A lot of questions asking "why don't catch cans come stock on cars?" Lots of reasons here, but some of the most obvious: 1) It's another maintenance item, and customers have a hard enough time just keeping up with oil changes. Examples like AdBlue and water injection systems, come to mind, engineers try to develop solutions around customer maintenance. 2) If a customer neglects it, the catch can fills, and then you're dumping that oil into your intake; this is worse than doing nothing at all. Then it's a liability issue for the manufacturer. 3) Ideally, a proper engineering solution to prevent carbon buildups wouldn't require any effort on the customer's part. This is where auto companies will put their focus. "How do we prevent carbon deposits." There are companies that do much better than others with DI engines. Catch cans are not the only solution. If you have an engine that suffers from carbon deposit problems, a catch can is likely to improve the system, as demonstrated in the video.
What about dual injection systems like Ford’s twin turbo 2.7 liter Ecoboost that also have port injection along with direct injection? Would a catch can still be useful there?
There's a 4th reason - engines operated in freezing temps could experience freezing of the water vapor trapped by the can, reducing the efficiency or worse, plugging the PCV system and blowing a main seal!
No mention of the more expensive, yet better engineered air/oil separators? They have a coolant line run through them to prevent condensation, and run an oil line back to the sump so you never have to drain them.
Jeffrey Smallwood I think it's not that necessary as the carbon deposits and oil gunk is mostly removed when the fuel is sprayed directly into the intake valves. It might help in some way, so I'd let Jason answer this.
They absolutely work. I just fitted one to my high mileage NA car yesterday. The difference is night and day. Oil was pooling in the intake manifold and the engine was pinging slightly at most mild load conditions. The engine was being fed oil mist, effectively lowering the octane of the fuel. The pinging is now gone completely!
@@Thunderstormworld Not necessarily an engine problem it also depends on the temperature, if you placed the catch can in a colder side of the engine bay on winter you'll definitely empty it every week due to condensation.
Well done, Jason. Several comments if i may. 1. Can a car owner check whether he really needs an oil catch can? I think he can. Simply by disconnecting both vent lines (most engines will have two such lines) where they enter the intake system, one can then use a cotton swab to wipe the insides of each pipe or hose. If the swab comes out wet with oil you will know that oil and other stuff are passing into the engine intake system, and a catch can will be a good idea. If the swabs come out perfectly dry then not much oil is getting back to the intake and no catch can is likely needed. 2. I suspect many car manufacturers are doing a better job today compared to ten years back of reducing oil and other stuff from venting back into the intake systems on their engines. Why? To enable the combustion process to be as efficient as possible and to reduce those wicked intake valve deposits. They are doing this by placing the features found in the better designed oil catch cans into their PCV systems to do the catch can job. My example: We have a Mazda CX-5 Turbo (gas direct injected). Though the PCV hoses were dry by the swab test, I put a catch can on the engine anyway. All it gathered was light amber-colored clear water. No oil floated on top of this liquid. Though I am sure a little oil was in this mix, I felt it was too little to make it of any consequence, and I removed the catch can. I believe the very canny (bad pun) Mazda engineers included in the engine's vent system an oil separator to capture that evil (in this case) oil and drain it back to the crankcase. We also have a 2018 Charger 6.4L Hemi. It is not direct injected. Nonetheless I have a catch can on that engine, and it does collect a small amount of fluid which contains some oil. I am quite confident, however, that when I put my right foot down the port injectors liberally wash those huge intake valves and, thus, deposits will never be a problem. I always enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work.
Take your upper intake plenum off. The issue is the air coming back in has oil in it.. which then gums to valves, throttle bodies, you have oil sitting in areas of the intake it doesn't really belong in. Is it good yes
I recently installed the $25 can (by Evil Engineering sold on Amazon) on my new ‘22 Hyundai Veloster N. It came with a nice aluminum mounting bracket, two different sizes of screw in hose adapters, and some steel wool padding to use under the little baffle in the lid. This helps catch more oil than just the baffle itself. Also- I found out the dip stick screws into the bottom of its cap, and can vibrate loose in time, allowing the dip stick to fall into the can. I unscrewed the dip stick from its cap, and screwed it back together with a dab of loctite. Great video Jason! Thanx!
I had a $30 install on a sonata turbo and I was amazed how much mixture was in there, easy to drain just unscrew and dump. No filter on it but a scotchbright did an excellent job. Those $200 plus are just names you're paying for.
I didn't know that I needed one of these. Fun fact: I actually really love maintaining equipment. I don't know why. There's just something super satisfying about restoring things to peak condition and keeping them there, especially with more and more things to take care of.
I made an oil catch can for my antique Chevy S10. I purchased a 32 oz Ozark trail thermos from Walmart for 9.99 and I drilled two holes in it, one a couple inches up from the bottom and another a couple inches down from the top. It took a lot of effort, but I made a stainless steel baffle slightly above the lower hole. It was interesting fitting that piece inside and epoxying it in place, but it works quite well. As far as a filter, I purchased a 3-pack of coarse stainless steel scrubbers from the dollar store and put one inside the thermos, just above the baffle. A line from the PCV valve goes to the bottom hole and the return line at the top goes to the throttle body. I'm fortunate that there's plenty of room for this larger than normal catch can. I wanted a large can to make it easier for the moisture and oil to settle out. With the stainless steel scrubber in there, any vapors have to pass through the stainless steel mesh. No need for any other fancy filtering. The engine has 288 thousand miles on it. I was having some severe moisture issues which I thought was a head gasket leak. It turned out to be my thermostat running 15° to cool, a much colder than normal winter weather, and the largest item was the oil filler tube o-ring was not functioning because it had hardened up over time. This allowed cool damp air to go directly from the oil filler tube to the PCV valve. Since it wasn't sucking air through the vent tube on the opposing rocker cover, there wasn't much circulation. The moisture was building up inside the engine and up into the vent tube. Once I sealed up that O-ring on the oil fill tube, my moisture issues went away because my PCV and the vent tube were operating as they were supposed to. Initially I had to catch can on the vent side of the engine were all my moisture issues were showing themselves. After installing the O-ring the catch can have absolutely no residue in.... Nothing. Because of that, I switched it over to the rocker arm with the PCV valve. The catch can is collecting oil only. No water vapor whatsoever. The other thing which surprised me was once I sealed up the O-ring and the PCV system was operating correctly, oil leaks from my engine virtually ceased with the exception of a tiny amount from the rear main. If you have engine oil leaks, be sure to check your PCV system and make sure everything is operating correctly. A minuscule amount of vacuum from the PCV system can keep pressure buildup from forcing oil out of the timing cover and rear main seals. My engine is unbelievably dry now. Over the years I rebuilt two engines, ported a brand new set of heads and installed larger exhaust valves and I've done all of my own automotive work for 50 years. Unbelievable that I just now understand the operation of PCV system. 😞 The journey and the discovery of my problem is all because I googled oil catch cans. I thought they were only for race cars. Nope, they need to be on every car.
I installed a baffled catch can a month ago on my 1998 Ford (Mercury) Cougar 2.5 V6 with 52,000 miles. Engine is in very good order apart from a couple of vacuum leaks which are being rectified. I only do around 3000 miles a year in it, and so far the catch can has stopped around 5ml of carried-over oil passing through the inlet. I have disabled and blanked the EGR valve which prevents soot and carbon from further clogging the intake, especially when it blends with the oil vapour from the crankcase breather. My can is identical to the $100 product on this video.....in the UK I paid around £20 for it and I am very pleased with it.
Ah finally, i've been trying to decide how to route a catch can on my high mileage N/A car. Nobody else mentions the PCV valve but you. Couldn't see the logic in routing it from both rocker covers when that pcv valve is going to intake! Cheers.
I happen to be using the cheapest option shown here, I bought mine prior to finding this video. I have a 2.0 GDI non-turbo motor in my KIA and have been very impressed with how much condensation it catches.
@@davidBarrel I'm in Michigan so it varies much more on the weather. During the winter months I tend to check it at least every other week, during the summer I might only need to empty it twice. Remember, it's collecting condensation.
Great video explaining oil catch cans. My Alfa Spiders came stock with oil catch cans. They use a metal mesh membrane and the swirling motion drops the oil to the bottom of the can. There's a oil return hose at the bottom of the can. What great technology in an car designed in the mid 60's!
That’s an oil separator system not a catch cam system. Is it hooked into the coolant system at all? They usually like to do this so the oil is maintained at the same temp as the running engine so no frothing occurs.
For anyone interested in modifying a car, and considering a catch can, this is an absolutely awesome video. Also, big thanks for featuring the Humble Mechanic, yet another awesome RUclipsr that I can subscribe to for more knowledge! (I'm seriously starting to overload on good information thanks to so many excellent RUclips channels.)
