I'm thinking on putting an oil catch can on my E36 328. I would like to see some pictures of catch cans that were purchased from a company and some that were homemade too. Pics of them mounted in the car would help me out the best so I can try to see where I should put one. I'm leaning on buying a cheap summit racing one or making one using a 32oz Gatorade bottle. I was suggested to use one on Eric the Car Guy's forum.
Gatorade bottles collapse instantly in a suck-through configuration! Learned that the hard way. Will edit with pics.
(BTW, I used a Gatorade bottle for a long time in a VTA configuration and it worked fine - I've heard neoprene drink bottles have a higher melting point though)
Here's a nice Moroso can I have installed, very nice unit but a bit pricey. The bottom screws off for dumping:
Installed (in a suck-through configuration - came with a nice CNC'd mount but it was too big for me to use):
Here's the old Ricemart Special I ran on the old engine in a VTA configuration. Much bigger and heavier than the Moroso and didn't come with any filter material inside:
So when there's no filter inside, the filter on top filters the vapors, then drips the oil in the can?
Moroso has developed a unit for the E36 cars. It's easy to install, and attaches to the passenger side strut tower.
http://www.moroso.com/eb/catalog/search/advancedsearch.action?mustOccur=true&resetOffset=true&appn=&can=&modelFilter=-1&yearFilter=ALL&pr=&searchTerm=85499
The system gathers the blow-by vapors and deposits them into the can. The container has a valve on the bottom for easy emptying.
Stay tuned to GRM--- the install article will be appearing shortly. 
Here's mine, glued together pvc pipe turned on a lathe...
The valvecover hoses come in on on a tangent, the lower outlet extends up into the can, to about 3/4" from the top. The lower outlet hose leads to an electric vac pump. I added a pcv valve to the top of the can. There is a drain in the lower part of the shell, never more than a couple drops of oil.
Old setup on the MX6, single 3/8 NPT entry vented Moroso.
Escort. Custom 4x -10AN entry, 2x -10AN drain, 3x Moroso filters. -10AN bungs welded into valve covers.
Be careful with using a Gatorade bottle. I put one in my Mini as a temporary oil catch can about 11 years ago and it is still there. It works, it was cheap, it is ugly, and I really have not cared enough to replace it with something permanent.
I know a guy that makes them and I've been meaning to get one for a while. They're pricy but they're hand made per order and the quality is fantastic.
http://www.saikoumichi.com
Use a cheap metal water bottle. Get one in the design of your choice. Support your favorite team, breast cancer research, the Redskins or whatever trips your trigger.
Drill hole in the top for the inlet hose fitting.
Drill hole in bottom for a drain bolt/valve.
Install fittings, pack full of steel wool.
Mount to car with old bicycle bottle holder/zip ties/friction/butterfly kisses/etc.
If you want to make it fancy, you can add a way to view how full it is by using a couple of 90 degree pipe fittings with 2 barbed hose fittings and a section of clear hose (make sure it can handle the heat/stress). Install the fittings in the side so they are in a perpendicular line to the ground, one should be near to the bottom, the other near the top. Cut the hose to length and clamp it in place.
Do you want a "catch can" or an oil separator? I made an oil separator for my Mustang's PCV system out of an old glass fuel sediment trap. I put the input down to the bottom with a copper tube and filled the glass with a brasso scrubby pad. A catch can can be much simpler.
You're missing 4 valves there, IslandBoy.
I bought one identical to this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNIVERSAL-RED-ALUMINUM-OIL-CATCH-RESERVOIR-TANK-CAN-750ML-JDM-ENGINE-OIL-CATCH-/300635625039?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item45ff47964f&vxp=mtr
not necessarily from that seller. I think a lot of them sell the same part. I have it on my RN Truck. I plumbed it in with some PCV valves so that it will auto-drain back into the cam cover. For the sixteen bucks, it is not worth your time to mess with other stuff. Or at least not worth my time.
In reply to turboswede: I like your idea much better than mine. I did a squeeze test on a Gatorade bottle and if my car uses a "sucker" system, it will crush it. My 328 has a hose connected to the oil pan and the hose connects to the pcv valve. The valve connects to the intake manifold and has another hose that goes to the valve cover. I can get a really good picture of it tomorrow.
What's the difference between a catch can and an oil separator? I've read performance magazines for years, and they never really wrote about this.
Mr_Clutch42 wrote: What's the difference between a catch can and an oil separator? I've read performance magazines for years, and they never really wrote about this.
