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Another Oil / Blow-by Catch Can Install - Long Edition :)
3rd Gen GK Specific Fit Engine Modifications, Motor Swaps, ECU Tuning Sub-ForumThreads discussing engine mods/swaps/tuning for the third generation GK Honda Fit.
No definetly not. Even if you were to totally block off the line, you would lose no power, your oil would just get dirty much faster. Any real crankcase pressure and blowby from our motors at high rpm will completely bypass the pcv valve and vent straight out of the valvecover into your intake. Evidence of this can be seen by the oily sheen that builds up in the valve cover breather line. All hondas with a positive crankcase ventilation system work like that. The pcv valve itself is one way, and only opens during high vaccum situations which is low engine speed, low throttle and deceleration like while ur engine braking after a downshift. Your most basic, putting around town driving is when the pcv valve is open doing its job of keeping your oil clean. In my opinion, the inline seprator is quite effective at removing oil prior to being ingested into the pcv valve, its like having a double action pcv valve with a filter.
Last edited by Cichlid_visuals; 08-24-2018 at 01:21 PM.
well, one thing is for sure, I have a bigger catch can now. with 3 benefits:
-according to my butt dyno and right foot, my power loss issue (which may exist only in my mind) is alleviated
-larger = longer maintenance intervals, dont have to empty it as often
-its a rick approved official "catch can" with proper engraving
By all means a larger more free flowing can is an upgrade, just thought id help clear your mind of any worries that you were restricting the crankcase pressure at high rpm. The area i would look at is the hose that goes from your breather line into your intake looks a bit kinked from the throttle spacer adding angle to it, id use a longer peice of hose to get rid of that kink.
FitFreak's - I have gone overkill on this post. As I have surfed the web and considered a catch can on my previous 2015 car, and now finally installed one on my 2018, I have encountered so much random stuff along the way. Shocking amounts of bad advice, amazing amounts of great advice, and many little helpful morsels of info tucked into posts. I have gotten carried away with this thread and really decided I would attempt to (with the help of others) create the last thread you need to look at if you are on the fence about doing a catch can on a direct injected Honda Fit.
Disclaimer: Do your own research and consider this part of your research.
Disclaimer #2: I do have a few links in here to other members posts. I have a link to HowStuffWorks - there are many others created by keywords and the fact this site is integrated with Amazon. Those are not me... I am not trying to sell a vacuum.
Nice and simple read about Positive Crankcase Ventilation, also more simply known as PCV. ==>Auto How Stuff Works - PCV
Straight forward concepts to think about while discussing PCV. Overly simple, but future gear heads can learn. (by CyclingFit)
A rotating engine is sucking air in and pumping air out as long as it is rotating, even without hitting the accelerator. You can imagine setting your engine on a work bench with the exhaust system still attached, and then connecting the crankshaft to an electric motor. If you spun the crankshaft, the engine would be blowing exhaust and sucking in air. If you reached up and opened the butterfly by hand, the motor spinning the crankshaft would not have to work as hard because you would be removing the vacuum in the intake and letting the intake return to atmospheric pressure. I am explaining this to help give you and idea of why there is vacuum in the intake manifold.
Because an engine is sucking in air, if the butterfly closes or is near closed at idle, there is vacuum inside the intake manifold. This vacuum is drawing more from the crankcase and allowing the PCV emission system to work.
If you are using the engine to decelerate or possibly to maintain speed while descending a mountain highway, the higher revs while off the throttle will be sucking in tremendous amounts of air, creating much higher vacuum in the intake, thus sucking even more crankcase air. This is why a stick shift car, or a using the CVT paddle shifters may get more benefit from a catch can.
A closed catch can system means there is not an open air filter on the catch can or in the PCV system. An opening on the PCV system may as well be a leak in the system. Imagine engine vacuum trying to pull bad stuff out of the crankcase, but instead it is just sucking clean air from the little filter you mounted in the PCV system. This means the bad stuff that we may want out of the crankcase will just stay in the crankcase until is blown instead of sucked out by vacuum.
So why would someone want that little filter or an open system? Super high revving race cars. Race cars being run at their max have enough blow by that they can have much greater "positive" pressure in the crankcase and it can push the bad stuff out. Race cars do not want to risk anything coming back into the intake side that could take horsepower or change the tune of the car. A race car is more likely to care less about smell under the hood, and more about consistent clean horsepower. Leaving contaminants in the oil is not as big of deal when a race car may get an oil change every time it goes out to race.