@@CJManning86 its just a filter made of bronze lol the low micron means it only allows small particles like air through so the oil, gas vapers stay in the catch can. it's nice because when they get dirty you can just remove it a wash it off so they basically last the life of the engine
20yrs ago I put a catch can on a brand new 0mi Integra Type-R B18C5. Both the valve cover and PCV were vented to the tank. A nasty mix of oil/fuel/water collected in that can.
I used a catch can in my 2005 350Z. The VQ35DE RevUp was notorious for burning oil. After I swapped the engine for an LS3 back in 2018, using the same catch can, I still haven't seen any oil getting collected. The LS3 has been a superb engine and a great upgrade for the money!
A caution on using oil catch cans in winter: don't. Condensation increases, more water collects in the can and then freezes. This requires close monitoring to drain the can when it's hot, otherwise water will build up to a level where, when frozen, it will interfere with airflow in the PVC line. PVC pressure goes up and bad things happen.
@@TrentusMaximus78 Open cell foam works at catching oil, but how restrictive is it? Reduced flow is not ideal but I really worry it'll help cause the hose to collapse under cruise vacuum, which is a big deal. Even unmodified cans like those in this vid can cause that, but few people bother to check. So I hope you checked yours... As soon as you said "mattress" you made me think of that fine white fiber found in some pillows. Polyester I assume? If that stuff can hold up to hot oil mist, and I imagine it does, it just might be "the" thing to put in there... I've always thought 0000 steel wool would be best, but the slivers of steel it sheds is opposite of best, so I never tried it. I believe a pillow sacrifice is in my near future. If I try it I'll post results. If you (or anyone out there) tries it, please share... Thanks for the idea :)
I have the Mishimoto compact unit; its filtration is excellent and on my turbocharged 1.6 MX-5 it fills up with mostly a watery, fuely substance in about 3000 kilometers. This is mostly beating on the engine very hard, so all in all even its small size isn't really a problem if you're already involved in keeping your modified vehicle in good operation conditions, which would imply you do general checks and minor maintenance around/before that interval anyway.
@@Thunderstormworld Not when the 3000 km is about 85% track mileage and the can only holds about 30mL until it hits the lower baffle plate and needs to be drained for it to continue to work properly. These motors are known to produce quite some vapour under heavy loads by default, so catching those vapours off instead of throwing them directly back into the intake plenum is very beneficial to the engine's lifespan.
@@Thunderstormworld Dangerous advice to give to someone if you don't know what you are talking about. 3000km fillup in a compact unit is very good, there are cars that fillup way earlier with even newer engines.
After I owned my 2015 Fusion with the 1.5 Ecoboost. I put like 10-20,000miles on it by the time I put a catch can on it. I was ignorant to direct injection with a turbo. Then it fell under the coolant guzzling as it was dumping coolant into cylinder 1. I was able to trade out and up to a 2017 Fusion Sport. I got it with 42,000 on the clock, first mod was a catch can. Been on there for 9,000 miles now. I'm trying to preserve this car the best I can and keep miles low. They only made this model for 3 years. And many have been wrecked already.
Good explanation of a real problem. Auto manufacturers don't want engines to last. People who think otherwise have no idea how much acidic water and contaminants are being recycled through their engine.
Oil air separators on the PCV system are actually very helpful especially in positive manifold pressure designs. The intake Scavenging that OEM happened to go after reroute oil Vapor back through the intake. Severy et al military tests showed oil vapors ignite a full 100c colder than gasoline. Oil Vapors back through the engine is technically asking for detonation/preignition if enough of it is there
Yes. In this instance it would allow it to be mixed as a vapor instead of liquid with the air and fuel… and increasing power and efficiency. Computer controlled timing prevents predetonation. If it would occur at all… gasoline engines don't get that hot. Especially if direct injection.
I have the smaller can with the bronze filter on my 4WD 2.5 turbo diesel. It's a Mitsubishi Triton here in Australia. It's plenty big enough as I check it every 6 weeks roughly and it only has about 1-2 teaspoons of oil in it. Got it on ebay for 26 bucks delivered. Exactly the same as the one in this video.
Great video. You forgot one important detail. The PCV system not only releives pressure inside the crankcase from blow by, but it also removes the fuel vapors from the blow by. The PCV system removes air/fuel mist from building up inside the crankcase - which is dangerous. So it's not just oil mist that goes to the intake manifold, it is fuel mist as well.
My Golf 6 GTI also had a device that was supposed to catch the oil and let it drip back into the engine. It didn't keep the valves from building up carbon deposits. At 6:41 the finger points to this device. The round part contains a membrane that does some kind of pumping. I forgot what it exactly does.
Porsche also had them 20 years ago. You didn't want them to fail. Won't be pretty for the intake or the exhaust specifically the cats. They also fail often... with little warning given all Porsche smoke on start up.
@michael nola Yeah but before they lost, they engineered a pretty nifty extermination system. When you analyze death camps from a logistics/engineering perspective as opposed to a hatred one, it was actually very impressive and cold and calculated. What I mean by that is that while Nazis are often depicted as crazed, blood-thirsty killers, the actual implementation of the final solution was akin to getting a complicated project off the ground. Everything was researched, planned, documented, etc... It's even scarier, in a way.
Hi. I have used a catch can identical to the Mishimoto one that hade a price of around £20 with good results on a BMW E60 520D. Unfortunately after roughly 15000 miles the oil separator element stopped filtering and has created high pressure in the engine blowing oil via the turbo seals. Now I’m running a MANN ProVent 200 genuine one and the filtration efficiency has gone up to near 100%. The MANN catch cans come with disposable filter that have to be changed at around 30000 miles but they have also a much needed pressure release valve that will save a lot of hassle and money. They worth every penny!!!
Your comment was the one I was looking for.....I have been reading & researching a lot about crankcase pressures increasing due to Mishimoto catch cans 'brass filter'. In a couple months will be picking up a new '23 Ford Ranger 2.3L Ecoboost and I am looking at a Mountune dual catch cans that uses a 'paper like' filter. Now i am learning that I also need the Mountune Oil Breather Plate. I don't know which is better....the ProVent or Mountune?? But i DO KNOW the Mountune equipment is gonna run about $650 dollars!!! Ouch! Decisions Decisions........
One question I have never seen an answer of elsewhere is - How Long is Too Long, for the In/Out Hoses? My goal is to place the CatchCan down in front of the Radiator, to get Can as Cold as possible for Condensation. To achieve that I would need to run a 3m Cl. ean and a 3m Dirty line hoses (as I want to keep the engine bay 'Neat' & Least Intrusive to the Mechanics when doing Scheduled Servicings. I see the 3+3m of Hose results in quite a High Resistance to overall PCV AirFlow... (as tested by using Lungs to Test Blow the entire hose/can/hose setup)
Oil catch cans definitely do their job well. I purchased one several years ago for my Camaro and it filters out about 1/4 cup of oil per month. Good video.
I put a cheapy ($30) made for a BMW because of the 3/4" port size on the 4.7 in my 04 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Going on 3 years now, living in a northern cold state it really fills up with condensation water in the winter and just a bit of oil in the summer. I can say with it and PCV system I modified to the match the later 4.7's the oil cap is now completely clean and dry on the bottom. Used to get a milky coating in the winter from all the moisture that I now catch with the can.
Little trick. The old Lexus 2.5 V6 engine you will find on the 2IS is known for it's carbon deposit. Catchcans are basically a must have for those cars.
THIS! And make sure that when you're doing the oil change and emptying out the oil catch can that the seals on the oil catch can are still good. Any air leaks will throw P0171 and P0174 codes.
Nice video , you forgot to mention the effect oil vapor has on knock threshold. High performance engines use catch cans ; or just vent it to the atmosphere; to try to keep the oil out of the intake . Oil has a very low octane rating so it wouldn't take a whole lot of oil vapor to lower the octane rating of the fuel you are burning in the combustion chamber and lowering your knock threshold.
I'd like to see a more technical follow up to cover the recent AOS that integrate engine coolant passages as opposed to old school catch cans. Like the AIG AOS for the late model WRX/STi
I have a naturally aspirated 3.0 l6 and installed an occ recently. The engine already has a cyclone oil separator part of the valve cover. The occ catches insignificant amounts of oil during summer days. During cold days the same plus a good amount of water. In the winter there is a risk of water freezing and destroying the can. Also that water may have some cleaning properties but probably not, probably it’s condensation from humid air not water droplets and humid air doesn’t clean anything. There is an yellowish oil-water mixture that covers the walls of the tubes. This mixture gets into the manifold slowly and could affect parts of the manifold. For example mine has flaps to optimize manifold airflow and oil can affect them, but I doubt it can be stopped completely.
Could you do a duplicate video on air/oil separators? Same concept, but no need to drain. Are they as efficient as oil catch cans? Liked how you referenced a study and included a mechanic. Thanks!
