The Getaway...Crom's build and adventures

Bent up some u-bolts for roof rack ABS pipe.

I could not easily find u-bolts for 4" dia pipe, so I found some all-thread-threaded rod and bent up my own set.




All hardware is 5/16" The small u-bolts I found at hardware store and cut them to size. I made sure to use stainless to make my project cost 4x what it needed to. . I wrapped everything in dry vinyl to improve appearance.

Because I bent something, it reminded me of this video by Hal Eckhart, an old favorite, fun to watch.

Hand bending 1" square 18 gauge steel tubing to a 4-1/2" radius
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjRlA4HxuyQ

I also made come custom brackets.

Brackets were made from 1/8" flat bar steel, holes drilled to 3/8". I then gave them a 5-minute bath in muratic acid. Rinsed with RO water, dried, and painted flat black.

 

Gotta post up the pics when you have this set up.

 

Which can do you use?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...re-nasties-in-the-intake.238915/#post-5680043

 

If you aren't adverse to solvents, toluene or acetone make short work of sludged oil. Just use a little squirt bottle and wha-la.

 

42 Draft designs bought about six (6) years ago. It's a great can, however the fittings are too large for the Tacoma PCV and intake return. What I ended up doing was just running the 3/8 fuel hose inside the can and wrapping with vinyl electrical tape to hold and seal. After 10's of thousands of miles, I can say that it has worked absolutely fine.

I have my can mounted down in the bumper so it's easy to drain without opening the hood and any spills would go on the ground. Plus it keeps the can out of the engine bay so that's nice too.

Thanks.

Thanks. Good idea. I'll try that next time if I have trouble.

 

In all fairness, it was easy to find thanks to your impeccable record keeping and link in the first post. Oh and BTW, the product link you posted no longer works (404 code), but it'll get a savvy reader to their website.

I purchased the ADW knock-off from Amazon some time ago (yet to install). I should probably get on that.

 

I need to do this. My can is in the engine bay and requires gymnastic ability to unscrew the can. Apparently the extended length of the hoses doesn’t affect its ability to do its job

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that you wanted the catch can to be higher that the PCV vent. That way the can itself becomes a "low point" at the top of the system (if that makes sense) for the vapor to collect. Since vapor rises, you want the catch can to be at the top of the system and the can's internal baffle becomes the collection point for the condensation. Some people also add a stainless-steel wool pad to act as more surface area for the condensation to further collect.

Someone with a little more book-learnin' than me can hopefully chime in here, but that's the way I understood the system and the benefits of adding the catch can. Granted, your location still works and is better than nothing, but I believe optimum placement for the can would be above the PCV vent on the valve cover for maximum efficiency.

 

Ah I remember those. Almost bought one for the first gen.

 

I'm only guessing so don't take my word for it. My thought would be that because the oil is heavier than the air it's suspended in having the catch can lower would help keep the oil in the can. The suspended particles would not be able to go uphill leaving the can.

 

I understand, but the catch can works with oil in vapor form, not as a liquid. It condenses on the baffles inside the can and drips into the collector. A lot of the instructions you'll see will warn about routing the catch can as close as possible to the PCV vent because the longer run of hose needed to mount it further away actually gives the vapor more surface area to collect and condense back to a liquid. In that case you'd want it low to avoid the liquid inside the hose draining back to the crank case, but again the ideal location is close to the vent, and above it (at least as I've understood it). It's not like the PCV system is high pressure where it's spraying air at high CFM or PSI, so you don't have to worry about blowback or the pressure picking up oil and forcing it back into the system (like in an airbrush).
It kind of sucks because the space normally reserved for most people's AUX fuse panels is perfect for the catch can- close proximity and above the PCV, easy to get to for emptying/ servicing, but it's a pain to try and get both to fit in that area and still have room to work around them.

Not trying to argue, just trying to share what I've understood about the system and genuinely wondering if there's another reason why @Crom chose the location he did, besides ease of service. He usually thinks things through so I'd like to hear what he has to say about it. This is one of the last remaining threads on TW where actual useful information is being shared and not clouded by members posturing, "LOL" posts and emojis and I'd like to keep it that way so I'm glad we can discuss things here intelligently.

 

@GHOST SHIP

I’ll ponder this a little more, but my initial thought is that it would be better to have a catch can:

1. Not immediately close to the engine’s PCV outlet and inlet of the because the velocity of the vapors may be greater than the heat transfer coefficient will allow for condensation, so you’ll want a longer run of hose, tubing, etc to allow for that pressure and temperature drop to allow for vapor condensation; and,

2. Below the PCV outlet and inlet to allow gravity and temperature drop to assist with the condensation into the can since the can is nothing more than an accumulator, and as long as the inlet and outlet of the can itself is at the top and the level of the condensed liquid is not close to those inlet and outlet ports, condensed liquid should not return to the engine in any fashion.

 

@GHOST SHIP Pretty much wat Biscuits said.

I've had it both ways, catch can in engine bay, and in the bumper. IMO it doesn't really matter too much. And I would even say it probably works better being lower because the oil vapor should cool down on its way to the can, and that helps it coalesce back into a solid again. If the can were higher than the PCV, then oil could drain back to the valve, but not the reverse.

Here is a picture of the screen media inside the can, which was one of the selling points when I decided to mod the truck.

 

Yeah my hoses are like 4' and can is definitely doing its job. I can't remember how long I've had it this way, maybe 5 years now.

 

I have the same can as you, but I've never known what the media looked like until now. Considering the structure of that media, I'd definitely use a solvent to clean it. Very easy to foul.

 

Welp just came across this and subbed now

 

I made it out into the garage over the hot weekend.

My aux power system suffered a charging failure and the battery went dead. First failure in 6-years of continuous use. Multiple faults were detected. two of three solar panel connectors were destroyed by sun / elements and disintegrated in my hands during inspection. The third solar panel has a broken solder joint on one of the conductors in the junction box that's glued to the back of the glass. Will be easy fix.

The battery is hooked up to my multi-charge controller and is being reconditioned. I may end up replacing it with new if it doesn't come back.

I also added a vent to my 7-gal water container. Thoroughly inspected water container and it's perfect. Water, container, pump, all is good.

 

Sounds like you are getting ready for a trip...

 

There ya go again. You've inspired another project.