For vehicles for cruising and street, are there benefits to installing an oil catch can? Currently I have baffled valve covers on my 350 with a PCV in the passenger side routed to the carb and a push-in breather in the drivers side. Are there any advantages to having a catch can or is it just throwing money at an accessory?

 

I've never heard of using an oil catch can on an Oldsmobile engine. I know they're available for the 3.8l Lambda II engine in the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade. Those are Atkinson cycle engines with gasoline direct injection and VVT. Pretty far removed from an Oldsmobile pushrod V8.

 

If you have factory valve covers, you don't need it. The factory pieces have baffles to keep the oil in and under control.

 

If you're pushing enough oil to need a catch can you have bigger problems.

 

I use one on my '72 350 - after about 500 miles or so it actually does accumulate a relatively small amount - my rebuilt motor has about 17k miles on it now and I went thru it almost immediately after first getting the car so I don't have any prior oil usage history to compare that to. My valve covers are baffled inside and the PCV I'm using is a Wagner M.E. adjustable piece that you can set to your specific engine.

But if it's gonna move oil, I'd rather catch it in the can than back thru the carb

 

If you can eliminate oil carryover that is a good thing. Blowby is going to happen. Anything caught in the can is a benefit to the engine. It’s not supposed to have oil in the intake. The factory baffles help but may not catch everything. The can will help catch what gets past the baffles with minimal cash outlay. But you still need to remember to empty it every now and again.