The old Ford 2.0L 4cyl engines had one of these and they'd get clogged up over time. Hidden under the intake so unless you knew it was there you'd probably miss it. Blown gaskets, oil pushed into the distributor, oil leaks all over were easily solved by simply cleaning this thing... Didn't work exactly like these as it was on the upstream side of the PCV but it did reduce oil mist in the crankcase ventilation system airflow. I've fixed plenty of these engines with ten minutes of time and ten cents worth of solvent.
you could expand on this topic by talking about PCV vacuum pumps which directly increase HP output , & or the lesser approved of method of running a line from each valve cover into the exhaust header collector at a 45 degree angle and cap off the hole in the intake all together.
@@SeanBZA on a newer car i cant imagine it producing a noticeable amount of smoke but on an older car with loosened up tolerances of the cylinder bore/ring seals probably yes. on this video he drained the container after thousands of miles and had a cup of oil. you have to imagine that same cup of oil being burned over the coarse of hundreds of thousands of combustion cycles in that same time interval.
If running open headers then yes, if mufflers then it may not work at all. The pump would be nice, but also very expensive and I'm guessing most cars don't have the room to install them. The oem pcv works reasonably well and it's already there so pretty much everyone can do it. I'd like to do the pump but I'm just unwilling to spend the money or time
Provent 200 works great, has a drain, flows more than most pcv will ever flow, has replaceable element, drawback is size. I have one on my old Mercedes 300D turbo. The blow by is redirected and instead of a oily mist going into the engine it's nice and clean now. In this case there is a lot of blow by and would drip oil from the connector to the turbo before I installed the provent.
Jason, I think it would be interesting to see the difference between a regular GDI engine, a internal "catch can" system and a dry sump "breather" system. The new generation LT1 Corvette/Camaro have these differences. Even the 2017+ Corvettes use a different PCV routing system than the 2014-2016 ones.
How would it reduce octane; octane is the fuel's resistance to pre-ignition. A lower octane means it's easier to ignite/have a pre-ignition in a higher compression engine. Do turbos increase compression levels?
@@Tadders the crank case vapors venting into the combustion chamber have a lower effective octane rating that the fuel being injected, they’ll detonate before the fuel does.
so i have a 99 cobra with a forged bottom end , and a 2.1 kenne bell supercharger it’s currently at 9 pounds of boost making 475 to the wheels so in the conservative side since it’s pretty much a daily, i don’t race it little to none nor do i floor it a crazy amount just get on it here n there. how big of a deal woukd it be if i NEEDED a catch can or not?
I’m interested in the cleaner intake aspect. I have a hemi ram with the active intake runners. Really don’t want that all gummed up with deposits. Definitely doing a catch can when I upgrade to a 6.4 truck intake.
@@mudgem3742 Not true. Any engine that feeds crank ventilation back into the intake can benefit. Oil mixed into air intake negatively effects engine running and efficiency. All modern engines do this. Direct injection engine have the ADDITIONAL problem of carboned up intake valves and intake track as a result. You can usually find significant oil residue in the intake manifold of any engine that has actually been used.
@@jonathanrees3765 not, its not true, never has been true, and can only be kind of true on modded engines. Neither I or any certified mech will tell you that you need one on a non DI engine.
@@mudgem3742 So why has my catch can on an un-modded engine have a whole lot of oil in it? And this engine does not show oil usage between services, so no worn rings or bores. And the manifold that came off a low mileage car have an oil film through it? Do some actual research. Or actually work on a few engines.
@@jonathanrees3765 I second that, I just strip the admission on my GDI 2.2 non turbo, 80.000 miles... is an oily mess, valves are covered in that black muc. My only concern is wich catch can I wil get as 200 bucks is too much.
Very interesting, I have read for years that the Gen III Chrysler Hemi tends to build up deposits behind the throttle plate and catch cans are recommended. I have not installed one but have used Mobil 1 since I bought it (when it was 2 years old 25,000 miles) and when I checked it recently it was pretty clean. Our other vehicles with port fuel injection haven't had obvious issues with build up on the throttle plate or valves (98 Subaru, ran it to 186,000, 98 Jeep, ran to 181,000, 17 Jeep, now at 78,000, 17 Subaru now at 60,000). However we used to own an '88 Toyota Camry 4 cyl and an '89 Toyota Corolla GTS with the 4AGE engine. Both, would develop deposits on the throttle plate to the point that the gas pedal would get stuck with a cold engine. I had to clean each one yearly. Not sure why this was, but it was consistent problem. These might have benefitted from an oil catch can but they weren't common then. I do miss that little 4AGE engine though, it was a fun car with the 5 speed.
Weird enough i was looking if you did a video about catch cans the laast few days. One of the only sources i trust, great timing! I'm wondering what the effect is with diesel engines like the 1.9 TDi
For a diesel you really want one. But do spend the cash to get a proper one and not a crappy one, getti g a crappy one is worse than not having one at all.
@@illernpiller thank you for your opinion. The catch came to mind after a suspected pcv failure. With normal driving, never smoke. But in traffic jams, i get blue smoke if i climb up in revs after being stationary for a bit. I suspect blow by with oil getting into the intercooler, settling there until enough air flow picks it up to be burned. (No power loss whatsoever) Annoyingly enough, the pcv is integrated in the valve cover of a 1.9 TDI brb. Guess i'm getting a new valve cover and afterwards the catch can. (injector seals got checked already)
@@dimmacommunication I would suggest provent, only downside to it is that you need to change the filter from time to time, but that is in another sense also a good thing. Also deleting the egr as someone said would be bad if you ask me, it's there for a reason and it's not only for less pollution.
The bronze filter got clogged up on my one and the pressure building up in the engine (BMW 325I N53) made the valve cover gasket leaking. I took the bronze filter out and placed stainless steel wool in the catch can. Works now even better.
Just wanted to point out that what you are calling "filters" inside these catch-cans are inbound flowing and function as a condenser to cause the crankcase vapors flowing through them to condense into droplets that then drip into the reservoir.
Regarding to that, it 's also important that the airflow restriction is keeping as small as it could be. Otherwise the crankcasepressure is getting high and causes Oilleaks. So, you have to keep the routing short and the catch can should not contain a Brassfilter in it.
A better solution would be to have some kind of filter or deflector inside the crankcase, before the PCV valve. The collected oil would just drop back into the case. Actually, some kind of retrofit plug would be feasible.
My 2007 Volkswagen comes from the factory with a PCV valve that incorporates an oil separator and a drainback feature. It is a little complicated because the engine is turbocharged. At idle the crankcase gases are routed to the intake manifold by vacuum. At high RPM the intake is under boost pressure, so the crankcase gases are routed to the turbo inlet.
Lots of cars, possibly all of them, have this and it's a fail. Sure they help but it's not cutting it. If you put a filter after it you'll see what I mean.
Jason! I want to learn about the regen braking on your Tesla. Can you do a video showing its effectiveness and how much energy return you can actually expect to get from it?
I have a 2 liter Solstice GXP. Routed the PCV to atmosphere. Problem solved. Lots of discussion over the years about the value of catch cans. Nice to see some engineering testing. What about SeaFoam treatments to remove deposits?
But you introduced another issue of not venting your crank case with vacuum while driving which reduces engine life. Real solution is to pull a vacuum with exhaust but through a catch can to burn as little as possible.
I recently did an LS2 swap on my 04 GTO with cam, heads, stall converter, and built transmission (in short) and bought the Elite Engineering E2 catch can with a clean side separator, and I'm very impressed with it. I changed my oil after breaking the motor in to 1500 miles and was surprised at how much oil was inside the can (roughly 3 to 4 oz) within that mileage. So I'm glad I bought that system instead of having all that oil going through my intake manifold and diluting the fuel..so it's well worth it! It cost me around $330 for everything which was the catch can, hoses, clips, nickel fittings, one way check valve, clean side separator, and extra o-rings..so if anyone is looking for a nice system, Elite Engineering is my recommendation!
@@kapss0832 I got the E2 standard single port, item SKU is STDCatchCan on Elite Engineerings website, you can select your model car for it..as I said I also got the check valve and clean side separator, quality is really nice and got everything quickly. I'm beyond happy with it
ExtinctLS1GTO great I’m sold on it keep going back to it after looking at others. How much power you making to the wheels with all the mods you put on ya goat?
ExtinctLS1GTO nice dude! I just got this g8 gt bone stock had 26,000 miles so far this past weekend threw in kooks LT, soloperformance cyclone catback system 3inch, VCM otr cold air and currently waiting on a tune from livernoise Motorsports.
Interesting video to be sure---thanks for your time creating and sharing this with us. I found this after reading such a device could reduce deposits even on PFI engines like my Ford 5.4 normally aspirated. I would think draining one of these during each oil change would not be a huge issue and would prevent them becoming too full. Thanks again!
2 years later, but it bears mentioning: you'd think people would do regular oil changes. A lot of blissfully ignorant people do not chage their oil. They don't know about it....