The name is often interchanged, but a catch can is usually on a terminal line (only one input:drain) wheras an air/oil separator is inline and usually in the pcv system.
Easiest I have seen lately was a remote oil filter bracket with a diesel fuel filter screwed on. Any oil filter would have worked, but the fuel filter had a drain valve built in.
Dr. Hess wrote: You're missing 4 valves there, IslandBoy. I bought one identical to this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNIVERSAL-RED-ALUMINUM-OIL-CATCH-RESERVOIR-TANK-CAN-750ML-JDM-ENGINE-OIL-CATCH-/300635625039?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item45ff47964f&vxp=mtr not necessarily from that seller. I think a lot of them sell the same part. I have it on my RN Truck. I plumbed it in with some PCV valves so that it will auto-drain back into the cam cover. For the sixteen bucks, it is not worth your time to mess with other stuff. Or at least not worth my time.
I had such bad luck with the ebay knock off, if I were to install one again I would build from scratch. I have no idea what metal components they use but those ebay ones are heavy and flow poorly after you get it to stop leaking.
Thread I created a while ago on the same topic: on a dodge
Swank Force One wrote: Old setup on the MX6, single 3/8 NPT entry vented Moroso.
I have nothing to add except that as a former Escort owner that car gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.
Mr_Clutch42 wrote: So when there's no filter inside, the filter on top filters the vapors, then drips the oil in the can?
That's the theory, but in practice at least half of the oil fumes simply escape into the outside world. You could see a little smoke coming from the filter when the engine was running. If you do get one with a proper filter inside, it won't work well in a VTA configuration (due to the restriction of the filter and the lack of "motivation" in the oil fumes). Suck-through with good filtration is the best for your engine oil condition and the environment, but a little bit of oil fumes will still get into your intake.
You have a BMW why not just use the BMW OEM AOS?
I designed and made something similar to the BMW one that is super effective at getting the oil out, until you fill the reservoir and start sucking the oil into the intake.
But I did some other things because I was removing so much oil from the crank case gases that it was filling the Poland springs bottle I was using as a reservoir in like 3 auto-x runs and then sucking a E36 M3 load into the intake. So I had to do this.
If you are going to make a catch can with scrubbie material it MUST be pure copper, not stainless, not copper coated steel. So Chore Boy brand is your ticket.
The cyclonic separators BMW has used for the last 15+ years are pretty good at getting most of the oil out and back into the pan before the fumes make it to the intake. Some have a problematic vacuum-limiting diaphragm attached, but others are just the separator; I've got one around here somewhere - I think it's for an E39 M5 - that's nice and small, and could easily fit somewhere in most engine bays. Not too expensive either. I'm considering adapting it for use in my 2002.
EDIT: The part(s) I'm talking about are #1 and #2 in this diagram: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DE93&mospid=47592&btnr=11_2653&hg=11&fg=15 . Nicely made and with a drain if you're inclined to make it nice and neat by plumbing the liquid oil back to the pan. Prices can probably be found lower than on that site with a little looking.
In reply to Swank Force One: Your bottom setup looks amazing. Is it that big with 3 filters because it's a race car?
Here is my PCV valve.
I soaked it in soapy hot water, then later sprayed brake cleaner in it.
Here it is, mounted on the intake manifold.
The big end on the left connects to the top of the valve cover. The small end on the right connects to the oil pan. Which way do the vapors flow?
Vapors should only ever flow out of the valve cover and into the intake, if they're going any other way something is wrong.
I suppose it should be asked why you want a catch can in the first place. That unit is called the CCV in BMW-speak, and combines a cyclonic separator (the bottom half) and a vacuum regulating diaphragm (the top half). Vapors flow into the lower half and out the upper. It's a decent unit as long as the diaphragm is intact. Once that fails, you'll probably see oil consumption go up.
On the later M54 engine, the CCV and all associated hoses are considered a 100k-mile wear item by most experienced techs. How old is yours?
Yes, I was about to ask.. Why? Does it make you all feel good to empty oil out of the can every month? Are their any real benefits? Dyno tests to prove more POWAH?
I read that "hoses may pop off if oil gets underneath them" is cited as major need for the can. Hoses pop off if they were either not torqued properly or the joint is poorly designed. I've never seen a hose pop off due to oil in a commercial truck setting. I guess It could happen if the engine had incredible ammounts of blowby.
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