Installation of Honda Civic 1.5 Turbo Mishimoto Baffled Oil Catch Can

[SCOPESYS]

My Mishimoto 2016+ Honda Civic 1.5 Turbo Baffled Oil Catch Can arrived earlier this week, and since today was the warmest day we are going to see for the next 2 weeks of sub freezing weather, I decided to install it today.

Easy, 30 minute job ... turned into a 2 hour ordeal .

The catch Can did not come with any install instructions, but that's OK, Mishitomo has a very good Youtube video, showing step by step, how to do the install.

When I first got the can, it was screwed up so tight, it took some doing to get it unscrewed.

Tip: Re-assemble with a little oil on the threads (I used Gear oil, rather than grease).
Makes for a lot smoother tightening, and the added good chance, that it will not seize up, and I will be able to unscrew it in a few 1000 miles, to see how well it is doing.

So, why did it take so long ? Well, the 12mm Socket fell off the socket set wrench, down into the bottom of the engine bay, so I had to put the car up on Ramps, remove the Skid Pan (for the 1st time), to retrieve it.
1st time I had put the Si up on ramps, so that was fun, without the Hand Brake I have on my car .

Thankfully when i dropped the socket, my wife was not around, as the language when I dropped it was not pretty !!

Anyway, a good excuse to get the Skid Plate off, and inspect the location of the Oil Filter, for my next project, which is to fit an Oil Pressure Gauge. Not much room around the oil filter - so that';s going to be a challenge.

I was somewhat surprised to see the amount of white deposits on the aluminum parts of the underside of the engine.
Use to seeing this on Marine engines, but not so much on car engines... thinking maybe a few coats of yellow etch primer might be help .. not heard of anyone doing that though .. maybe overkill.? Comments ???

Another thing that stuck me, as I crawled under the car,
I was under the car , up on 9" ramps. Car Dealers have the Luxury of being able to put cars on a lift, and walk under them. I therefore, now from experience, find it even more inexcusable, that the Dealer "Mechanics ?" are often not securing the Skid Plate back correctly, and either leaving off some of the turn screws, or not fitting them correctly. It's not that difficult !!!

Anyway, having retrieved my 12mm socket, the rest of the install went smoothly, apart from removing the old hose.
One end would not come off, no matter how hard I tried to free it, so rather than damage the fitting, I ended up cutting down the side of the hose on the fitting, and then it just fell off !! Don't need the hose again, and I did not want to risk snapping the plastic barb fitting.

So, now all back together, and meets with the wife's approval... (It's really her car) .. When I told her I wanted to fit the Catch Can, she was hesitant, until I showed her the pretty Blue Hoses (that match the Aegean Blue), and then she was sold !!

 

[Deezy]

The white spots you see on the aluminum parts is oxidation. It is harmless and actually protects the aluminum from corrosion...Just looks bad.

 

[SCOPESYS]

The white spots you see on the aluminum parts is oxidation. It is harmless and actually protects the aluminum from corrosion...Just looks bad.

Thanks ... Yes, once it forms an Aluminum Oxide coating, it will help to prevent further corrosion.

I am just thinking, before it gets too oxidized, that a couple of coats of Yellow Etch Primer, and it will be almost like an anodized surface, and be less prone to corrosion, especially with all the Salt they put on the roads here in the NW USA.

Maybe I will mask off a small area, and try it the Etch Primer on that small area .. see what happens over 6 months or so...

 

[davidgostbo]

Thanks ... Yes, once it forms an Aluminum Oxide coating, it will help to prevent further corrosion.

I am just thinking, before it gets too oxidized, that a couple of coats of Yellow Etch Primer, and it will be almost like an anodized surface, and be less prone to corrosion, especially with all the Salt they put on the roads here in the NW USA.

Maybe I will mask off a small area, and try it the Etch Primer on that small area .. see what happens over 6 months or so...

Hey could you take a picture of the inside of the can? Apparently mishimoto updated it recently I would like to see the differences!

 

[SCOPESYS]

Hey could you take a picture of the inside of the can? Apparently mishimoto updated it recently I would like to see the differences!

The Inside looks exactly like this, with the silver baffle, and the copper color mesh filter.

The Honda one has a slightly different mount to it;s Bracket.

see below for the Honda one I got

The Mishimoto website had it Out of Stock, but it was available Amazon Prime, through the Amazon Fulfillment center.
So maybe it's the new design, or maybe old... looks OK to me.

Also has a Drain Plug at the bottom, which you could remove and thread a drain cock into.
Personally, I think where it is mounted, it's just as easy to unscrew the can with the oil in it, and then you can more carefully inspect the can when you tip it out to empty it. -- which I am hoping is not to often

 

[parshisa]

Dropping the socket - been there, done that hahaha

And yes, language being used at that particular moment was definitely 18+

 

[SCOPESYS]

Dropping the socket - been there, done that hahaha

And yes, language being used at that particular moment was definitely 18+

Yes-- I should know better ... on my Car (The Maxima), chances are if you drop something down when working on the engine, it will make it's way quite easily to the garage floor.
The Honda Civic has this skid plate that tends to catch anything dropped.

Lesson learnt.. in future, I will
(a) Be more careful
(b) Use an old Blanket orSheet, to block the major gaps downwards where I am working, to hopefully catch anything dropped.

Still wondering how the 12mm socket cam off the extender shaft so easily... it has a ball-locking device that is meant to stop it just falling off.

