25 Feb Playing Catch
Today, we’re taking a break from the Lamborghini content to bring you up to speed on the mysterious turbo build.
We’re nearly there in regards to the fabrication for the mysterious turbo build. Everything from the exhaust part of the system (turbo manifolds, the exhaust itself, the turbo, etc.) is complete, the intake side of the system (intercooler, heat exchanger, pump, water tank, airbox) is complete, as are a good majority of supporting pieces that work with everything else mentioned. One thing we haven’t touched upon yet, though, is the oil catch can. And that’s what we’ve been building as of late. First, we cut out all the pieces that would comprise the outer and inner walls of the catch can, and started taping them together. Don’t forget, taping first will save you from tacking and then having to cut those tacks for repositioning, keeping your surface pristine and ready for the final welds.
With the walls in the right position, we set about welding in the tubes that pull in the oil from the PCV system. There are two inlets because the V8 that we’re turbocharging has one PCV outlet per bank. We also added in the venturi line, which connects to the exhaust at a certain angle in order to create a vacuum that pulls the oil-laden crankcase air into the catch can, depositing the oil in the catch can and sending the remaining crankcase air out through the exhaust.
All that remained was welding in a single mount to the last wall of the catch can, then we welded it all together. While it sat cooling under the fan, we set about working on the mounts.
Our goal with this catch can was to have it in a location that’s easy to drain during oil changes, easily removable if necessary, but out of the way of all the business taking place in the engine bay. Seeing as how the turbocharging turns the V8’s OEM dual exhaust into a single bank leaving out the passenger side, we fashioned a mount that would hold the catch can in place in the driver’s side exhaust tunnel. This way, it’s right near the oil drain plug for easy access. It’s held in place in two different ways. The smaller bracket coming off the wall of the exhaust tunnel contains a hole and grommet, and all you need to do is push the catch can into it (that’s what the final mount pictured above is for). Since that’s not enough to hold it in place, we also have a more traditional bolt-based mount on the other side of the can. Putting the latter style of mount on both sides of the catch can would make it nearly impossible to remove without a great deal of effort, so we fashioned a system that would remedy that.
And there we have it, one stealthily-located catch can. Easy to drain, easy to install and remove, and all the hoses attached to the catch can will be out of the way of every other component in the turbo system.
We’ll be back on the FMU blog tomorrow with some updates for the Arancio Borealis Gallardo, so feel free to stay a while and make yourself at home!
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