There is more than just oil in the PCV system. There can be fuel that gets by the rings and water created from condensation. A closed system is going to help pull out the fuel vapors and moisture away from your expensive synthetic oil.
But I keep talking about air being sucked out of the crankcase and vacuum, WHY IS IT CALLED POSITIVE CRANKCASE VENTILATION? There is positive pressure in the crankcase too and it can push stuff out.
Other Fit Freaks systems in use - that I am aware of: bdcheung - conventional closed system - using stainless steel wool inside the baffle skatana - conventional closed system UnFitRick - closed system - mounting requires non factory intake bigD_2015 - closed system - mounting requires non factory intake Fitftw15 - closed system - not sure mounting modifications evilchargerfan - air compressor water/oil separator type (testing a different system after confirming the water and oil separator is too restrictive) idroveacamry - this system not agreed upon due to how it connects but sharing here for reference if anyone is doing mass research (post 26 will explain why this is wrong)
Note: Changes or future ideas for my system are in order with dates at the bottom of this post.
My Install:
It seems no two people are buying and installing catch cans in the exact same way. Today mine went on and here is my story.....
I have popped the hood three days in a row and thought about the install and here is what I came up with. My goal is to make it one full oil change, or about 7,000 miles before emptying the can. I will likely take a sneak peak every week for a short time because of curiosity.
Car: 2018 EX CVT
Mileage: 16,245
I purchased the catch can on ebay for $25. These are obviously cheap in terms of fittings and initial finish, but the finish can be improved. Mine did not come with o-rings / gaskets for the fittings. I used o-rings but plan to switch out to flat nylon washers that can be tightened down more appropriately. I will also update the thread when I do those.
How can the finish be improved? Each picture will have an explanation captioned below it. Also, not pictured, I put a small bit of grease on the threads so everything spins apart super smoothly in the future.
This little removable baffle had a shaving left all the way around the threads where it comes apart. It popped off easily and I made sure it didn't leave a sharp edge.
Look closely into the holes and you will see burs left behind and ready to easily break off. I used a hex wrench and wobbled it around in each hole and the excess pieces all came off. I then ran a rag around each side to check for more pieces sticking out.
Here is the large shaving that needed removed. You can also see the small burrs / shavings in the small holes.
Stuff that fell out onto my counter as I improved the fit and finish.
Moving onto the install. Again, captions under each picture...
I noticed a thick aluminum flange on the passenger side of the engine, just above the alternator. This flange already has a hole in it that is tapped with nothing installed in it. The hole is M6x1.00 and my bolt is 12mm long. The little bracket is from the aisle with all the gate hinges and locks at Menard's (home improvement store) The wires going under the bracket are now going over the bracket. I gave a very slight bend to the wires at their crimps. You'll see in later pictures. I ended up using a larger washer that you can see in later pictures. Also I had to open up one of the holes a little bit. You can see the holes are not aligned over each other. I gave a very small tweak by hand to make the can hang perfectly vertical. ABOUT THERE ONLY BEING ONE BOLT.. After tightening everything down, I noticed that no matter how much I move the can, the back of the bracket does not move. I have an M5x0.80mm tap because I was thinking I would drill and tap a new hole in the back. I currently do not see a need for it unless the bracket tries to rotate. If I do tap it, I may switch to M3 and a fender washer this way I leave a lot of material behind.
These two items made me happier than they should. Auto Zone was the only parts store open and nearby, so I purchased needle nose pliers from them. The clamp at the PCV valve is a breeze with these long angled pliers. You will feel like a hero if you own a set. I am also an addict to looking as factory as I can so I purchased two packs of spring clamps. I had to get two packs because there are only two 3/8" clamps in each package.
Closeup - top view
Top view
This angle you can see what I did with the wires and loom going over the bracket.
Clearance to the alternator. More than enough room to remove the lower can to drain and clean.
Adding one more finished picture, this way the post ends with a finished picture! LOL.
Thanks for reading. I'll update the thread when updates are available or if anything changes.
UPDATE: 7/30/2018
I am not an engine engineer but I happen to be surrounded by many of them at work, so I try to inherit some of their better traits... Already it is bothering me that I have hoses that move with the engine, resting on the body under the hood. I just ordered THESE adapters that will allow me use standard pipe thread 90 degree fittings... This will allow me to route the hoses facing more directly at their destinations and it will allow me to take a few inches of hose out of the system. Pictures will be added.
