the stick, is that the still-hot fumes - abundantly laden with oil and other vapours - condense out the oil into a sticky mess, and then go right into the turbo and intercooler. Some people have even had the intercooler fill to failure with oil!Bad design. Head-shakingly poor.This modification allows the oil to condense out into the catch tank before the fumes are recirculated into the air intake, keeping the air path clear.Highly recommended [by me]Cheers,Bil

[bilgladstone 13]

OK, that's IT! I am sick to death of the crankcase fumes fouling everything up! I have tried and tried and tried, all to no avail.

The latest iteration, CCV Catchtank v.5 is now deemed to be a failure. There is just so much oil and so much pressure developed in the sump. It's no wonder at all that some intercoolers get flooded. Last time I drained the canister, there was a good 75ml of condensed sludge collected. And there was oil creep every where, all over that end of the engine compartment.

So.... the weather is now colder and my modding season is over for 2009. I'm going to whip the whole mess out and revert to v.1, tube to the driveway again.

What this needs to be, in my estimation, is a high-quality hermetically sealed and pressure resistant recirculating catchtank system, maybe welded up nicely like Speedie was contemplating. But that'll have to wait for next year...

An alternate notion would be a significant expansion/condensing chamber mounted at a higher level than the vent outlet, simply draining back into the crankcase, with a smallish recirculating tube leading back into the air inlet. The problem with that, as you know, is the dearth of space above the rocker cover. Almost need something like a flattish container the size of a Petri dish or shoe polish tin....

<shakes head>

NEXT year!

B

[MikeT 747]

Since the oil sludge contains a good measure of moisture, I'm not too sure I'd want it in the sump!

[MightyMouseTech 0]

Since the oil sludge contains a good measure of moisture, I'm not too sure I'd want it in the sump!

Bill, with all the effort you put into this, why don't you just put a drain cock on the bottom of the intercooler? Would solve your problem would it not? Then just drain it every time you have the car in the air.

[bilgladstone 13]

Since the oil sludge contains a good measure of moisture, I'm not too sure I'd want it in the sump!

Right you are.

[bilgladstone 13]

Bill, with all the effort you put into this, why don't you just put a drain cock on the bottom of the intercooler? Would solve your problem would it not? Then just drain it every time you have the car in the air.

Not. The intercooler is not a waste-oil reservoir. Not on my car anyway

I see now why MB just did this stupid solution and walked away.

Car maker to engineers: you shall put a CCV system in this engine.

Engineers: but there is no physical space and no budget allotted to do it in this car.

Car makers: it shall be done!

Engineers: it won't work. And it will result in damage or reduction of efficiency or shortened service life of several expensive components.

Car makers: not our problem then! Do it.

Engineers: very well ... @ssholes

Hahahaha!