So he talks pretty quick and efficiently already... I forgot it was still on 1.25x playback. My eyes were popped out of my face trying to keep my brain up to speed with his words 🤣🤣🤣 great information
You can look at the outlet to see if oil still stick to the walls of the hose. Those with fine filters will probably create resistance and high cranckcase pressure which can blow various gaskets. Also the inner diameter of the hose should be very close or larger than the original I’ m installing a cleaning injector on my gdi, the project is almost ready. Waiting for the pressure sensor, T low pressure line adaptor and some programing of the control box
A lot of people are asking why the manufacturers aren't including these on new cars. They don't want to advertise another maintenance item that people need to do, and don't want the liability. If they are never emptied, that can be worse than just not having one. Let's say your can is completely full, and then you drive on some sort of slope, a huge (yuge!) glob of crud is going to get sucked straight into the valves and pistons, and that's bad. Kudos to every DIY'er who takes care of his/her car. 97% of the people buying cars would say, "Huh?"
Manufactures do use Air oil separators. They are similar but drain into the oil pan. It makes no sense to run a catch can on a street car at this point. Many are also tied into the engine coolant to warm them up when cold and cool them when hot.
That is an assumption. Another possibility is that catch cans are ineffective and do not help much- and that overheating valves are the issue. Or.skmething else entirely. For example the engineers at Toyota have gone to the trouble of fitting port injection to DI engines, why if a self draining catch can would have done?
Maybe manufacturers like to make money repairing gummed up valves and inlet manifolds? By the time you have problems it's out of warranty and they're killing the pig...
i think you everyone forget something about catch can. experience on modified VW golf R mk6. it look to me install a catch can make a restriction on the PCV system. Normaly de blow by have all the intake to circulate and now you restricted the pressur on a small can and small hose and go back somewhere in the intake system. As a result i see engine smoking. And i think have more positve pressure and maybe can dammage the engine. Then when you look in the can its more like oily water. For sure it little bit less crap in the intake but dont solve the problem. At the end of the day you still have to make a valve cleaning. So i prefere no catch can, more safe, anyway i will clean the valve someday. could be interesting to know comments from Jason about restriction.
as a kid I remember the rumour that a collision in a Beatle was fatal at any speed. And how Kombis were a scourge on country roads where at the head of a long string of cars was a struggling Kombi.
pls dont leave out Benz and Bmw: sick quality right from factory day-1. They luxury rides have a button in overhead controle pannel to call Emergency Sces. No worries Chinese cars are on the way.... disposable just like shoes
Interesting! 😃👍 Best option: no GDI! 2nd best option: a big can, easy to drain. 3nd best option: any can is better than no can. I'd be a bit sceptical with the filters, made if tiny bronze/brass spheres. I had such a filter in an additive can for an engine running on LPG. The filter became heavily clogged up by gum/wax after some years. It's difficult to clean when completely clogged up. So I'd suggest you sprayclean this filter every time when disposing the residue in the can. One thing you forgot to mention: some engine oils create fumes/droplets that increase engine knock!!!
2 questions: 1.) If the solstice made it 500k miles without a catch can, is it really necessary? 2.) The test you referenced is a comparison between stock PCV and no PCV, so why are we assuming that plumbing in a catch can is the same as completely deleting the PCV? Seems a bit of a leap.
they just vented their catch can into atmosphere. with a good catch can, I think the difference between venting to atmosphere and venting to intake is gonna be minuscule, if it even turns out to be measurable. and yes, even though you ''can'' make it 15k miles between oil changes for example, it's gonna be way better for the engine if you don't stretch it that long.
@@loomspace I know right. If routing a pcv to intake causing so much problems. Just eliminate it. Or like I posted just tap a breather/check valve into the crank case somewhere and into the atmosphere.
I actually have the $25 catch can. The baffle unscrews from the top and apart. It should come with a 3M 84CC Scotch-Brite pad that you rip off and put inside and reassemble. You do have to change it though. But still worth the $25. Easy install and saves you in the long run.
I recently installed the inexpensive catch can sold by Evil Engineering from Amazon on our 2015 EQUINOX. I modified mine with a drain on the bottom using a metal tire valve. Every few months I do remove it and wash the steel wool filtering media. I couldn't not believe the crud that this unit prevents from re-entering my motor. I have also added a vented oil filler cap to help prevent pressure build up in this motor. Best money I've spent on this car to prevent GM's infamous issues with their 2.4 liter motor.
Really needs to be mentioned that especially the 50 micron bronze mesh catch can will INCREASE you crankcase pressure, it is somewhat better with it removed, but its still a significant increase up to 4 mbar from 1.59. The cheap baffle-only can was only a negligible increase in pressure.
I have a 007 Lexus IS350 V6 that has both Direct injection and port injection. I've recently upgraded the intake tube with a RR-RACING Carbon fiber tube and introduced a K&N crank case breather. My question is:if I install a $200.00 quality catch can with a filter will my breath filter balance out the amount of pressure built up in the crankcase?
This indicates a vacume leak… as when the system is connected correctly the engines would create a negative pressure at all times even with resistance. Clogged pcv could also cause this.
The best design is the $25 one with two Scotch-Brite pads (stainless) inside. They cost $2 and fit perfectly. This setup has caught lots of oil in my '04 Wrangler.
You should do a video on HHO generators and prove that you don't get an increase in fuel economy nor power. Your scientific methods and explanation is second to none!! Another great video, thank you!
@@recoveringnewyorker2243 The solstice/sky interior is garbage, the suspension is ill-suited, the absurd to use top is prone to leaking and other problems + it's $2K to replace. The expensive fiberglass fenders break just due to stress from the brackets holding them on, the electrical system is an accident waiting to happen, the window motors burn out, the rear diffs leak, and 150 dollars in cam position solenoids need to be replaced every 30K miles. The ignition recall and airbag recalls affected them, 500 dollar passenger airbag sensors that go bad every 40K miles only became recallworthy 2 years ago thanks to my forum badgering GM. The engine is beyond tumultuous so they had to put a flywheel the size of a dumptrunk on it that makes it drive like a minivan. The turbos only last 70K at best, the gauge cluster is invisible during the day, and the body control modules almost all had problems. They did NOT build it right. They made a sexy mess with supercar maintenance expenses and chevy cavalier build quality.
Back in the good old days, engines had something called a "road draft tube" which just vented pressure from the crankcase to the atmosphere. No oil in the intake manifold or on the valves, no reservoir full of dirty oil sloshing around, no problem. Goddamn you, EPA.
also y u used to see oily mess down the middle of the lanes and cars and trucks sitting at red lights with vapor/blowby wafting out from underneath aah the good old days ? i'm old enough to remember i see the pros and cons ur talking about still think we can do both cleaner air and cleaner running cars we have the technology (6 mill dollar man ref )
@@tommak6516 It's pretty involved without it working properly the computer will throw a fit, so you have to reprogram it too. . . plenty of googleable info. . .
You didn't mention that some car manufacturers are utilizing a dual injection system that mainly injects fuel directly but also will occasionally inject fuel through a port injection system which helps keep the intake valves clean, virtually solving the problem of contaminate buildup on the intake valves, hence circumventing the need for a catch can. Trouble is trying to figure out if your particular vehicle is utilizing this dual fuel injection design or not. Also worth noting, the cheaper catch cans require that you supply your own hose, and on engines with a high pressure side that has a stronger vacuum applied to it, ordinary rubber hose from the auto supply store may collapse under high vacuum conditions, something to watch out for.
Hey Jason (or anyone who will be able to answer), The question i had that wasn't answered in this video is this - is it crucial to have your catch-can connected to the intake, or can you just filter the air out to the atmosphere? Do i really need the under-pressure that i get in an intake to connect to the valve cover?
Depending on the blow-by level and ring life or application or power levels you could get away with either. But a vacuum assisted catch can is always better.
Up until the '60s-'70s vehicles used to route these exhaust fumes seeping to the crankcase directly into the atmosphere. Of course it is not a great idea due to these being unburnt gasoline vapours and possibly oil mist which are quite harmful. This is the reason why manufacturers had to re-route these through the intake. Anyway, a catch can is a really good way to prevent gunk from forming up and avoid freeing some toxic gases into the air.
I’ve looked at the cheapest option he has here and they do have the ability to filter the part with the baffles unscrews and you are supposed to place steel wool in there to act as a filter
Nice video. One nitpick: the bronze 'filter' is not, as you describe, a filter to keep the junk from going back into the intake/valve cover. It is a place for the vapor/mist to collect and drip to the reservoir as large enough drops that they won't be carried straight through to the intake.
@@robertrose3068Late to the party here. In all honesty, those shown in the video aren’t filters, one is a vent and the other a muffler. Both are commonly used in pneumatic applications. They can be cleaned with carb cleaner or just replaced cheaply enough. Their filtration properties are rather limited.
Seeing that you used to own a Subaru, would you do an oil catch can vs AOS (Like perrin or grimspeed)? Your in depth videos are what brings me back and I'd like to see someone who knows the science to shed light on this topic.