Update: 8/1/2018
Thread adapters arrived. I really did not like that the hoses touched the body. The engine rocks and the body does not. This means moving parts would touch non moving parts.... I am a little frustrated with myself for not patiently waiting for lower profile brass fittings or dropping the big bucks on the super nice black aluminum fittings. I ended up using a bushing to make what the store had larger and fit into the thread adapters. I will likely still order what I want, but spending $10 today was easier than spending $40 for black aluminum fittings.
Except for color clashing, this now looks much smoother... again, making me anxious to get the other low profile black fittings.
Update 8/2/2018:
Okay.... I think after a week of people with posts, chatting with others in PM, and now making what could be my final change. Here is what I have done.
I have now added stainless steel wool (amazon will try to make that a link, it is not my link) to my system. A lot of it.... All of this research has told me there has to be something to cause agitation in the flow of air and help 'catch' the oil. As it is caught it can grow into a full drop and move to the bottom of the can because of gravity. This is pretty much the definition of coalescing. I also changed the routing, which may startle some people, but I really believe this is a super great move by me.
If you have been following what I have done:
>> Most startling thing someone may notice is that I have air going into what some people see as the exit.
>> The hose with air leaving the can is now on the top. I really only did this to give me plenty of space between that fitting and the washer fluid reservoir. The hole on top of these shares the exact same chamber as the hole that has the plug in it.
>> The reason I am bringing air out of this side of the can is because this side has the baffles. I am using the baffles to help ensure I don't let any steel wool out of the can.
>> I have completely filled the can with the scowling pads that are shown in the pictures. This required two pads.
>> Why is the can full of wool? Because I didn't want air to simply fly across the top of the pads. I am hopeful this forces air through them. They are very coarse so they will not cause resistance.
As usual, captions are under each photo.
The 3 pack of scrubbing pads, $2 at Target.
Two scowling pads = Full Can!
Moved the intake manifold hose to the top of the can. Some cans are labeled in a way that makes this the "IN" side. I am using it as an out.
Picture take to document clearance to the washer fluid reservoir. Also the hoses are lightly zip tied together to give them more support.
A view to show the amount of clearance for the non factory items.
I am hopeful I can call the system complete. I will end up buying or borrowing a vacuum and pressure gauge to make sure I am not risking anything in the long term. I blew through the factory pcv hose and it had the same or more restriction.
First just let me say a huge thanks to you and all the other contributors for this AWESOME post and topic.
Second,.......DARN YOU ALL TO HECK!!! Now I simply MUST have one of these for my seemingly never ending list of things to do to my Fit.
A bit about me, if anyone cares. I've been a gearhead and mechanical nerd since....well, pretty much since birth. I rebuilt my first gasoline internal combustion engine at the ripe old age of 11, that would be in 1979 for those keeping score. My grandparents push mower died, and they bought a new one. I disassembled the 3.5hp Briggs and Stratton on the back patio, just to see what was inside that mystery box, and discovered that the intake valve was burned to a crisp. My little Granny, being a truly awesome woman (95 now and still going strong), drove me the 20 miles to town (I'm a "farm kid") and bought me all the parts I needed to rebuild that little engine. A few days (and several more trips to town for parts)later, I had a rebuilt, and sweet running single-cylinder engine. I probably should have taken it to the local flea market and sold it, but instead, I set about seeing if I could "improve" it. This led to many modifications, and experiments, some successful, some....ummm....not. This was all pre-internet, so I was all on my own, I didn't even have a small engine repair manual. Those were the days.... I had no way to judge my attempts at "improving" the engine's performance, other than seeing how much faster I could walk/run with it cutting grass before it would choke out. My final experiment involved alcohol as fuel and ended with a two-piece connecting rod and a new "vent" in the side of the crankcase. (thrown rod in case anyone missed my, admittedly lame, attempt at humor/sarcasm) I learned a TON along the way though, mostly about how NOT to do things. Thus began my interest in and obsession with engines, and led me to cars, motorcycles, tractors, weed-eaters, pretty much anything with an ICE attached.
