My DIY Oil Catch Can

[jacknifetoaswan]

no the other ones are just WAY over priced...they are the theives.

I think $150 is a reasonable price for a catch can kit. These aren't just a Folgers can with a plastic hose, they're machined and require a decent amount of fabrication.

Some of the prices I've seen lately, though, upwards of $300, are absolutely insane.

JR

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[Tex]

I think $150 is a reasonable price for a catch can kit. These aren't just a Folgers can with a plastic hose, they're machined and require a decent amount of fabrication.

Some of the prices I've seen lately, though, upwards of $300, are absolutely insane.

JR

I've bought pistol silencers made out of aluminum for $100, the entire thing is fabricated, and to a much higher degree. Machining and fabrication aren't why they're charging $150 for them.

 

[Rick Astley]

Great work and thanks for sharing your DIY homebrew special!

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

I've bought pistol silencers made out of aluminum for $100, the entire thing is fabricated, and to a much higher degree. Machining and fabrication aren't why they're charging $150 for them.

And that's fine, but companies will sell them for whatever people are willing to pay for them. If Mishimoto's $225 catch can kit didn't sell, perhaps they'd lower it to $200 and see if that price worked. Obviously, people are buying at that price.

Also, it's not just the can itself, but hoses, fittings, valves, clamps, plus the R&D and documentation that comes along with it.

Put it this way...

I like to do woodworking and home repairs on the side, but I have a main job as a Cybersecurity Engineer. I bill to my customers at $130/hour. My company pays me some amount less than that, and I value my own time at $75/hour for side work. If I make a cutting board that takes two hours to cut, glue, plane, sand, and finish, plus $30 of material, why would I sell it for $65?

JR

 

[Tex]

And that's fine, but companies will sell them for whatever people are willing to pay for them.

There's your reason. Machining and fabrication has virtually nothing to do with it.

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

There's your reason. Machining and fabrication has virtually nothing to do with it.

Except it does. The time it takes to design and prototype, cost to purchase machinery and equipment, then the labor to machine and fabricate. All of that factors into the cost.

JR

 

[Figmo]

Great job.

Just floors me how many people pay over $100 (some over $200) for a couple of hoses and an aluminum can no bigger than a soup can.

 

[Tex]

Except it does. The time it takes to design and prototype, cost to purchase machinery and equipment, then the labor to machine and fabricate. All of that factors into the cost.

JR

Yeah, it's responsible for maybe 10% of what they're charging, more or less.

 

[Ogre]

If anyone is curious the large quick connects are too big for the 2.3. Most of the other vacuum lines use them but not the PCV line on the driver side.

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

Six week follow up on this. The hoses that were included with the kit have started to crack, presumably due to heat in the engine bay.

I'm going to reach out to American Muscle, because it doesn't look like C&L has their own website, just a lot of reseller touches. In any case, I'm going to discontinue use of this in the short term until I can find an appropriate solution for the hoses. It looks like high temp, oil resistant hose is like $40/foot for 5/8" ID, so I might end up paying more for the hose than I did for the catch can.

JR

 

[Mishimoto]

Hey @jacknifetoaswan - loving the creative solution! My recommendation would be to make sure you are using a hose with either SAE J30R7 or J30R9 spec. Like you mentioned, you need a hose which can withstand under-hood heat, pressure/flow through the hose, and have a good permeability rating (so oil/fuel vapors do not seep through the hose). While we don't have a 5/8" size in our catalog, we do have 1/2" and 3/4". The 1/2" might slip over your fittings with a little lubrication.

- John

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

Hey @jacknifetoaswan - loving the creative solution! My recommendation would be to make sure you are using a hose with either SAE J30R7 or J30R9 spec. Like you mentioned, you need a hose which can withstand under-hood heat, pressure/flow through the hose, and have a good permeability rating (so oil/fuel vapors do not seep through the hose). While we don't have a 5/8" size in our catalog, we do have 1/2" and 3/4". The 1/2" might slip over your fittings with a little lubrication.

- John

Thanks John. I figured I'd try to save myself a few bucks and it just ends up being more of a pain than getting an all in one kit. I really appreciate you providing the specs to look for in hoses! I'll see if I can find 5/8" hose elsewhere, but if not, I'll come back and grab the 1/2" hose and new fittings for the can. Hopefully I won't also have to order new PCV quick connectors.

JR

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