Yes I like writing DIY's. I've contributed a lot to the forums of my previous cars including a Nissan 350Z, two 1988 MR2 Supercharged, Toyota Camry even... I learned to swap my own engine on my MR2 when I was still in college and barely 20, thanks to contributions of the forum so I have learned to contribute back as much as possible over a broad range of cars. I hope you enjoy this DIY!
Note: Done at your own risk. I'm not liable for anything.
Following up Sekred's thread here,
Ford's design has caused a lot of limitation on catch can installation due to the oversized vacuum nipples. Coming from mostly Japanese cars, I can tell you that everything was a lot easier with nearly everything at 10mm... Sekred's write up involved in modifying the stock hoses, this was not a path I wanted to go. I decided to offer an alternative to those who do not want to modify their stock PCV hose as this thing is not cheap and I'm in a country where I can be royally screwed when it comes to claiming warranty. I had to get creative. Although some will see this as ghetto or hack job, this was the best solution I could find with my limited resources.
Required:
6 pack of your favourite premium beer
Catch Can (Mine was D1 Spec brand, you can find those on Ebay)
Mounting bracket (found mine lying around the house and up to now I still have no idea what it was originally for)
Copper tube that can be press fitted into the other side of the hose nipple on catch can. Length is dependent on your catch can height.
Power drill
2-2.5mm drill bit
20mm Silicone or Polyurethane block off Plug(both of these materials are heat and oil resistant) (Also from online, the shipping cost more than the plug![[screwy]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_screwy.gif "Screwy [screwy]")
)
Stainless steel Srubbers
Breather filter
Allen key set
Wrench Set or Adjustable crescent wrench
Philips screwdriver
Flathead screwdriver
Needle nose pliers
Knife
Zip ties
Preliminary Information, measurements taken by my vernier caliper:
PCV Valve nipple and intake manifold nipple.
OD: 21mm
ID: 19mm
PCV Hose nipple
OD: 18mm (O-ring on this is 19~19.5mm)
ID: Approx. 9 mm as my caliper would not fit
Step 1: Using the allen key, open up the top of the catch can.
Step 2: Be awestruck that there is no baffling as feared.
Step 3: Open and drink beer can 1.
Step 4: Follow write up here on installing copper tube and baffling catch can. Copper tube, drill, drill bit required for this step.
I didn't have a copper tube, nor do I know where to find it as there's no such thing as hardware store here... Had to get creative as well and found industrial grade polyurethane hoses (VERY HARD) used for our workshop's air compressors. The hose's OD was 1mm larger than the nipple's ID. Using the knife, I shaved down the OD a little bit. Drilled holes like the write up. Then by using a lighter, I was able to melt the edges of the hose and press fit into the catch can nipple. After it was cool... Perfect tight fit.
Then baffled it with stainless steel scrubber like write up in Step 4.
Pic here:
Step 5: Reassemble the catch can. However, before reassembling, find a location in the engine bay for the catch can and decide which direction you want the nipple and the oil level gauge to be facing. Then reassemble.
Step 6: Mount bracket to the catch can via screws supplied with the kit. The bracket that came with the car was too small and not long enough therefore, I found a flat one lying around my house (which I have no idea what it was for) and bent it 90 degrees, voila! It was a perfect fit.
Baffled, assembled and bracket mounted (bracket not bent yet, bent on car to sure best fit):
Step 7: This is the trickier part since I did not want to modify the stock PCV hose and Ford's nipple was too large. Seeing the tube that was supplied with catch can, I noticed that it was the same tube I had used for my previous 350Z which could be easily stretch when introduced to heat. It had an OD of 15 and ID of 10. This hose is commonly found in Home Depot (made a lot of catch can set up with this tube). So therefore... Dipped the bugger in freshly boiled hot water for 10 seconds.