Since then, I've wrenched on, rebuilt, blown up, raced, and tortured many engines, from many manufacturers. A 10 year stint in the Navy as an Electronics Technician gave me a new toolset and helped a lot with my understanding of the electrical side of automobiles. A couple of years living in Italy introduced me to the wonders of European cars, I was already familiar with US and Japanese cars, plus VW. Along the way I've worked on most of the common manufacturer's engines, Adding BMW, Porsche (air cooled), Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Renaut, Citroen, Fiat, Austin Healy, Jaguar, Rover, Austin, Morris.... the list goes on. I even managed to add a smattering of "exotics" to my "experience list", One Ferrari, a Maserati and a Lotus. (Learning to hate Lucas at the same time).
Last year, I bought a CPO 2015 Fit EX 6MT (I have never owned a vehicle with an automatic transmission, don't ever plan to. #SAVETHEMANUALS) to replace my beloved 2012 Kia Soul (Fantastic car BTW). I have an unexplainable love of quirky little cars, that are more fun and "sporty" to drive than they really should be. I loved the Soul, but I wanted something a bit more refined, smaller and with better fuel economy. I do a lot of driving, so MPG is important to me. The Fit seemed a perfect choice to me. It took me over 6 months to find a good, low mileage, example with a manual gearbox, I almost gave up. When I found mine, I loved everything about it except the color, mine is white. I'd have preferred blue, red, yellow, orange or almost anything else, but, my manual gearbox requirement didn't give me a lot of choice. At least it wasn't black.
It was worth the wait. I absolutely love this silly little car. It's comfortable, handles pretty darn well bone-stock, the little 1.5 loves to rev and is very happy doing so, sweet gear shifts, and decently quiet for an economy car. About it's only real deficiencies are the front brakes (warping rotors when driven hard), limited selection of good tires (but it's light enough that this isn't a huge deal) weird cupholders, the terrible accelerator pedal placement (makes heel and toe downshifts almost impossible) and an annoying electrical/charging system issue that has recently cropped up (I have a post about that pending moderation). It's by no means a "fast car", but it is sporty and it "feels fast" when you drive it hard. I recently drove it cross-country and back, Alabama to San Francisco, and had a blast doing so. I've long been one of those who agree that there is a lot to be said for the enjoyment found in "driving a slow car fast". (not that the Fit is truly "slow", but it doesn't have a overabundance of power/acceleration) It also, IMHO tends makes one a much better driver. You have to learn how to conserve as much momentum/speed in the corners as possible since you can't just fall back on gobs of throttle/power to make up for sloppy braking and cornering. I learned that lesson when I started road racing motorcycles on my old Kawasaki EX-500 and it holds true for cars too.
So to keep with the format of this thread: Car: 2015 Fit EX Mileage: 59,948 It had ~22K when I bought it. Transmission: 6MT Type of separator: No separator yet, leaning toward the cheap eBay can with some sort of media in it. Driving style: Can't lie. I drive it hard most of the time, Let's just say that the rev limiter and I are well acquainted and leave it at that. Driving mix: Probably close to a 50/50 mix of city and highway miles,
My only modification to date has been to replace the stock front brake rotors and pads. Power Stop slotted and drilled rotors and Centric StopTech Street pads. Just a few $ more than stock aftermarket parts and my braking issues are 100% solved. The improvement in braking is huge, and the rotor warping problem is no more.
I was looking for my next mod project, and I think this may be it. I had grander plans, but a recent, ummm, "change" in my employment status, and the resultant reduction in disposable income mean that I have to scale back all that.
I'm going to try this next, and I'll share my experience, just in case anyone may be interested. I'm also considering a Fumoto oil drain valve and a remote-mount oil filter kit so that I can do oil changes without messing with that PITA plastic pan/fairing thing under the engine. One of these days I'm also going to try fabricating an aluminium replacement for that, with proper quick-release fasteners. I'm sort of surprised that the aftermarket hasn't already come up with one of those. Of course, I haven;t really looked either......
So, again, thanks to all for the interesting, detailed and entertaining thread, and sorry for the long rambling post. It's just the way I write.
Aadded an inline oil seperator today to experiment. I tested its flow by blowing through it as hard as i can both directions. Very little restriction, and it flows both ways as there is no check valve within it. After a very short 20 minute drive its already collected some crankwaste.
