DIY Oil Catch Can

One thing the C5 Corvette LS engine has in spades is blow-by. Now this may seem like a negative, but for the boost happy folks, this adds a lot of forgiveness, and in general these engines last a very long time and take a beating so you can't fault the engineers too much. However, pull off any LS1 or LS6 intake manifold and see just how much oil leaks out of it!

The reasonable "don't want to pull the motor for something that doesn't blow up my motor" solution is to add an oil catch can. This simple device has air come in, it passes through, oil drops as it's heavier than air, and generally cleaner air proceeds onwards into the intake manifold. Every so often you'll need to remember to clean the oil catch can, but in general your combustion chambers and intake manifold will be cleaner and happier.

Now there are a lot of options out there for a catch can. You can spend $300 for an Improved Racing oil catch can, and I have to admit that is a work of art compared to my DIY solution, but for many folks it's a fair bit of overkill. You can also go whole hog and convert your windshield fluid reservoir to an oil catch can from True Focus Fabrication, which will only run you $450. There's of course the far less nuclear option of a $150 oil catch can from Elite Engineering, which is honestly all most folks need and I've used for years and 60 some odd events on my C5 Corvette.

Now all of those options are legitimate, but if I can build something myself and save a few bucks along the way... I'm going to do it! So on the Dead to Shred Corvette I'm building for c5corvettes.com, I took the opportunity to design up a DIY solution for enthusiasts!

Budget & DIY Oil Catch Can Solution For the C5 Corvette

Parts Needed For this Build:

• Evil Energy Catch Can - $35
• My Bracket From Send Cut Send - $40
  • Sorry it's $40. SCS has a $35 minimum so powder coating it matte black brought it right to this price.
  • Another apology, I am awaiting approval from SendCutSend to make this bracket available for purchase.
• 2x M10x1.5 bolts - 20mm  - $9.99
  • Go to your local hardware store to save money, but order here for simplicty.
• 2x Nuts and Bolts to attach Can to bracket
  • You can just cut down the included bolts that come in the kit, or you can get some cheap from your local hardware store, or you likely have them in a bin of random spare bolts.

Total Cost: $80-90 depending on your hardware cost.

At the top of the article you can see the bracket I designed up in OnShape. I prototyped the bracket through a bunch of iterations on my 3D printer, and then I sent the bracket out to my favorite, SendCutSend. I did my personal bracket as raw aluminum as I wanted simple for testing purposes... and sure enough the bracket worked! I did have to drill the mounting holes to the block out just a bit, and I've since refined my design to make it fit better for you.

Installation Directions & Pictures on the C5 Corvettes

Here you can see the oil catch can bracket attached to the accessory bolts on the passenger side of a C5 Corvette LS1 motor. It's a very easy install

Installation Steps:

1. You will need 2x M10x1.5 bolts, approximately 20mm in depth, though if your heads will drilled shallow you may need to implement a washer or two to get the depth right. These bolts will hold the bracket onto the head of the motor, installation location is very obvious both from pictures and just taking a look around.
2. Next up, bolt the catch can to the bracket as you are able to do so. If you're feeling real crazy you can use a zip tie even, but I don't recommend that.
3. Lastly, follow the directions for assembling the catch can and then attach the can inline with the PCV system. The evil energy can includes hose that you can use.
   1. For the LS1, Make sure that the hose traveling along the side of the valve cover is routed INTO the IN side of the catch can. Then go from the catch can out to the rearmost connection behind the throttle body on the intake manifold.
   2. For the LS6, your PCV system otuput hose will be coming from the valley cover. Route that into the IN side of the catch can, and route the exit to the same rearmost connection behind the thorttle body on the intake manifold.

As you can see there's plenty of room there for the catch can, and lots of access below the catch can for unscrewing and draining. Also, note the handy little dipstick on the catch can, that makes checking your oil level quite quick and simple.

Anyways, that's all there is to it. A simple process for a simple oil catch can bracket!