I actually changed mine to the cheaper can. Found those bronze filters over time clog up. So it’s restricting the oil filtering through properly. The cheap one I’ve had no issues with because there’s no filter that can get blocked over time.
You are meant to wash the filters you know, and also you are better of not using a catch can if you don't even have anything that filters the gases that come through it.
@@Robin-hi8oq Definitely worth putting one on, my catch can is collecting a lot of deposits and nasty oil. They’ve been proven they greatly reduce carbon buildup. Best thing I ever did was put one on. Mines now also setup so you won’t need any filtering. All the crap goes directly into the catch can and no where else. I’ve just got to make sure to empty it.
@@LostInDistance It's good that it works well for you but you are still gonna get oil vapor into the engine without a filter but it probably won't matter that much
@@Robin-hi8oq Nope. I won’t be getting a single bit of vapour. Mines setup so there only a single pipe that comes directly from the engine straight to the catch can. There’s no second pipe going directly back to the manifold. It’s all down to the setup. Mine also has the small induction looking filter on top of the can to let out the vapours. You might be mixed up with the filters they put inside the catch cans?
And that is why back in the day, i loved teachers that had real life experience in their respective field, before they entered the classroom. Theory + a solid visual explanation = a good introduction to a particular subject. Sparks questions, drives interest and the wish to somehow make things even better - be that cars, Computers, houses, sewage pipes... you name it. Thank you!
I put the $25 catch can on my Prius. Since it doesn't have a filter, I put in half a stainless scouring pad in the bottom. It doesn't exactly filter but it keeps the oil form splashing up and out into the intake manifold. Especially in the winter time, it catches a lot of oil, water and gunk that would've gone into my cylinders via the intake manifold.
Having not installed one of those cans on my 1990 Hyundai Elantra has caused my headlight fluid levels to fluctuate erratically and my discombobulator to quit working. I sprayed some WD40 on the windshield wipers and it kinda helped for about 2k miles. It also added about 20 more MPG to the car.
I also had a blown head gasket issue. So I flushed the motor oil out with octane booster, replaced it with diesel, then replaced the radiator fluid with synthetic oil and scrubbed the transmission casing clean with a tooth brush. Worked like a charm.
Best solution is adding a methenol tank that goes straight to an atomize injector on the intake manifold (custom throttle body spacer with the injecter fitted into it). Not only does it keep your intake manifold and valves somewhat clean, you get good power out of it. Keep in mind that you're required to tune the fuel ratio if you pick the high performance setup, if you run out of menthanol then you may damage the motor if you run it for too long.
Absolutely a must for BMW e46. If you attach the catch can input to the drain on the dipstick tube it the can can be hidden under the intake tube yet still simple to access for maintenance.
I have been wondering what those actually did for years now. Thank you for letting me know. I'll get one for a newer car that has direct fuel injection.
I think you should have talked about cold weather a bit. I don’t recommend running a catch can in places where there is freezing temps. Run it in the summer and remove it during winter.
I live in NY and it is below freezing for several months. You can run a catch can in cold weather but you really want to check it a lot more often. One thing to note is that it's oil and water mixed together which does have a lower freezing point. I've never opened it up to find frozen liquid in it. On the same token, most of the crap it filters out in the winter is condensation on startup so you have a higher percentage of water. Another solution would be to put a couple tablespoons of antifreeze in the can after you empty it to prevent it from freezing.
Jigga Man What part of NY do you live in? I live in the boroughs (NYC) and while it does get could during winter, I’m not sure if I would label it “freezing”. I imagine Canada and Russia become freezing during winters.
The vacuum on the intake is incredible so it can suck up oil pretty good. I got a 20 dollar one and works great. The hose it came with is fairly soft and collapses when the engine starts. Not sure if it's good or not but I kinda like that it's cutting off some of the vacuum to the engine.
What if you just vent the pcv to atmosphere? Does it need that vacuum to pull the pressure properly? And where would you run the vacuum line on a turbo car?
You could, and a lot of people do, you've probably seen those small filters they put on the valve cover breather. It has some drawbacks though. A turbo car connects the breather pipe to the intake side of the turbo so it sees vacuum and not boost
The pcv is designed to work off of vacuum. You can vent to atmosphere safely, but will be changing how the system is intended to work. Crankcases work better under vacuum. Also you will get oily residue wherever you are venting it. Running it on a turbo engine is no different than on any other engine. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that if your pcv valve fails on a turbo car, you will literally be pressurizing the catch can, which may or may not cause you some issues there lol. You can also run a catch can on other parts of the vacuum system depending on the engine. Anything that connects to the valve covers is a good spot, regardless of a PCV valve being there.
I'm a mechanic by trade with 30 plus years, I've always used and still use oil catch cans on every car and installed a few days after getting the car car. They do help reduce oil deposits form on the valves keeping your car running smoother. Only thing is when cars go in for some sort of warranty I need to take them off. I got my catch cans on Amazon for like $23 each, I drilled and taped in a drain to make thigs simple. If you can't use your OEM hoses, save them in the event it has to go to the dealer for repairs.
As a Mechanic, I want folks to understand that you shouldn't have one with the filtered vent (that I see on nearly all of them). First reason is that vent effectively reduces the 'Positive crankcase Ventilation' to 'Maybe a little crankcase Ventilation'! Secondly, I have seen a couple of check engine lights that 'Read out' as Evaporative emissions system leak small/large'. So, No vent (just plug any vent hole' and Empty it! Check it when you check your oil, like every other fill-up. If you don't fill-up your car, either check it every two weeks or don't buy a catch can. You can put the money towards filling up your car!🤣🤣🤣 Ya'll Take Care and do it right!
A lot of questions asking "why don't catch cans come stock on cars?" Lots of reasons here, but some of the most obvious: 1) It's another maintenance item, and customers have a hard enough time just keeping up with oil changes. Examples like AdBlue and water injection systems, come to mind, engineers try to develop solutions around customer maintenance. 2) If a customer neglects it, the catch can fills, and then you're dumping that oil into your intake; this is worse than doing nothing at all. Then it's a liability issue for the manufacturer. 3) Ideally, a proper engineering solution to prevent carbon buildups wouldn't require any effort on the customer's part. This is where auto companies will put their focus. "How do we prevent carbon deposits." There are companies that do much better than others with DI engines. Catch cans are not the only solution. If you have an engine that suffers from carbon deposit problems, a catch can is likely to improve the system, as demonstrated in the video.
What about dual injection systems like Ford’s twin turbo 2.7 liter Ecoboost that also have port injection along with direct injection? Would a catch can still be useful there?
There's a 4th reason - engines operated in freezing temps could experience freezing of the water vapor trapped by the can, reducing the efficiency or worse, plugging the PCV system and blowing a main seal!
No mention of the more expensive, yet better engineered air/oil separators? They have a coolant line run through them to prevent condensation, and run an oil line back to the sump so you never have to drain them.
@@PyroVulpes I think running that oil back to the sump is not a good idea since that's already contaminated with by-products from gasoline blow-by.
My st205 celica does come with one as stock, question is venting to atmosphere bad for the engine?
Pffft...all filters do is weigh your car down and keep you from buying useful upgrades like wheel spacers and carbon fiber gas caps.
Finally some reason in the comments section!
You forgot the short throw dipstick.
Also the fake vent stickers for your doors!
@@MorbusSchmorbus Yeah, you lose 10HP just by not having those stickers on :D
I've heard underglow neons create downforce because photon pressure removes some of the air under the floor so I'd get that before a catch can.
Are you getting one for your Tesla?
Andrew Zhang he should. Look at all the oil his engine will burn if he doesn’t do it!
I think it might be too late, valves are all gunked up!
Dang! I was about to ask him to do an installation video on the Model 3.
Do 11-17 coyote 5.0 engines need these if they are port injection only?
Jeffrey Smallwood I think it's not that necessary as the carbon deposits and oil gunk is mostly removed when the fuel is sprayed directly into the intake valves. It might help in some way, so I'd let Jason answer this.
I've has the $25 one on my car for about a year and a half and have not been disappointed!
How much oil can an oil catch can catch if an oil catch can can catch oil?
An oil catch can will catch oil in its can, as much as the can can catch. Something, something bronze filter...
How much oil it needs to catch, before USA will invade it?
who else died
one
That’s the truth
They absolutely work. I just fitted one to my high mileage NA car yesterday. The difference is night and day. Oil was pooling in the intake manifold and the engine was pinging slightly at most mild load conditions. The engine was being fed oil mist, effectively lowering the octane of the fuel. The pinging is now gone completely!
where you plugg the INLET and the Outlet???
Your engine needs a overhaul if you have to drain it more than one a year
@@Thunderstormworld Not necessarily an engine problem it also depends on the temperature, if you placed the catch can in a colder side of the engine bay on winter you'll definitely empty it every week due to condensation.
If it was pinging, I'd wonder if the EGR is clogged with gunk up from all the oil burning
@@danr9584 No EGR valve on this engine. Ford 5.4 3V with VCT. The VCT keeps some exhaust gas in the chamber to lower emissions.
