New (and some older!) owners of second generation trucks either have, or WILL become victims of that notorious Cummins engine breather bottle, attached to the front engine gearcover between the front of the engine and the radiator.

Why "notorious"?

Because unknown to new owners, that breather over a few thousand miles driving, eventually becomes overloaded with the fluid byproduct of engine vapors, and begins leaking them into the airstream of the fan, blowing them all over the front of the engine, drivetrain, and even forewards into and onto the cooling fins of the radiator.

Some owners only become concerned and aware, when their trucks start overheating due to the oily coating applied to their radiator, which in turn collects dust and dirt, eventually seriously blocking cooling airflow.

SO, what can or should you do about it?

There are several approaches - first, of course, is simply regularly removing and draining that catch bottle - but in truth, that will only REDUCE vapor distribution, not eliminate it!

Next, is removing that bottle, and lengthening the hose so as to allow engine vapors to simply drip harmlessly to the ground - here's sorta what that looks like from the floor looking upwards at the front of the engine:



The 3/4 inch male/male hose barb can be seen at the circular strap that used to hold the original breather bottle. On my setup, I also used hose clamps to secure the splice and keep it leak-free.

This may be as far as you want to go - but remember, there WILL be small amounts of oily vapor vented from the hose in it's new location - and that can still be blown back in the truck's undercarriage and make a mess over time - but some just consider that free rust prevention.

To go a step farther, some use a longer hose, and drain the vapors further back to the rear of the truck, and let any resulting oily buildup accumulate there instead of further forward. IF you choose this method, be sure to NOT allow low spots in the drain tube, since in colder climates it might freeze the accumulated vapor fluid and totally block off needed engine venting.

Unfortunately, NEITHER of the above solutions adequately address the inevitable small drops of oil that WILL spot driveways and garage floors - either yours, or those of your friends. You probably wouldn't deliberately spit on their floors - and SOME of them might also take a dim view of oily "calling cards" left in their driveways!

SO, how can you eliminate ALL unwanted breather mess?

Like THIS:



I first liberally drill added vent holes in the breather bottle for best possible venting:



THEN I cover it with an old sock for best filtration and absorbancy to harmlessly soak up all vapors:



Does it work? Is it effective? one pic above showed the front of my engine - here's the undercarriage:



Whatta ya think - effective?

The relocated bottle is secured to the front swaybar by common cable ties or wire wraps - the sock itself gets changed every oil change, and only takes a couple of minutes. Best part, CLEAN engine, undercarriage, and garage floor - MUCH appreciated by me when I have to crawl under the truck for routine maintenence or some new project.