Crankcase Fumes Catch Can

thingiverse

In need of a crankcase ventilation catch can for my diesel powered vehicle, I was surprised at the cost of commercial ones, and the fact that they used a filter that had to be replaced. I also noticed that the other catch cans on Thingiverse don't utilize much internal surface area to catch the oil droplets as much as possible. So I created this device in Cubify Invent to print on a 3D printer. This uses an internal baffle network made from the plastic in lieu of a filter. Since there is so much surface area inside this catch can for oil droplets to condense, and since it's made from plastic (I used ABS), there should be no need for a replaceable filter element. The nipple closest to the can opening is the inlet, and the one below that is the outlet. Plumb the inlet from the crankcase vent line, and the outlet to the air box. Enjoy a clean, non-oil soaked intake tract. The small nipple on the bottom of the can should be connected to a small hose and capped off; this is the oil collection and drain hose. Check it every now and then and drain off oil as needed. NOTE: This is a LONG print! We're talking 5-7 days for a regular FDM printer! All of those small internal vertical baffle elements really will tax your printer. Are they needed? Probably. The more there are, the more oil will be separated from the crankcase blow-by gases. The cap surface is set up to use a 124mm x 3.5mm O-ring. It might seal well enough without it.