Well done, Jason. Several comments if i may. 1. Can a car owner check whether he really needs an oil catch can? I think he can. Simply by disconnecting both vent lines (most engines will have two such lines) where they enter the intake system, one can then use a cotton swab to wipe the insides of each pipe or hose. If the swab comes out wet with oil you will know that oil and other stuff are passing into the engine intake system, and a catch can will be a good idea. If the swabs come out perfectly dry then not much oil is getting back to the intake and no catch can is likely needed. 2. I suspect many car manufacturers are doing a better job today compared to ten years back of reducing oil and other stuff from venting back into the intake systems on their engines. Why? To enable the combustion process to be as efficient as possible and to reduce those wicked intake valve deposits. They are doing this by placing the features found in the better designed oil catch cans into their PCV systems to do the catch can job. My example: We have a Mazda CX-5 Turbo (gas direct injected). Though the PCV hoses were dry by the swab test, I put a catch can on the engine anyway. All it gathered was light amber-colored clear water. No oil floated on top of this liquid. Though I am sure a little oil was in this mix, I felt it was too little to make it of any consequence, and I removed the catch can. I believe the very canny (bad pun) Mazda engineers included in the engine's vent system an oil separator to capture that evil (in this case) oil and drain it back to the crankcase. We also have a 2018 Charger 6.4L Hemi. It is not direct injected. Nonetheless I have a catch can on that engine, and it does collect a small amount of fluid which contains some oil. I am quite confident, however, that when I put my right foot down the port injectors liberally wash those huge intake valves and, thus, deposits will never be a problem. I always enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work.
Excelente!
Take your upper intake plenum off. The issue is the air coming back in has oil in it.. which then gums to valves, throttle bodies, you have oil sitting in areas of the intake it doesn't really belong in. Is it good yes
My srt4 came with a factory catch can. It was the intercooler 😂
Emilthehun same here, especially after I upped the boost. Lol🤷♂️
Same, fiesta st likes to keep oil in the intercooler
Lol!!!
Lmao
Audi’s do it too
I recently installed the $25 can (by Evil Engineering sold on Amazon) on my new ‘22 Hyundai Veloster N. It came with a nice aluminum mounting bracket, two different sizes of screw in hose adapters, and some steel wool padding to use under the little baffle in the lid. This helps catch more oil than just the baffle itself. Also- I found out the dip stick screws into the bottom of its cap, and can vibrate loose in time, allowing the dip stick to fall into the can. I unscrewed the dip stick from its cap, and screwed it back together with a dab of loctite. Great video Jason! Thanx!
Just ordered same can on amazon:)😂. Thanks for heads-up for the dip stick. I will fix it before installing.
How frequently you check or drain it?
@Hotricanswheels10 every oil change for me (5k miles)
I had a $30 install on a sonata turbo and I was amazed how much mixture was in there, easy to drain just unscrew and dump. No filter on it but a scotchbright did an excellent job. Those $200 plus are just names you're paying for.
I didn't know that I needed one of these.
Fun fact: I actually really love maintaining equipment. I don't know why. There's just something super satisfying about restoring things to peak condition and keeping them there, especially with more and more things to take care of.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way.
@@kadenwatt2033 same but I'm lazy to do the work lol
I usually just run things into the ground more fun
I’m the exact same way with my 07 Sentra spec v. Fixed all my oil leaks, now just obsessed with keeping it in optimum condition all the time
Yesssssss when I replace things i get my mental peace
I made an oil catch can for my antique Chevy S10. I purchased a 32 oz Ozark trail thermos from Walmart for 9.99 and I drilled two holes in it, one a couple inches up from the bottom and another a couple inches down from the top. It took a lot of effort, but I made a stainless steel baffle slightly above the lower hole. It was interesting fitting that piece inside and epoxying it in place, but it works quite well.
As far as a filter, I purchased a 3-pack of coarse stainless steel scrubbers from the dollar store and put one inside the thermos, just above the baffle.
A line from the PCV valve goes to the bottom hole and the return line at the top goes to the throttle body.
I'm fortunate that there's plenty of room for this larger than normal catch can. I wanted a large can to make it easier for the moisture and oil to settle out. With the stainless steel scrubber in there, any vapors have to pass through the stainless steel mesh. No need for any other fancy filtering.
The engine has 288 thousand miles on it. I was having some severe moisture issues which I thought was a head gasket leak.
It turned out to be my thermostat running 15° to cool, a much colder than normal winter weather, and the largest item was the oil filler tube o-ring was not functioning because it had hardened up over time. This allowed cool damp air to go directly from the oil filler tube to the PCV valve.
Since it wasn't sucking air through the vent tube on the opposing rocker cover, there wasn't much circulation. The moisture was building up inside the engine and up into the vent tube.
Once I sealed up that O-ring on the oil fill tube, my moisture issues went away because my PCV and the vent tube were operating as they were supposed to.
Initially I had to catch can on the vent side of the engine were all my moisture issues were showing themselves. After installing the O-ring the catch can have absolutely no residue in.... Nothing.
Because of that, I switched it over to the rocker arm with the PCV valve.
The catch can is collecting oil only. No water vapor whatsoever.
The other thing which surprised me was once I sealed up the O-ring and the PCV system was operating correctly, oil leaks from my engine virtually ceased with the exception of a tiny amount from the rear main.
If you have engine oil leaks, be sure to check your PCV system and make sure everything is operating correctly. A minuscule amount of vacuum from the PCV system can keep pressure buildup from forcing oil out of the timing cover and rear main seals. My engine is unbelievably dry now.
Over the years I rebuilt two engines, ported a brand new set of heads and installed larger exhaust valves and I've done all of my own automotive work for 50 years.
Unbelievable that I just now understand the operation of PCV system. 😞
The journey and the discovery of my problem is all because I googled oil catch cans.
I thought they were only for race cars. Nope, they need to be on every car.
Always fun to help out Jason..
You the man Charles!
You are the men!
Do you really love Volkswagen's man?? Why? 😁
-denyRR- because they break down so much and gives him content to upload
Would you and Jason mind doing a video on Air Oil Separators too? Similar in design but less maintenance.
I installed a baffled catch can a month ago on my 1998 Ford (Mercury) Cougar 2.5 V6 with 52,000 miles.
Engine is in very good order apart from a couple of vacuum leaks which are being rectified.
I only do around 3000 miles a year in it, and so far the catch can has stopped around 5ml of carried-over oil passing through the inlet.
I have disabled and blanked the EGR valve which prevents soot and carbon from further clogging the intake, especially when it blends with the oil vapour from the crankcase breather.
My can is identical to the $100 product on this video.....in the UK I paid around £20 for it and I am very pleased with it.
Ah finally, i've been trying to decide how to route a catch can on my high mileage N/A car. Nobody else mentions the PCV valve but you. Couldn't see the logic in routing it from both rocker covers when that pcv valve is going to intake! Cheers.
I happen to be using the cheapest option shown here, I bought mine prior to finding this video. I have a 2.0 GDI non-turbo motor in my KIA and have been very impressed with how much condensation it catches.
Hi, I have a similiar engine , how often do you have to empty the deposit? each 3.000 miles or like...how much? thank you !
@@davidBarrel I'm in Michigan so it varies much more on the weather. During the winter months I tend to check it at least every other week, during the summer I might only need to empty it twice. Remember, it's collecting condensation.
@@jcpahman77 ok, for just being condensation of oil I thought I would have to check it every 5.000 miles or more.
@@davidBarrel GDI motors make a lot of blow by, be prepared to check it regularly
@@jcpahman77 thanks for the advice
Great video explaining oil catch cans. My Alfa Spiders came stock with oil catch cans. They use a metal mesh membrane and the swirling motion drops the oil to the bottom of the can. There's a oil return hose at the bottom of the can. What great technology in an car designed in the mid 60's!
That's better, instead of having to empty it every once in awhile just have it drip back into the engine.
@@matthewluna6443 that defeats the purpose of it...
@@matthewluna6443 Yeah i wouldn't be doing that. You will have fuel mixing in the oil as well.
@@michaelcohen9363not really, since the condensed oil vapor (or oil for short) will enter the crankcase where it belongs
That’s an oil separator system not a catch cam system. Is it hooked into the coolant system at all? They usually like to do this so the oil is maintained at the same temp as the running engine so no frothing occurs.
For anyone interested in modifying a car, and considering a catch can, this is an absolutely awesome video. Also, big thanks for featuring the Humble Mechanic, yet another awesome RUclipsr that I can subscribe to for more knowledge! (I'm seriously starting to overload on good information thanks to so many excellent RUclips channels.)
I wish he'd have gone into further to why the Bronze filter works and how.
@@CJManning86 its just a filter made of bronze lol the low micron means it only allows small particles like air through so the oil, gas vapers stay in the catch can. it's nice because when they get dirty you can just remove it a wash it off so they basically last the life of the engine
"All of my cars are either port injected, or they run on electrons or something" ahahaha
I heard cars from Malaysia runs on Protons!
