Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
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  1. #1

    Oil Catch Can/CVV delete mod doityourself

    So I wanted to share this with you all because honestly, I think it is an EXCELLENT way to not only improve performance and longevity in your engine, but it also ELIMINATES the worst BMW invention since the window regulator, the crank case vent valve!

    I was working on reducing my oil consumption and it led me to a thread about catch cans here.

    A friend of mine had an unused catch can from a turbo motor he never finished and he let me have it so I figured I would try it. I basically copied the OP's design from the thread. The only difference was my can had 3/8 fittings so I had to buy a 3/4 to 5/8 reducer and then a 5/8 to 3/8 reducer for the valve cover connection and a 5/8 to 3/8 reducer on the air distribution block side. I used the Oreilley Auto Parts PCV valve listed on page 2 and installed it between the can and the air distribution block (on the vacuum side). I then just capped the oil dipstick return hole with a 3/8 cap. Then pulled the CVV and we are done.

    All I can say is wow! There is no denying the car has more power due to better sealing rings under the increased vacuum. And it is INCREASED vacuum. At idle, you have to really WANT to get the oil fill cap off, when you do there is a large WOOOSH as you break the vacuum seal. But this extra vacuum is what helps the rings seal better as the M54 uses low tension rings and many believe extra vacuum is just what the doctor ordered. Down side is, if you have older or ailing valve cover gaskets, oil filter housing gaskets, or even leaky dipstick tube o-rings, you will want to replace them as they will likely let go under all this vacuum. All my stuff was new so I have had ZERO issues.

    Beyond the increase in power I also lessened my oil consumption by 300-400 miles per qt. I KNOW my car has gunked up oil control rings, so a healthier, lower mileage engine will likely benefit more.

    The other super cool thing (IMO) is the amount of crap that is no longer being sucked into my intake and cylinders (probably what gummed up my rings to begin with) and being caught in the "catch can". And I have ZERO chance of ever having a CVV related failure or hydrolocking the engine because the valve locks up and sucks all the oil out of my dipstick tube and into the motor.

    I only have to empty the can about 2 times monthly. But you will likely only have to do it every oil change. I just get more blow by and crap because of my ring issue.

    Before you run out to ebay and buy the $33 cans let me just remind you, ALL CANS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL. Some of the ebay ones are simply a can with two inlets and NOTHING inside the can. What you want is a can with internal baffling and some sort of media (mine uses stainless steel scrubber pads like you can buy at the grocery store) to allow the oil and liquids to grab onto so only clean air and vapor make it out of the can. This is paramount because the can won't do its job well without that media.

    So good luck, I think this is a MUCH better way to do it than what BMW did with the CVV.




    Stuff it catches...



    With COLD AIR KIT INSTALLED....I have since re-routed the hose under the heat shield.


    Check out my youtube channel for all kinds of E46 DIY's
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  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Thanks for posting.
    Randeaux/Rando/John/jr - '06 Cic ZHP; Southern California
    "ZHP or not, I still like you"


    ZHP Performance Package, Cold Weather Package, Leather, Jet Black/Black/BlackCube, NAV, Anthracite Black "my individual" interior trim
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  3. #3
    A really cheap option is to use one of these and two 3/8 fittings and you'd be invested by about $50 with hoses and clamps. This will do an excellent job since it is designed to separate water from compressed air. Any Home Depot will have them in the tool section. LOWES will NOT! (ask me how I know) Just make sure you remove and cap off the schrader valve at the bottom. As I found out, the vacuum applied is enough to cause it to open inwards and causes a small vacuum leak.

    http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-3-8...2#.Upz4dif7dtg

    Check out my youtube channel for all kinds of E46 DIY's
    http://www.youtube.com/user/flipfinish?feature=mhee
    Check out my BMW Blog
    http://smolckbmw.blogspot.com/
    Follow me on twitter @smolck

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by johnrando View Post
    Thanks for posting.
    +1

    So you're not swapping in a new engine? You're not going to try and kill it?

    Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH
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  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by danewilson77 View Post
    +1

    So you're not swapping in a new engine? You're not going to try and kill it?

    Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH
    Greatly depends on how my "desludging" process goes. If it still consumes a qt every 400 miles, I am going to blow it up once my tax check shows up. Or maybe I will part it out and make some money back. The Cams and head have some value at least.

    I just bought a set of headers for it too, so it isn't like I am going to take it easy on the old girl. She has to keep up. I would say my car is going to be spending some time in the extreme upper RPM ranges with the easy revving header mod!

    Check out my youtube channel for all kinds of E46 DIY's
    http://www.youtube.com/user/flipfinish?feature=mhee
    Check out my BMW Blog
    http://smolckbmw.blogspot.com/
    Follow me on twitter @smolck

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    Melbourne, FL
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    Very nice mod. I may look into this to go along with a fer other mods.

    Plus my ccv needs to be replaced anyway.

    Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
    2005 IR ZHP Alcantara 6MT l Bimmian phone mount l Khoalty Angel Eye's l Khoalty Fog's l AFE Stage 1 Intake l AFE Dynamic Air Scoop's l CDV Delete
    Besian Sealed VANOS l Flat black Kidney Grills l Magnaflow Cat-Back

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    I like this mod. Unfortunately Smog emissions will fail visuals with this setup.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Why not just rebuild the motor? Wouldn't that be the cheapest route?

    Btw, thanks for the post. Having just completed my CVV refresh, I definitely will be following this thread to see how it goes long-term. Speaking of catch can solutions. Back when I had my turbo dsm, I also had a similar issue. The initial design from factory was awful because it ran a hose directly from the head cover and into the intake, which runs directly into the cold turbine. As you can imagine, over time, the inside of the intake would get covered in oil and the same would happen to the turbine. So the simple solution was cut into the hose and put a simple fuel filter in. All I had to do is change the $3.00 filter once every 10k miles. As you can see in the photo, the filter is transparent so you can actually see as it gets filled up with oil. Even if it was full, there was no effect on the performance. It was just a big eyesore. Subsequent work on the intake showed no oil residue on the inside. I reckon if something similar would simplify your CVV solution even further.
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  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by derbo View Post
    I like this mod. Unfortunately Smog emissions will fail visuals with this setup.
    Yay for not having any emissions regulations in Florida then.

    Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
    2005 IR ZHP Alcantara 6MT l Bimmian phone mount l Khoalty Angel Eye's l Khoalty Fog's l AFE Stage 1 Intake l AFE Dynamic Air Scoop's l CDV Delete
    Besian Sealed VANOS l Flat black Kidney Grills l Magnaflow Cat-Back

  10. #10
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    Autozone.com
    Quote Originally Posted by Lanister View Post
    Why not just rebuild the motor? Wouldn't that be the cheapest route?

    Btw, thanks for the post. Having just completed my CVV refresh, I definitely will be following this thread to see how it goes long-term. Speaking of catch can solutions. Back when I had my turbo dsm, I also had a similar issue. The initial design from factory was awful because it ran a hose directly from the head cover and into the intake, which runs directly into the cold turbine. Over time, the inside of the intake would get covered in oil and the same would happen to the turbine. So the simple solution was cut into the hose and put a simple fuel filter in. All I had to do is change the $3.00 filter once every 10k miles. As you can see in the photo, the filter is translucent so you can actually see as it gets filled up with oil. Even if it was full, there was no effect on the performance. It was just a big eyesore. Subsequent work on the intake showed no oil residue on the inside. I reckon if something similar would simplify your CVV solution even further.
    So instead of the catch can you just ran that filter?

    Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
    2005 IR ZHP Alcantara 6MT l Bimmian phone mount l Khoalty Angel Eye's l Khoalty Fog's l AFE Stage 1 Intake l AFE Dynamic Air Scoop's l CDV Delete
    Besian Sealed VANOS l Flat black Kidney Grills l Magnaflow Cat-Back

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