Last edited by Cichlid_visuals; 08-29-2018 at 03:21 AM.
don’t waste your money installing an oil catch can in your car. The system was designed to burn any oil particles in the air, and does not cause intake carbonization. Also, modifying this system especially under warranty will cause problems with your warranty. Just because you’re catching oil particles in a can that was intended to burn through the engine doesn’t mean you’re averting anything. Here’s a good video discussing this phenomenon, the guy is a little brash but U get the idea.
don’t waste your money installing an oil catch can in your car. The system was designed to burn any oil particles in the air, and does not cause intake carbonization. Also, modifying this system especially under warranty will cause problems with your warranty. Just because you’re catching oil particles in a can that was intended to burn through the engine doesn’t mean you’re averting anything. Here’s a good video discussing this phenomenon, the guy is a little brash but U get the idea.
Thank you for your video and opinion.
To be considered:
10 years ago walnut media blasting intake valves was pretty much nonexistent and now it is a common thing. Maybe that is shop tool technology, maybe it is an industry needing a solution? Not sure...
Before direct injection was common, intake valves would still get a very hard layer of coking, but not sludge unless something else was wrong. Previously the more sludgy type stuff was always being cleaned out by gasoline. Some level of coking will happen no matter what, since no system is perfect.
The stories of intake manifolds holding oil are not hard to come by, and from many different manufacturers.
VW knows there is an issue and added a system to remove the oil from the pcv air.
Some manufacturers are going to a dual injection system, which can really only be explained as a need for cleaning.
Cars are not dropping left and right, but it is very likely they are losing performance in both HP and fuel economy at a greater rate than port injection cars.
If done in a non restrictive way and with the PCV valve still functioning as intended, capturing the oil should only be a plus unless there is some belief the engine needs it for lubrication of the combustion chamber or the dry side of the intake valve seals.
Keeping it as simple as possible. Even if the engine can process oil through the combustion chamber, it is not preferred. Engineers who only care about efficiency would do something else with that vapor but laws say they cannot. We, the catch can people, are doing something else with that vapor and it would in no way be cost advantageous for an OEM to do what we are doing. Cars are not lining the sides of the road because of this issue and that is why the OEM's are not going to add one more serviceable item to a car and increase the price of the vehicle for a problem that will not be obvious until after warranty is up and likely not until the car is on it's 3rd or 4th owner.
10 years ago walnut media blasting intake valves was pretty much nonexistent and now it is a common thing. Maybe that is shop tool technology, maybe it is an industry needing a solution? Not sure...
Before direct injection was common, intake valves would still get a very hard layer of coking, but not sludge unless something else was wrong. Previously the more sludgy type stuff was always being cleaned out by gasoline. Some level of coking will happen no matter what, since no system is perfect.
The stories of intake manifolds holding oil are not hard to come by, and from many different manufacturers.
VW knows there is an issue and added a system to remove the oil from the pcv air.
Some manufacturers are going to a dual injection system, which can really only be explained as a need for cleaning.
Cars are not dropping left and right, but it is very likely they are losing performance in both HP and fuel economy at a greater rate than port injection cars.
If done in a non restrictive way and with the PCV valve still functioning as intended, capturing the oil should only be a plus unless there is some belief the engine needs it for lubrication of the combustion chamber or the dry side of the intake valve seals.
Keeping it as simple as possible. Even if the engine can process oil through the combustion chamber, it is not preferred. Engineers who only care about efficiency would do something else with that vapor but laws say they cannot. We, the catch can people, are doing something else with that vapor and it would in no way be cost advantageous for an OEM to do what we are doing. Cars are not lining the sides of the road because of this issue and that is why the OEM's are not going to add one more serviceable item to a car and increase the price of the vehicle for a problem that will not be obvious until after warranty is up and likely not until the car is on it's 3rd or 4th owner.
...did you ever stop to think that maybe the car is designed to consume the few ml's of oil every few thousand miles, and your circumventing their design, causing a bigger problem down the road?
...did you ever stop to think that maybe the car is designed to consume the few ml's of oil every few thousand miles, and your circumventing their design, causing a bigger problem down the road?
This question is pure argument for the sake of argument and not based in facts whatsoever. It's not even good guesswork.
It's roughly analogous to saying "...did you ever stop to think that maybe a cigarette is designed to allow tar in every puff, and [by using a filtered cigarette] your [sic] circumventing their design, causing a bigger problem down the road?"