Lol, I didn't get what he meant by run on electrons at the first time...
Flux Capacitor
@@SegoMan lol not sure about a flux capacitor, flux Solder perhaps
@@SegoMan Obviously needs a Flux catch can on the Tesla
20yrs ago I put a catch can on a brand new 0mi Integra Type-R B18C5. Both the valve cover and PCV were vented to the tank. A nasty mix of oil/fuel/water collected in that can.
I used a catch can in my 2005 350Z. The VQ35DE RevUp was notorious for burning oil. After I swapped the engine for an LS3 back in 2018, using the same catch can, I still haven't seen any oil getting collected. The LS3 has been a superb engine and a great upgrade for the money!
Damn that 350 must be 2 wings away from taking flight 💀
@@MustaliS550 it's fast and a joy to drive on road courses
@@julioperez1850 I bet. A Z with an ls is a goal of mine. Enjoy!
@@julioperez1850awesome engine swap
Finally someone with actual scientific research to back this up, thank you!
A caution on using oil catch cans in winter: don't. Condensation increases, more water collects in the can and then freezes. This requires close monitoring to drain the can when it's hot, otherwise water will build up to a level where, when frozen, it will interfere with airflow in the PVC line. PVC pressure goes up and bad things happen.
This Canadian thanks you :)
This is exactly why I finally decided to not install an OCC. Saw too many horror story on canadian and quebecer's car forum and group.
Very true. One way to solve this is to run a can that had a coolant pass through to heat it up. I think some fancier solutions do this.
Good thing I don't live in a state that doesn't go below 50-45 degrees.
@@auTHORity0492 Sadly that doesn't solve the problem. The can is heated okay, but not the hoses, then clots forms(froze) and blocks them :|
Put one on my 2.7 ecoboost and I have definitely been happy and it's showing was needed. Especially in the winter time catches a lot more.
FYI: Inside the $25 OCC, you can unscrew the "baffle" under the lid so you can install different filters to suit your needs. Foam works well too.
Trent Dafonseca foam?
@@isaacpargas5158 As in mattress foam. Stuff you buy from Clark Rubber. (Australia)
@@TrentusMaximus78 I have added a bit of cooper steel wool and its worth it it works wonders on my LS Engines
@@bloodysweatygears3215 +1 on the steel wool (non ferrous)
@@TrentusMaximus78 Open cell foam works at catching oil, but how restrictive is it? Reduced flow is not ideal but I really worry it'll help cause the hose to collapse under cruise vacuum, which is a big deal. Even unmodified cans like those in this vid can cause that, but few people bother to check. So I hope you checked yours...
As soon as you said "mattress" you made me think of that fine white fiber found in some pillows. Polyester I assume? If that stuff can hold up to hot oil mist, and I imagine it does, it just might be "the" thing to put in there... I've always thought 0000 steel wool would be best, but the slivers of steel it sheds is opposite of best, so I never tried it. I believe a pillow sacrifice is in my near future. If I try it I'll post results. If you (or anyone out there) tries it, please share... Thanks for the idea :)
I have the Mishimoto compact unit; its filtration is excellent and on my turbocharged 1.6 MX-5 it fills up with mostly a watery, fuely substance in about 3000 kilometers. This is mostly beating on the engine very hard, so all in all even its small size isn't really a problem if you're already involved in keeping your modified vehicle in good operation conditions, which would imply you do general checks and minor maintenance around/before that interval anyway.
Your engine needs a overhaul if it fills up in that distance
@@Thunderstormworld Not when the 3000 km is about 85% track mileage and the can only holds about 30mL until it hits the lower baffle plate and needs to be drained for it to continue to work properly.
These motors are known to produce quite some vapour under heavy loads by default, so catching those vapours off instead of throwing them directly back into the intake plenum is very beneficial to the engine's lifespan.
@@Thunderstormworld Dangerous advice to give to someone if you don't know what you are talking about. 3000km fillup in a compact unit is very good, there are cars that fillup way earlier with even newer engines.
After I owned my 2015 Fusion with the 1.5 Ecoboost. I put like 10-20,000miles on it by the time I put a catch can on it. I was ignorant to direct injection with a turbo. Then it fell under the coolant guzzling as it was dumping coolant into cylinder 1. I was able to trade out and up to a 2017 Fusion Sport. I got it with 42,000 on the clock, first mod was a catch can. Been on there for 9,000 miles now. I'm trying to preserve this car the best I can and keep miles low. They only made this model for 3 years. And many have been wrecked already.
I wish you have an updated 1.5 ecoboost engine on your 2017 fusion
Good explanation of a real problem. Auto manufacturers don't want engines to last. People who think otherwise have no idea how much acidic water and contaminants are being recycled through their engine.
You should do one on air oil separators and then go into advantages and disadvantages between a catch can and an aos
IDK what the difference is, so idk like to know.
Also air/water separators came up under my catch can search and nearly all were at least $150+
Oil air separators on the PCV system are actually very helpful especially in positive manifold pressure designs. The intake Scavenging that OEM happened to go after reroute oil Vapor back through the intake. Severy et al military tests showed oil vapors ignite a full 100c colder than gasoline.
Oil Vapors back through the engine is technically asking for detonation/preignition if enough of it is there
So, is catch can useful?
Yes. In this instance it would allow it to be mixed as a vapor instead of liquid with the air and fuel… and increasing power and efficiency.
Computer controlled timing prevents predetonation. If it would occur at all… gasoline engines don't get that hot. Especially if direct injection.
I have the smaller can with the bronze filter on my 4WD 2.5 turbo diesel. It's a Mitsubishi Triton here in Australia. It's plenty big enough as I check it every 6 weeks roughly and it only has about 1-2 teaspoons of oil in it. Got it on ebay for 26 bucks delivered. Exactly the same as the one in this video.
do you pour that oil back into the crankcase?
Just discovered this Oil Catch Can and I'm considering for my 1.0 TSI Volkswagen here in Brazil 🇧🇷
Thank you brother ♡
Great video. You forgot one important detail. The PCV system not only releives pressure inside the crankcase from blow by, but it also removes the fuel vapors from the blow by. The PCV system removes air/fuel mist from building up inside the crankcase - which is dangerous. So it's not just oil mist that goes to the intake manifold, it is fuel mist as well.
Glad that my BMW V8 already had an oil/air separator 20 years ago... But it's also BMW, so in order to change it I need to remove the timing chain😆
My Golf 6 GTI also had a device that was supposed to catch the oil and let it drip back into the engine. It didn't keep the valves from building up carbon deposits.
At 6:41 the finger points to this device. The round part contains a membrane that does some kind of pumping. I forgot what it exactly does.
Porsche also had them 20 years ago. You didn't want them to fail. Won't be pretty for the intake or the exhaust specifically the cats. They also fail often... with little warning given all Porsche smoke on start up.
@michael nola don't forget they fought all of the world
@michael nola Yeah but before they lost, they engineered a pretty nifty extermination system. When you analyze death camps from a logistics/engineering perspective as opposed to a hatred one, it was actually very impressive and cold and calculated. What I mean by that is that while Nazis are often depicted as crazed, blood-thirsty killers, the actual implementation of the final solution was akin to getting a complicated project off the ground. Everything was researched, planned, documented, etc... It's even scarier, in a way.
@@hugolafhugolaf look into the wansee conference.
Hi. I have used a catch can identical to the Mishimoto one that hade a price of around £20 with good results on a BMW E60 520D. Unfortunately after roughly 15000 miles the oil separator element stopped filtering and has created high pressure in the engine blowing oil via the turbo seals. Now I’m running a MANN ProVent 200 genuine one and the filtration efficiency has gone up to near 100%. The MANN catch cans come with disposable filter that have to be changed at around 30000 miles but they have also a much needed pressure release valve that will save a lot of hassle and money. They worth every penny!!!
Your comment was the one I was looking for.....I have been reading & researching a lot about crankcase pressures increasing due to Mishimoto catch cans 'brass filter'. In a couple months will be picking up a new '23 Ford Ranger 2.3L Ecoboost and I am looking at a Mountune dual catch cans that uses a 'paper like' filter. Now i am learning that I also need the Mountune Oil Breather Plate.
I don't know which is better....the ProVent or Mountune?? But i DO KNOW the Mountune equipment is gonna run about $650 dollars!!! Ouch! Decisions Decisions........
How much was the MANN filter?
One question I have never seen an answer of elsewhere is - How Long is Too Long, for the In/Out Hoses? My goal is to place the CatchCan down in front of the Radiator, to get Can as Cold as possible for Condensation. To achieve that I would need to run a 3m Cl. ean and a 3m Dirty line hoses (as I want to keep the engine bay 'Neat' & Least Intrusive to the Mechanics when doing Scheduled Servicings. I see the 3+3m of Hose results in quite a High Resistance to overall PCV AirFlow... (as tested by using Lungs to Test Blow the entire hose/can/hose setup)
Oil catch cans definitely do their job well. I purchased one several years ago for my Camaro and it filters out about 1/4 cup of oil per month. Good video.
