Would it be OK to hook up the breather behind the air filter ( i got the K&N on the inlet and no filter housing). I don't have enough room for the original filter housing and i wider if i can get by without.

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General George - 1967 Land Rover 2a SWB 1983 OM617 Turbo

Here's one way to handle the problem. I too am going directly from the filter to the intake. I'm using a Ford paper filter with a custom backing and a cut down plastic housing. My oil breather goes to a custom catch can and returns the "clean" vapors to the intake directly behind the filter element. Works perfect and eliminates the crappy gauze/oil-style filters.





One way that is known to work well....

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

Thanks, just to make sure i follow. The catcher is supposed to catch oil which then should go down to the oil pan, right?

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General George - 1967 Land Rover 2a SWB 1983 OM617 Turbo

Yes and no...

There are two configurations that are used with catch cans...ok, three technically.

In all cases oil vapors from the valve cover enter the catch can where physical and mechanical means are used to remove the oil particles from the vapor. In my case I'm using a custom fabricated can with stainless steel wool as the media to condense out the oil and baffles to increase the effective distance vapors travel in the can. Other systems use venturi and cyclone effects to separate the oil. Once the oil is collected -

Option 1 - Clean oil is returned to the crankcase

Option 2 - Clean oil is collected in the catch can and emptied periodically through a drain on the bottom or side.

Option 3 - The oil is vented to the pavement (and the bottom of the car and all over the place) Some people vent to the frame rails as a "rust preventative" measure....questionable at best.

The early 617 engines had a smooth upper oil pan that had a one way valve to return the oil. (This is the one I installed on my car...not for this reason but for subframe clearance on a custom engine swap). This makes option 1 a no-brainer. If you don't have that, you can drill and tap the oil pan for a return, or most people go with a drainable catch can with a sight gauge for oil.

Here's an example -



Sometimes the catch can is vented, and no oil is returned to the intake - not generally recommended, particularly with diesels as this can get really, really messy.

Hope that helps.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

Thanks again, actually i have a custom oil pan that came with the engine swap kit which does have a fitting for this particular purpose. And i like the idea of steel wool.

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General George - 1967 Land Rover 2a SWB 1983 OM617 Turbo

right,but dont overkill so the breather becomes suffocateR


.

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w126 500SEC gen II euro, powered by OM617 turbo stolen from 84 300SD 2.88 diff,EGR blinded
next wish/project: w114 coupe OM603 powered

Well, there's some pressure on one side and suction on the other, anything short of a plug should keep the flow going.

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General George - 1967 Land Rover 2a SWB 1983 OM617 Turbo

No suction....remember a diesel has no flapper or butterfly valve to create a vacuum in the intake. You might get a couple of inches of water of vacuum if you've got a dirty air filter, but that's about it. That tiny bit of vacuum can be measured with a filter minder to know when to change filters.

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

My line of thought was to put it in front of the turbo. But i guess you're right.

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General George - 1967 Land Rover 2a SWB 1983 OM617 Turbo

Definitely in front of the turbo. Otherwise you'll be trying to pressurize the valve cover and crankcase with up to 10psi boost pressure - not good.

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

I had a slow moment , for whatever reason i thought you were talking about a naturally aspirated engine.

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General George - 1967 Land Rover 2a SWB 1983 OM617 Turbo

I did option 3 on my conversion - just a hose leading down. It keeps the engine compartment from getting completely covered but is very far from ideal. Definitely go with options 1 or 2 if you can. I'll probably be going with option 2 at some point.

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617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

i built a catch can, it didn't catch nearly enough of the vapors, and made a mess.
routing the vapors directly into the turbo intake was much better for me.
no more mess, no more emptying, the cylinders are full of oils and gases anyway.
i appreciate the ingenuity of the catch can but i'm not convinced that it's needed.
here is a picture of what i believe is a '79 300SD with the same configuration:

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'77 240D, 504H, OM617.952, etc.