Racor CCV Installation

Installing the Racor CCV system is well within the capabilities of the do-it-yourself enthusiast. The only area requiring particular care is the connection to the sump that allows the oil from the unit to drain back to the sump. The method of making this connection will vary from engine to engine and may mean simply removing the sump drain plug and replacing it with a pipefitting to allow either copper tube or flexible hydraulic hose to connect the sump and Racor unit.

A sump drain pump connection already fitted into the drain hole can be replaced with a Ã.‚¬Å”teeÃ.‚¬VbCrLf piece so that both units can use the drain hole. On the Volvo AQD40A there is a convenient sump drainpipe located on the starboard side of the engine, designed for attaching a sump pump that runs up above the level of the sump. This is a standard 3/8-inch OD tube and therefore fits a 3/8-inch compression fitting, which makes it easy to connect the drainpipe to the Racor unit and retain the oil draining facility. Whatever the chosen method of connecting the sump drain, it is vital to ensure that the pipe work is totally reliable and cannot suddenly dump the engineÃ.‚¬™s oil into the bilge.

Installing the CCV system

There are several points to note before beginning the installation work, most of which are simply common sense. The Racor unit itself must be mounted upright (or within 10 degrees of upright) and above sump level to allow for efficient oil drain back. The unit itself and the pipe work need to be kept clear of engine hot spots such as the un-cooled exhaust pipe work, and obviously any pump or alternator belts. Units can be supplied in left- or right-hand fitting as there are Ã.‚¬ËœinÃ.‚¬™ and Ã.‚¬ËœoutÃ.‚¬™ connections that must be connected the right way around for the unit to function correctly. It is therefore important to plan the installation before ordering the parts.

Some engines can be supplied with a new Racor air filter to connect directly to the unit, but in most cases this will only increase the cost, as it is straightforward to install an inlet into the standard air filter unit.

Again, depending on engine make and type, a crankcase breather adapter fitting can be supplied to replace the original filter unit or breather pipe. For most engines, however, it is easy to adapt the original breather to suit the new Racor CCV.

Adapting the AQD40A breather is about as complicated as it gets, as there is no adapter to suit this engine and the size of the threaded hole that takes the standard breather filter is large with a very coarse thread. After giving it some thought, the owner decided that the easiest option was to modify the original filter housing to accept the hose leading to the Racor CCV.

The original breather unit had already been modified with an overboard breather pipe that was never very successful. The overboard pipe was removed and the filter unit taken out onto the pontoon, where the casing was cut off, leaving just the base and threaded spigot.

An aluminum plate was cut to size and fitted into the original base with Epoxy adhesive and pop-rivets. The plate was drilled to accept a brass skin-fitting hose-tail of the appropriate size to match the hose tails on the CCV. It was then fitted to the new base with a backing nut and sealing washers. The whole unit screws directly back into the engine breather outlet.

The CCV set consists of the main unit containing the oil separation element, the pressure regulating valve and service indicator, the drain hose and non-return valve, and the breather hose that is supplied in one section for cutting into two lengths as required.

Another skin-fitting hose tail, this time in plastic, was installed into the back of the engine air filter box behind the element so that contaminants bypass the element. While plastic is acceptable for this fitting, it would not stand the heat of being used for the breather outlet, where a brass fitting is required.

The plastic skin-fitting hose tail is backed up with a brass nut inside the air filter box. The CCV itself is fitted onto a bracket in a convenient position out of harmÃ.‚¬™s way but close enough to the engine to minimize pipe runs.

The final job is to connect the pipe work and clip it into position. Note the drain hose that returns the collected oil to the sump. This runs across the back of the engine where it is teed into the sump pipe.

With this type of project, no two engines are the same, and the layout of the equipment and pipe work will always be slightly different. However, this installation typifies the problems likely to be encountered.