Oil Vapor Separator Horror Show Pt 1

[BattleBug]

I spent the last five weeks refurbing my motor's top end. I absolutely could not get the OVS cleaned out. I decided to peel off the lid to do a proper cleaning job--check out what I found--no wonder the oil drain line was always clogged up!



Holey cow! They must've used some of that Russian steel in this thing. I first soaked it in carb cleaner, then naval jelly, and finally blasted it with 70 grit aluminum oxide. The non rusty metal left behind was paper thin, obviously unusable. Needless to say the corrugated brass filter(?) was shot. See part 2 for my solution.

[msiert]

Holly Crap what a mess, always wanted to see one of those things apart.

[BattleBug]

These items are obviously NLA and I had no desire to go the used route. After a few days web surfing I came to the conclusion that the only comparable replacement was for Continental/Lycoming aircraft engines and they were entirely too large. Moroso, etc were close but still not quite right. I finally stumbled on the website of a V12 Jag owner (sorry, link escaped me) who showed a hardware store solution. I made my version using parts readily available in Lowe's/Home Despot's plumbing section: 2" ID PVC (I used ABS), matching end cap & cleanout plug, some 1/2" & 3/4" copper fittings, a little JB weld and some scrap fittings from my junk bucket. The mount strap is a piece of aluminum strapping bent like a coil bracket. The "filter" element is a wad of stainless steel potscrubber stuffed down inside. Finishing touch was a little gloss black spray to make it not-so-much-an-eyesore. The best two parts are that I can pull the cap off anytime I want and clean it out AND less than $25 invested. It remains to be seen how well the copper and ABS will hold up to the acidic crankcase vapors, galvanic corrosion, heat, etc but I'll update results at my 500 mile re-torque.

[msiert]

Nice job, BattleBug!

[Elio Comello]

Super creative BB!

Only think I see is that the inlet vapor connection could have pointed around the circumference to get some swirl, not straight down...

You win first prize for innovation for sure!

TTFN Elio

[velocedoc]

I know exactly what you are experiencing with a separator all plugged up. My wifes spider separator was so badly plugged..it took me two evenings of pounding on the sides with a plastic mallet and pounding the unit upside down on a wooden plank to get all the gunk that has froze up inside. Once it was free of any junk falling out, it works perfectly again. Thanks for taking that apart..I wanted to know what it looked like inside. Did you try APE for a unit?

[Caroni]

Awesome Job and some great creative thinking. just had to throw in my kudos to you. I love it when ingenuity beats out NLA.

David

[Rich]

Bravo Paul, or should I say MacGyver.

Rich

[WopJob]

How about getting rid of the thing alltogether and venting the head to the athmosphere via a generic check valve and hose that reaches the ground?
you would have to plug the oil return, vacuum nipple, and vapor return to the throttle body. Other than obvious pollution concerns isn't this what the S1 and S2 had?
I've seen some pictures in this BB where the hgead was just vented out with a small round filter attached to the head cover.
I clean my oil/vap seprator every year and after seeing Paul's picture I thnk that I'm just kidding myself that the thing is still usable.

[Farace]

I can't speak for an S1, but my S2 has the vapor canister.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WopJob How about getting rid of the thing alltogether and venting the head to the athmosphere via a generic check valve and hose that reaches the ground? you would have to plug the oil return, vacuum nipple, and vapor return to the throttle body. Other than obvious pollution concerns isn't this what the S1 and S2 had? I've seen some pictures in this BB where the hgead was just vented out with a small round filter attached to the head cover. I clean my oil/vap seprator every year and after seeing Paul's picture I thnk that I'm just kidding myself that the thing is still usable.

[rcess]

My '69 Spider also has the vapor canister.

[Alfacliff]

My sons 69 spider has 0ne. what you want to do, lower our alfas to the level of 70's american cars?
I made up one for a while out of a oil bottlewith some holes drilled into the cap for the hose and a vent, didnt get hardly any oil in it, a very good cleaning of the vapor seperator and replacing the return hose fixed most oil leaks and gas smell in my 74 spider.
cliff

[papajam]

I've read that the 164 (or was it the Milano) separators work just fine. And being made of plastic, no rust.

[WopJob]

sorry guys I don't have an S1 or S2 but I've seen many pictures of engine bays in this BB of these cars. Also what have the owber of S1 and S2 done about this problem, certanly their cars being older the oil/vap separator must have crapped out many years ago.

[spidryell]

I went the used part route after I found mine had basically rotted out from the inside. I cleaned up the replacement unit with solvent and then sprayed fogging oil into the inlet to see if it was functional. Worked -- liquid not foam came out the oil return line at the bottom and only vapor came out the large fitting in the bottom. I then gave the entire unit a spray of fogging oil to keep the corrosion at bay. I plan on cleaning and spraying fogging oil into mine once a year.