Step 8: Immediately shove it as much as you can into the needle nose pliers and then using all your force to expand the plier on it and stretch it as much as possible. Hold this position for at least 5 minutes to allow cool down and hardening up of the hose.
Step 9: After hose has hardened up, the ID should have expanded significantly. It shouldn't be a problem Slip it over the 18mm nipple on the PCV hose (Intake Manifold side). Be sure to shove it all the way in that both O-rings on the nipple are covered for best sealing. Then using zip tie, tighten the hose on the nipple. (Hose clamp does not fit in there as the clip gets in the way) Note: you will need to tighten it again after a drive as the heat from the engine will soften up the tube again, this will allow tighter clamping on the o-ring seals to prevent leak.
Step 10: Mount the catch can, I mounted mine on the strut tower where there was a nut for a bracket holding the AC lines. Optional: Use rubber tape over the screws of the bracket so that it does not scratch the paint of the strut tower.
Step 11: Connect OEM PCV hose to PCV valve, then the intake manifold side to the catch can nipple.
Step 12: Connect breather to hose, then connect to other nipple of catch can. Note: This is a VTA (Vent to atmosphere) setup, be sure that this is legal in your state before proceeding. If not, then you will need to find your own solution to connect to intake manifold and with a check valve.
Step 13: As mentioned before, I measured the ID of the intake manifold nipple, it was 19mm, therefore I purchased a 19mm plug AND a 20mm plug. The 19mm was still too loose and will probably see leak or pop off at 21 psi of boost. Luckily I foresaw the problem and purchased a 20mm as well. This is a much tighter fit and to secure it further, I also used zip ties here. However, I will be purchasing a 21mm soon for extra tightness.
Step 14: Unfortunately, I don't have a way to do a leak test, so I could only do this way: start up and listen for leaks, have a friend do a couple of WOT blips up and listen and see if there is any leaks.
Step 15: Beer can 6 now finished. If you haven't been drinking just because I did not list it in my DIY, then you clearly have not learned how to properly follow DIY's.
Step 16: Complete.
Pic of the setup complete without engine cover
Pic of the setup complete with engine cover
I hope you enjoyed this DIY!
Note: Done at your own risk. I'm not liable for anything.
Following up Sekred's thread here,
Ford's design has caused a lot of limitation on catch can installation due to the oversized vacuum nipples. Coming from mostly Japanese cars, I can tell you that everything was a lot easier with nearly everything at 10mm... Sekred's write up involved in modifying the stock hoses, this was not a path I wanted to go. I decided to offer an alternative to those who do not want to modify their stock PCV hose as this thing is not cheap and I'm in a country where I can be royally screwed when it comes to claiming warranty. I had to get creative. Although some will see this as ghetto or hack job, this was the best solution I could find with my limited resources.
Required:
6 pack of your favourite premium beer
Catch Can (Mine was D1 Spec brand, you can find those on Ebay)
Mounting bracket (found mine lying around the house and up to now I still have no idea what it was originally for)
Copper tube that can be press fitted into the other side of the hose nipple on catch can. Length is dependent on your catch can height.
Power drill
2-2.5mm drill bit
20mm Silicone or Polyurethane block off Plug(both of these materials are heat and oil resistant) (Also from online, the shipping cost more than the plug
)Stainless steel Srubbers
Breather filter
Allen key set
Wrench Set or Adjustable crescent wrench
Philips screwdriver
Flathead screwdriver
Needle nose pliers
Knife
Zip ties
Preliminary Information, measurements taken by my vernier caliper:
PCV Valve nipple and intake manifold nipple.
OD: 21mm
ID: 19mm
PCV Hose nipple
OD: 18mm (O-ring on this is 19~19.5mm)
ID: Approx. 9 mm as my caliper would not fit
Step 1: Using the allen key, open up the top of the catch can.
Step 2: Be awestruck that there is no baffling as feared.
Step 3: Open and drink beer can 1.