I think it may benefit you to do some reading to understand the purpose and function of the PCV system better, how crankcase vapors and blowby are produced, and why they are recycled back into the intake, and what happens when you reintroduce them back into the intake tract.
This question is pure argument for the sake of argument and not based in facts whatsoever. It's not even good guesswork.
It's roughly analogous to saying "...did you ever stop to think that maybe a cigarette is designed to allow tar in every puff, and [by using a filtered cigarette] your [sic] circumventing their design, causing a bigger problem down the road?"
I think it may benefit you to do some reading to understand the purpose and function of the PCV system better, how crankcase vapors and blowby are produced, and why they are recycled back into the intake, and what happens when you reintroduce them back into the intake tract.
I’m just wondering what proof you have that what you’re doing has any benefit.. that’s all. I’m a master technician for Harley Davidson so I’m well aware of what a PCV system does. Can you direct me to the online article or other documentation, from a vehicle design standpoint That suggests modifying this system is a good idea?
So what we are saying here as we actually don’t know if this is causing a problem, or preventing one. We are doing this, just for the sake of doing it? Maybe we should install a filter on the return side of our fuel sustem, with an air release valve, because the return fuel from the injection system might have microscopic air bubbles inside of it , that would cause a Lean combustion situation inside the engine. Do you see where I am going with this? What I just stated makes as much sense as what you are doing. The only thing that I see is voiding a factory warranty, if that cheap Chinese can decided to clog or cause another problem. It’s just another excuse to give your dealership to deny a warranty claim- and for what? To **maybe prevent residual oil from mucking up your intake, years down the road? Most of us will not have this car in two to three years.
I wouldn't say that in public in the context of 'good engine design'.
How many citations do you want? If you give me time, I'll get you as many as you want. (within reason) It's pretty well established at this point that, while varying between manufacturers, DI engines are known to have issues with carbon deposits.
So what we are saying here as we actually don’t know if this is causing a problem, or preventing one. We are doing this, just for the sake of doing it? Maybe we should install a filter on the return side of our fuel sustem, with an air release valve, because the return fuel from the injection system might have microscopic air bubbles inside of it , that would cause a Lean combustion situation inside the engine. Do you see where I am going with this? What I just stated makes as much sense as what you are doing. The only thing that I see is voiding a factory warranty, if that cheap Chinese can decided to clog or cause another problem. It’s just another excuse to give your dealership to deny a warranty claim- and for what? To **maybe prevent residual oil from mucking up your intake, years down the road? Most of us will not have this car in two to three years.
Except air bubbles don't deposit carbon on the backs of your valves. And that the engine is constantly adjusting air/fuel ratios to prevent lean burn/detonation/knock, etc.
I wouldn't say that in public in the context of 'good engine design'.
How many citations do you want? If you give me time, I'll get you as many as you want. (within reason) It's pretty well established at this point that, while varying between manufacturers, DI engines are known to have issues with carbon deposits.
are you implying that Harley engines are of poor design? lol. I’m glad your Wikipedia article ( not a good source, for all I know you wrote it ) makes you feel good. What makes you think that this tiny amount of oil causes carbon deposits to form ? Where’s the engine tear down, of two of the same engines, driven in the same conditions, one with and one without the canister? I await your reply.
Except air bubbles don't deposit carbon on the backs of your valves. And that the engine is constantly adjusting air/fuel ratios to prevent lean burn/detonation/knock, etc.
and how do you know that this tiny amount of oil is causing carbon deposits ? I’ve seen posts- with 7000 miles on a canister, with 40ml of oily -watery residue inside. If you’re really that concerned why can’t you just spray some intake cleaner through your throttle body once every oil change? Sounds to me like you are just looking to justify something completely stupid. I’ve yet to see definitive proof these canisters help anything.
08-24-2018, 01:11 PM
This was all pre-internet, so I was all on my own, I didn't even have a small engine repair manual. Those were the days....
I had no way to judge my attempts at "improving" the engine's performance, other than seeing how much faster I could walk/run with it cutting grass before it would choke out. My final experiment involved alcohol as fuel and ended with a two-piece connecting rod and a new "vent" in the side of the crankcase. (thrown rod in case anyone missed my, admittedly lame, attempt at humor/sarcasm) I learned a TON along the way though, mostly about how NOT to do things. Thus began my interest in and obsession with engines, and led me to cars, motorcycles, tractors, weed-eaters, pretty much anything with an ICE attached.
