air/oil separator install

[Raider L]

I was aware that the oil vapor coming from the engine was making it's way back into the engine to be reburned for air pollution control. This is a laugh but what the heck. Might as well have some fun with it. Race engines are even starting to use vacuum pumps again in order to pump pressure out of the engine that may or may not be expelled from the engine by natural means, "breather caps in the valve covers like we have all seen.
So I've installed one of those "air / oil separator" so that only clean air, being generated by the engine rotating mass and all the other physics involved by an internal combustion engine. These little things are all over the market in all kinds of colors and configurations. So I just picked one, it really didn't matter and put it in. How did I know it was working? I installed a "vacuum accumulator" many years ago when I first rebuilt my truck. Why? Because at that time I had a big cam in the engine that only generated 5 in. Hg. 9 at idle. So I bought a vacuum pump that I tied my power brakes into and disconnected the power brakes booster from the engine altogether and had all the vacuum come off the vacuum pump into a aluminum bottle with the hoses going into the accumulator and back out to the booster for power brakes. It worked great. Then when I changed cams I didn't need it anymore because it generated 17 in. Hg at idle. But I kept the accumulator because your power brake booster only about two braking before it runs out of vacuum if you didn't have some vacuum come off the engine. So now I have a total of 22 in. Hg of vacuum to back up the brakes at any time.
Anyway here's that air/oil separator I put in. I made the little aluminum bracket to screw it to the inner wheel well.
#2, and #4 photo is what the inside looks like. and the #3 photo is the install. Enjoy.

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[Raider L]

The big fittings that came with it (in the photos) were 1/2", I needed 3/8ths. inch. So I went to my local speed business and found out that they had gotten rid of most of all the fittings of I don't know how many different ones, a person could use. They didn't even have the fittings I needed so I ended up ordering them off the internet! 3/8" X 3/8" straight male. I had the vacuum tubing so I was ahead there. And here is the finished job.

 

[AKguy]

I have had them on several of my airplanes. Typically, there is a tube that comes from the case breather that runs down the firewall and terminates as it enters the slipstream area at the bottom of the cowling, allowing the oil/moisture vapors to escape, but makes a mess on the belly. The oil/air separator helps keep the mess at bay.

 

[Raider L]

AKguy,
Something that I found out, and had forgot when I worked on aircraft was there is a difference between the angle of the male part of an aircraft fitting, and inversely a female fitting, that the angle on a automotive fitting , unless I've forgot the exact number is, 33, or 37 degrees on an aircraft fitting and 28 degrees on an automotive fitting. I discovered this difference when I was installing my trans. cooler. The fittings I put in the end of the cooler were aircraft, left over in my tool box and the fittings on the steel braided lines I made up for the lines coming from the transmission and back from the cooler were not the same. When I worked on big ass turbo prop aircraft and jets, they have these little disc's that you can put in the female fittings so the male ends of the fitting or line that were to go together, were made to allow the space between the two fittings to be taken up to keep them from leaking once together. They are of a slight cone shape with the size hole in the middle. Oh, their called "crush washers", I think. They keep two fittings from leaking, maybe not so much the fittings aren't the correct ones, it's unlikely you would be putting automotive fittings on a aircraft. If it was found out you'd probably get fired and maybe loose your A & P license. But I have a pair of them in those lines I used. Fortunately I had some in my tool box left over from working on aircraft for years. You know everyone ends up with a "junk drawer" where stuff like that ends up.
Besides when I left the airline I worked for they gave everyone fifteen minutes to pack up their boxes and remove them from the hanger when the airline went out of business one day. I came in early to launch aircraft one morning and my supervisor ran in and said, " Man, I'm so glad I caught you before you left (to go launch planes), we've all been laid off and we have to be out of the hanger this morning!". Oh, thanks for being so caring for years of service. I get a whole fifteen minutes warning I don't have a job. So I left to launch planes and came back and packed up my box. We were grabbing stuff as we went because we might be going to another airline you never know.

 

[AKguy]

That’s aviation! Especially so since deregulation.