Crankcase Breather Recommendation Options

[barnfind9141972]

Hi everyone, I went for a spirited drive last night and came back with a huge oily mess all over the engine. I have dual carbs and no crankcase breather as I wasn’t aware the need of one, what do you all recommend? I have a 1.7 block and heads that are now a 2056 and would like to put one in that is as simple as possible. Hoping something that just connects to the oil fill tower. Thanks!

[rhodyguy]

The Tangerine Breather Canister. Collected vapors drain back to the engine via a small line connected to the tower. No oily mess. I can't imagine venting to the atmosphere with just an open line. Kinda bush.

[GregAmy]

The Tangerine Breather Canister. Collected vapors drain back to the engine via a small line connected to the tower. No oily mess. I can't imagine venting to the atmosphere with just an open line. Kinda bush.

Ditto on my dual-Dell race car.

http://www.tangerineracing.com/crankcasebreather.htm

[GregAmy]

Ditto on my dual-Dell race car.

http://www.tangerineracing.com/crankcasebreather.htm

EDIT: I'll offer "lessons learned" on the race car.

Early days, I had a problem with the valve cover vent lines. Two different yet related problems: one, the swaged tube would actually pop out of the head casting on long corners, dumping oil all over the track. Two, I plugged the heads and was then running vented valve covers and the line itself actually popped off the tube on long corners -- dumping oil all over the track.

In that last case I actually "field fixed it" by drilling a hole through the clamp, hose, and tube and ran a split-key through it to keep it in place. Worked for the weekend.

Last year I left the head castings plugged (threaded it for NPT fitting) and ran un-vented valve covers...at that point, I was noticing significant oil weepage around the perimeter of the valve cover and drippage onto the header. It didn't make too much of a mess and didn't keep me off the track, but I still didn't like it.

Note I have NONE of these problems on my street 2L with plugged (welded) heads and stock un-vented valve covers.

Here's the thing: I read and agree with the HAM link posted in #17 above. I had welded a 3/4" tube in my oil tower and vented that to a Tangerin Canister. Yet I still had those head/vc/line problems.

Where I think this study lacks data - and why it may apply primarily to street cars - is that their testing was done with a static upright engine, no side loads. Best I can figure what's happening to me is that on long extended corners (Lime Rock Big Bend, for example) I'm getting oil pooling in the valve cover, which is eventually blocking the vent port(s), causing some pressure. Since this liquid cannot easily escape up the vent tube, the liquid force is causing the tube/hose to pop off.

This year's version is a compromise. I'm now using aluminum bolt-on valve covers with AN-8 fittings welded on (thanks Chris!) which surely won't come off. The AN lines are going to Tangerine's canister which is hung on the rear firewall where the center latch was. The oil tower 3/4" fitting is still going to the canister, and I have a small (AN-4?) drain line coming off the bottom of the canister and going back into the tower.

I guess we'll see how that works out... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drunk.gif) - GA