Step 4: Follow write up here on installing copper tube and baffling catch can. Copper tube, drill, drill bit required for this step.
I didn't have a copper tube, nor do I know where to find it as there's no such thing as hardware store here... Had to get creative as well and found industrial grade polyurethane hoses (VERY HARD) used for our workshop's air compressors. The hose's OD was 1mm larger than the nipple's ID. Using the knife, I shaved down the OD a little bit. Drilled holes like the write up. Then by using a lighter, I was able to melt the edges of the hose and press fit into the catch can nipple. After it was cool... Perfect tight fit.
Then baffled it with stainless steel scrubber like write up in Step 4.
Pic here:
Step 5: Reassemble the catch can. However, before reassembling, find a location in the engine bay for the catch can and decide which direction you want the nipple and the oil level gauge to be facing. Then reassemble.
Step 6: Mount bracket to the catch can via screws supplied with the kit. The bracket that came with the car was too small and not long enough therefore, I found a flat one lying around my house (which I have no idea what it was for) and bent it 90 degrees, voila! It was a perfect fit.
Baffled, assembled and bracket mounted (bracket not bent yet, bent on car to sure best fit):
Step 7: This is the trickier part since I did not want to modify the stock PCV hose and Ford's nipple was too large. Seeing the tube that was supplied with catch can, I noticed that it was the same tube I had used for my previous 350Z which could be easily stretch when introduced to heat. It had an OD of 15 and ID of 10. This hose is commonly found in Home Depot (made a lot of catch can set up with this tube). So therefore... Dipped the bugger in freshly boiled hot water for 10 seconds.
Step 8: Immediately shove it as much as you can into the needle nose pliers and then using all your force to expand the plier on it and stretch it as much as possible. Hold this position for at least 5 minutes to allow cool down and hardening up of the hose.
Step 9: After hose has hardened up, the ID should have expanded significantly. It shouldn't be a problem Slip it over the 18mm nipple on the PCV hose (Intake Manifold side). Be sure to shove it all the way in that both O-rings on the nipple are covered for best sealing. Then using zip tie, tighten the hose on the nipple. (Hose clamp does not fit in there as the clip gets in the way) Note: you will need to tighten it again after a drive as the heat from the engine will soften up the tube again, this will allow tighter clamping on the o-ring seals to prevent leak.
Step 10: Mount the catch can, I mounted mine on the strut tower where there was a nut for a bracket holding the AC lines. Optional: Use rubber tape over the screws of the bracket so that it does not scratch the paint of the strut tower.
Step 11: Connect OEM PCV hose to PCV valve, then the intake manifold side to the catch can nipple.
Step 12: Connect breather to hose, then connect to other nipple of catch can. Note: This is a VTA (Vent to atmosphere) setup, be sure that this is legal in your state before proceeding. If not, then you will need to find your own solution to connect to intake manifold and with a check valve.
Step 13: As mentioned before, I measured the ID of the intake manifold nipple, it was 19mm, therefore I purchased a 19mm plug AND a 20mm plug. The 19mm was still too loose and will probably see leak or pop off at 21 psi of boost. Luckily I foresaw the problem and purchased a 20mm as well. This is a much tighter fit and to secure it further, I also used zip ties here. However, I will be purchasing a 21mm soon for extra tightness.
Step 14: Unfortunately, I don't have a way to do a leak test, so I could only do this way: start up and listen for leaks, have a friend do a couple of WOT blips up and listen and see if there is any leaks.
Step 15: Beer can 6 now finished. If you haven't been drinking just because I did not list it in my DIY, then you clearly have not learned how to properly follow DIY's.
Step 16: Complete.
Pic of the setup complete without engine cover
Pic of the setup complete with engine cover
I hope you enjoyed this DIY!
![[twothumb]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_twothumbs.gif "Two Thumbs [twothumb]"){kind=icon}
![[rofl]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_rofl.gif "ROFL [rofl]"){kind=icon}
