ZL1 Mightymouse Catch Can Supplemental Instructions (Warranty Sensitive)
 

Here are some learnings for catch can installation on the 2018 Camaro ZLE LT4. I have ~20 years of track experience with GM products and purchased the car with ~9k miles specifically to take it to the track with slicks. I've installed catch cans in several GM cars. I'm not an engineer or mechanic so this is in laymen's terms. The factory drivetrain warranty is important for me to maintain.

You can see the oil residue left in the supercharger after 9k miles. By looking at the car, the previous owner did not drive it in anger.

The car came with a factory oil recovery system highlighted in yellow and in the picture with three tubes on the top. The routing of the hose from the PCV valve to the catch can is highlighted in white. The catch can has the road course "overflow" attachment instead of the vent filter which is highlighted in red. I wrapped the drain tube from the bottom of the catch can in heat resistant tape and connected it below the vehicle. It is very close to the exhaust header so it likely won't last. The tube from the overflow valve at the top is routed below the car and tied to the transmission.

I care deeply about the warranty. I'm going to drive the car like a stole it on slicks with no further modifications. The Torque to Yield bolts for the supercharger are $20 each from the dealer or you can purchase a kit which includes the gaskets and bolts for $144. See picture with item number below.

Remember, only the bolts from the Supercharger to the heads are single use. The catch can is drawing vacuum from the intake to brake booster line. This part took trial and error to find with my dealer. It is important to me that I have the factory replacement that has not been cut. In the event of an engine failure, I need to be able to return this car to 100% stock. having this pipe on hand allows me to do this.

The car hasn't been on the track yet. Who knows how much oil the catch can will capture in a track setting. At this point, I would not have installed a catch can but instead would have removed the supercharger cover and cleaned out the oil at the end of each track season. I get that most of the oil is going to the back of the valves. The issue is being out of state with a modified vehicle when the oil pump or something else fails. I will need to get it home and return it to stock before the warranty claim.

I hope this helps people in a similar situation.

God bless

So you dont think they will notice that you swapped the PCV fitting under the supercharger?

:laughabove:

The plan is to return it to stock before taking it to the dealer. That's why I purchased an extra tube in advance of need;}

So, GM will void our entire engine warranty for the addition of a catch can? So they WANT all that waste oil going down the intake and caking on the valves? It seems to me that a catch can helps the engine, but I'm no auto engineer...

Tara

I'm running the Elite (which is proven to work well, and there are several threads on it). Even though a closed loop catch can cannot possibly damage the engine, I would remove it for a major claim anyway. Vented catch cans are a different story which is another reason why I would not run MM

Even if you're paranoid about the warranty, boosted DI engines require a catch can to prevent fouling/coking of the valves (as well as the oil dilution problem)

There was a pretty long thread a year or two ago about an engine whose warrantee was voided because of a catch can.

If I can find it again, I will post a link to it.

Not to get into the whole warranty debate again, but, in a nutshell, a CC does not automatically void your warranty. The dealer would have to determine that the CC caused or contributed to the failure. If your rear diff fails, the CC is not likely to be an issue. If there is a failure involving the SC or induction system, the dealer may take the position that the CC was a contributing factor, even if it was not. Beyond that, it is all hypotheticals and speculation. Some dealers won’t raise a red flag, some will. My point is that a CC is not an across the board warranty killer.

Read this:

https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=451361

Its always best to remove the can before bringing your vehicle in for service. I had to bring my car in for a supercharger issue and I’m glad I removed the can before doing so. While I was there I asked the service rep how lenient they were with modifications. He said there has to be a connection between the mod and issue. In other words, a muffler delete isn’t going to void a warranty repair related to the engine, HOWEVER, it would be a different story if they discovered an aftermarket cold air intake. To be safe, I removed the cai too. It’s a tedious process for removing the can, but it’s not worth taking a risk like that IMO. I’ll probably re-install the can after my warranty runs out.

You really have to ask yourself if the time, effort and money to swap a catch can in and out for warranty repairs is really worth it.

The Ron Fellows Driving School run their Corvettes without catch cans and easily put 100,000 miles on those motors without any issues.

By now It’s fair to say there’s a good percentage of LT1s and LT4s with well over 50,000 miles on them. I don’t see any threads on the Camaro or Corvette forums with owners complaining about valve coking.

Use the proper oil and change it regularly and valve coking will be a non-issue.

Only for a major engine related claim, and how often is that going to happen - probably never for most of us

Ignorance is bliss and everything is relative. If you lose 25 hp (gradually over time) with coked valves how many owners are going to notice? How many owners are going to scope their valves to observe the degree of coking? You know the answers.

The other issue is keeping the blowby from being recycled to the sump and diluting your oil, that's every bit as important to me. The blowby in these cans is NASTY

Oil change interval has nothing to do with valve coking, it's a blowby in the intake issue (and to a lesser extent detergents in the gasoline). You should see some of the nasty coked valve pictures Elite posted in as few as 5000 miles. Those threads were very informative.

Yep, I agree with you. I'd rather have very tight oil change intervals than to put my warrantee at risk.

That hose isn't the part I'm referring to, or did you not replace the PCV valve fitting under the supercharger in the valley of the engine?