Hello all. Please forgive my ignorance here. 1st time mini owner as of 2/22/2016. I purchased this 2003 R53 with very low miles and a few nice mods. I can't however identify one of the mods

. It's an ALTA "can" of some sort just to the left of the intercooler and dipstick. The can portion itself is a dark-ish turquoise blue color. It has aluminum caps with a couple of (3/8"?) blue hoses coming off the top and a smaller green hose. One of the blue hoses "T"s into the valve cover breather and also goes to the intake tube on the right side of the engine (as you are facing the front of the car). Can't tell where the other blue hose goes, nor can I tell where the smaller green hose goes. I've attached a few pictures. I looked on Alta.com for it and could not find it on their site. Any idea what this is or what it does?

Thanks!
Tonyt

 

Oil catch can? Catches the oil instead of it burning in the engine I believe. Pretty sure it's a good thing to have.

 

http://oilcatchcan.com/

 

Aah... cool. Thanks guys!

 

If it is working you will probably need to empty it at some point.

 

And what looks like an oversized chassis ground lead (maybe a battery cable?) on the engine mount. Not a bad idea.

 

Yes, I had that thought. I just got the car a few weeks ago... I should check it now. Thanks?

@David.R53 - I didn't notice that that was not a stock ground. No frame of reference being a "Mineophyte" at this point. Well spotted and thanks for calling it out. I'm new to this car, but a quick study.

 

On other Alta Catch cans, the "green line" is clear and just loops to the bottom as a level sight indicator. Not sure why this one is green.

 

Aah! Slick. Good call. I have not looked closely enough to see if I can reliably see through it. Either way, it looks easy enough to get apart to inspect. Thanks again for the help!

 

yup, that is an oil catch can, it takes all the oil vapors from the crankcase and valve train and routes them to this can where they can condense instead of being put into your intake track where the oil can deposit on sensors and the intercooler, or eventually burned by the engine. the green tube is the level, you wanna empty it before it fills up, easiest when its about 1/2 way. it shouldn't fill up to quick, but it will during the colder months. the drain is on the bottom. it will be disgusting mix of gas/oil/water

 

It is a good idea to make it part of your routine check to check how much oil is in there and empty it out when needed. Some people put it back in while others put in new fresh oil from what ever the can catches and takes out. That's what I do.