I am going to blame the cold.. it was literally Freezing when I was working on the car... I think my brain must have been frozen in Stupid mode as well

 

[SCOPESYS]

Another thing that stuck me, as I crawled under the car,
I was under the car , up on 9" ramps. Car Dealers have the Luxury of being able to put cars on a lift, and walk under them. I therefore, now from experience, find it even more inexcusable, that the Dealer "Mechanics ?" are often not securing the Skid Plate back correctly, and either leaving off some of the turn screws, or not fitting them correctly. It's not that difficult !!!

Confession time. I think I can see how this may happen, as I am Guilty of something similar.

When re-fitting the skid plate, the obvious way to re-assemble is to start by using the two SCREW Bolts (fitted loosely) to secure the plate in the approximate position, and then to fit the 1/4 turn lock screws while there is still some play in the plate position.

Then you should go back and tighten the two Screw Bolts, which today I realized I failed to do !!!
I bet this is what happens sometimes at the Dealership, and with vibration, over time, those two untightened screw bolts could work loose and fall out.

 

[SCOPESYS]

Confession time. I think I can see how this may happen, as I am Guilty of something similar.

When re-fitting the skid plate, the obvious way to re-assemble is to start by using the two SCREW Bolts (fitted loosely) to secure the plate in the approximate position, and then to fit the 1/4 turn lock screws while there is still some play in the plate position.

Then you should go back and tighten the two Screw Bolts, which today I realized I failed to do !!!
I bet this is what happens sometimes at the Dealership, and with vibration, over time, those two untightened screw bolts could work loose and fall out.

FYI: I just tightened up the two Philips Screw bolts for the Skid Plate this morning.
It is worth noting that you can quite easily reach theses under the car , from the front, WITHOUT having to put the car on ramps, or jacking up. (assuming you have not lowered the car !!)


This is good to know, because it is easy for the owner to check that they have been tightened up correctly, if someone else had had the Skid Plate off , like the Dealer, for an Oil change.

 

[Gruber]

The white spots you see on the aluminum parts is oxidation. It is harmless and actually protects the aluminum from corrosion...Just looks bad.

Well... not quite. The visible white rough powdery corrosion is not the kind that protects the surface. The actual passive layer is only several nm thick and is invisible.
Any obvious powdery residue actually disrupts the protective layer and enables further corrosion.
I'm not saying that it's a catastrophe and your car will soon fall apart, but it's not anything positive. It's normal corrosion caused by contact with salty or anything but neutral pH water.

So, now all back together, and meets with the wife's approval... (It's really her car) .. When I told her I wanted to fit the Catch Can, she was hesitant, until I showed her the pretty Blue Hoses (that match the Aegean Blue), and then she was sold !!

Your wife is right, this is the best feature of this mod. I was looking at this can already almost a year ago, and I'm still hesitant since they never had the red hoses available. As I understand it exist also in the red version.

 

[andromeda]

Catch can and oil pressure gauge totally unnecessary. If they were important, Honda would have incorporated them in the stock design. Catch can adds a maintenance item.

 

[SCOPESYS]

Catch can and oil pressure gauge totally unnecessary. If they were important, Honda would have incorporated them in the stock design. Catch can adds a maintenance item.

That's YOUR "Opinion" and you are absolutely free to state wherever you want.

However, you do not talk for Honda, and you have NO IDEA what decisions were made at Honda to include or not include a catch can.

As for adding a maintenance item, you just defeated your own argument.

It only becomes a maintenance item if it needs emptying, and if it needs emptying, it is working, and doing something useful.
In fact, it potentially REDUCES the expensive maintenance item of having your intake valves cleaned / serviced.

You are however 100% correct,,, "Catch can adds a maintenance item" - but because they do work !!!

 

[SCOPESYS]

Well... not quite. The visible white rough powdery corrosion is not the kind that protects the surface. The actual passive layer is only several nm thick and is invisible.
Any obvious powdery residue actually disrupts the protective layer and enables further corrosion.
I'm not saying that it's a catastrophe and your car will soon fall apart, but it's not anything positive. It's normal corrosion caused by contact with salty or anything but neutral pH water.

Yes, I think this summer, I will spend a weekend under the car, clean off all the Aluminium, and then "2 part" etch prime it.
The "2 part" primer is far more protective than the Auto-Shop Spray cans stuff, so probably should server as a good protective layer, with the need to add any additional cover.

 

[andromeda]

That's YOUR "Opinion" and you are absolutely free to state wherever you want.

OK, obvious. Is there a point ?

However, you do not talk for Honda, and you have NO IDEA what decisions were made at Honda to include or not include a catch can.

I only said that something important would likely be added by Honda. CC and an oil pressure gauge were not. Agreed that I wasn't directly privy to Honda's thinking, only their decisions.
As for adding a maintenance item, you just defeated your own argument.
It only becomes a maintenance item if it needs emptying, and if it needs emptying, it is working, and doing something useful.

Strictly speaking, removing that miniscule material isn't needed, and you'd be no worse off if you let it fill up and just left it there. If you have the CC it implies that you would naturally be emptying it, useless activity.

In fact, it potentially REDUCES the expensive maintenance item of having your intake valves cleaned / serviced.

Valve cleaning is not needed under normal circumstances and again if it were then Honda would have specified it as part of maintenance. They didn't and I wasn't directly privy to their thinking but only their decision.

You are however 100% correct,,, "Catch can adds a maintenance item" - but because they do work !!!

No, see above.

 

[SCOPESYS]

No, see above.

YES -- you know it makes sense !!]

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