I just purchase a 2024 Camaro with the 6.2. At which interval do you check your can ? ty
Thank you I finally have learned what the catch can actually does and how effective it can be.
I put a cheapy ($30) made for a BMW because of the 3/4" port size on the 4.7 in my 04 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Going on 3 years now, living in a northern cold state it really fills up with condensation water in the winter and just a bit of oil in the summer. I can say with it and PCV system I modified to the match the later 4.7's the oil cap is now completely clean and dry on the bottom. Used to get a milky coating in the winter from all the moisture that I now catch with the can.
Little trick. The old Lexus 2.5 V6 engine you will find on the 2IS is known for it's carbon deposit. Catchcans are basically a must have for those cars.
Should you have 2 catch cans for a V engine or is one large good one sufficient?
And would a 2 port or 3 port can be favoured?
You mean inline 6 or I6.
THIS! And make sure that when you're doing the oil change and emptying out the oil catch can that the seals on the oil catch can are still good. Any air leaks will throw P0171 and P0174 codes.
Panamera Ghost is250 is a V6 with direct injection. I think the is200 is a ported injection that wouldn’t really need the can :)
Definitely. Too bad we didn’t just get an IS350!
These are some of the best car vids on RUclips. Thank You!
Jason thanks for the awesome channel. Being an electrical & robotics engineer myself I appreciate your level of detail and data behind your content!
Nice video , you forgot to mention the effect oil vapor has on knock threshold. High performance engines use catch cans ; or just vent it to the atmosphere; to try to keep the oil out of the intake . Oil has a very low octane rating so it wouldn't take a whole lot of oil vapor to lower the octane rating of the fuel you are burning in the combustion chamber and lowering your knock threshold.
Good point, thanks!
yes, vent to atmosphere which is highly illegal on the road's.
I'd like to see a more technical follow up to cover the recent AOS that integrate engine coolant passages as opposed to old school catch cans. Like the AIG AOS for the late model WRX/STi
I have a naturally aspirated 3.0 l6 and installed an occ recently. The engine already has a cyclone oil separator part of the valve cover. The occ catches insignificant amounts of oil during summer days. During cold days the same plus a good amount of water. In the winter there is a risk of water freezing and destroying the can. Also that water may have some cleaning properties but probably not, probably it’s condensation from humid air not water droplets and humid air doesn’t clean anything.
There is an yellowish oil-water mixture that covers the walls of the tubes. This mixture gets into the manifold slowly and could affect parts of the manifold. For example mine has flaps to optimize manifold airflow and oil can affect them, but I doubt it can be stopped completely.
Could you do a duplicate video on air/oil separators? Same concept, but no need to drain. Are they as efficient as oil catch cans? Liked how you referenced a study and included a mechanic. Thanks!
The old Ford 2.0L 4cyl engines had one of these and they'd get clogged up over time. Hidden under the intake so unless you knew it was there you'd probably miss it. Blown gaskets, oil pushed into the distributor, oil leaks all over were easily solved by simply cleaning this thing... Didn't work exactly like these as it was on the upstream side of the PCV but it did reduce oil mist in the crankcase ventilation system airflow. I've fixed plenty of these engines with ten minutes of time and ten cents worth of solvent.
you could expand on this topic by talking about PCV vacuum pumps which directly increase HP output , & or the lesser approved of method of running a line from each valve cover into the exhaust header collector at a 45 degree angle and cap off the hole in the intake all together.
Otherwise known as the built in smoke screen maker.
@@SeanBZA on a newer car i cant imagine it producing a noticeable amount of smoke but on an older car with loosened up tolerances of the cylinder bore/ring seals probably yes. on this video he drained the container after thousands of miles and had a cup of oil. you have to imagine that same cup of oil being burned over the coarse of hundreds of thousands of combustion cycles in that same time interval.
If running open headers then yes, if mufflers then it may not work at all. The pump would be nice, but also very expensive and I'm guessing most cars don't have the room to install them. The oem pcv works reasonably well and it's already there so pretty much everyone can do it. I'd like to do the pump but I'm just unwilling to spend the money or time
Provent 200 works great, has a drain, flows more than most pcv will ever flow, has replaceable element, drawback is size. I have one on my old Mercedes 300D turbo. The blow by is redirected and instead of a oily mist going into the engine it's nice and clean now. In this case there is a lot of blow by and would drip oil from the connector to the turbo before I installed the provent.
Jason, I think it would be interesting to see the difference between a regular GDI engine, a internal "catch can" system and a dry sump "breather" system. The new generation LT1 Corvette/Camaro have these differences. Even the 2017+ Corvettes use a different PCV routing system than the 2014-2016 ones.
Used one on my semi, got 1.5M miles before in frame. Also using oil tests was able to extend oil drains by about 50%.
Something people forget with oil blowby is it can massively reduce octane, so those of you pushing it with timing or boost should consider it a must.
Good point
How would it reduce octane; octane is the fuel's resistance to pre-ignition. A lower octane means it's easier to ignite/have a pre-ignition in a higher compression engine. Do turbos increase compression levels?
@@Tadders the crank case vapors venting into the combustion chamber have a lower effective octane rating that the fuel being injected, they’ll detonate before the fuel does.
@@pballer2005 ohh I suppose it's because it's vapor, makes sense. Thank you.
so i have a 99 cobra with a forged bottom end , and a 2.1 kenne bell supercharger it’s currently at 9 pounds of boost making 475 to the wheels so in the conservative side since it’s pretty much a daily, i don’t race it little to none nor do i floor it a crazy amount just get on it here n there. how big of a deal woukd it be if i NEEDED a catch can or not?
I’m interested in the cleaner intake aspect. I have a hemi ram with the active intake runners. Really don’t want that all gummed up with deposits. Definitely doing a catch can when I upgrade to a 6.4 truck intake.
Unless you are running direct injection, you don't need one. That's the point of the video.
@@mudgem3742 Not true. Any engine that feeds crank ventilation back into the intake can benefit. Oil mixed into air intake negatively effects engine running and efficiency. All modern engines do this. Direct injection engine have the ADDITIONAL problem of carboned up intake valves and intake track as a result. You can usually find significant oil residue in the intake manifold of any engine that has actually been used.
@@jonathanrees3765 not, its not true, never has been true, and can only be kind of true on modded engines. Neither I or any certified mech will tell you that you need one on a non DI engine.
@@mudgem3742 So why has my catch can on an un-modded engine have a whole lot of oil in it? And this engine does not show oil usage between services, so no worn rings or bores. And the manifold that came off a low mileage car have an oil film through it? Do some actual research. Or actually work on a few engines.
@@jonathanrees3765 I second that, I just strip the admission on my GDI 2.2 non turbo, 80.000 miles... is an oily mess, valves are covered in that black muc. My only concern is wich catch can I wil get as 200 bucks is too much.
Very interesting, I have read for years that the Gen III Chrysler Hemi tends to build up deposits behind the throttle plate and catch cans are recommended. I have not installed one but have used Mobil 1 since I bought it (when it was 2 years old 25,000 miles) and when I checked it recently it was pretty clean. Our other vehicles with port fuel injection haven't had obvious issues with build up on the throttle plate or valves (98 Subaru, ran it to 186,000, 98 Jeep, ran to 181,000, 17 Jeep, now at 78,000, 17 Subaru now at 60,000). However we used to own an '88 Toyota Camry 4 cyl and an '89 Toyota Corolla GTS with the 4AGE engine. Both, would develop deposits on the throttle plate to the point that the gas pedal would get stuck with a cold engine. I had to clean each one yearly. Not sure why this was, but it was consistent problem. These might have benefitted from an oil catch can but they weren't common then. I do miss that little 4AGE engine though, it was a fun car with the 5 speed.
I just bought a 89 gts lmao, def gonna get a catch can for it, esp as its at 274k miles
Weird enough i was looking if you did a video about catch cans the laast few days.
One of the only sources i trust, great timing!
I'm wondering what the effect is with diesel engines like the 1.9 TDi
For a diesel you really want one. But do spend the cash to get a proper one and not a crappy one, getti g a crappy one is worse than not having one at all.
@@illernpiller thank you for your opinion. The catch came to mind after a suspected pcv failure. With normal driving, never smoke. But in traffic jams, i get blue smoke if i climb up in revs after being stationary for a bit.
I suspect blow by with oil getting into the intercooler, settling there until enough air flow picks it up to be burned. (No power loss whatsoever)
Annoyingly enough, the pcv is integrated in the valve cover of a 1.9 TDI brb. Guess i'm getting a new valve cover and afterwards the catch can.
(injector seals got checked already)
EGR delete is the best thing you can do to Diesels if it's legal where you live.
@@illernpiller Wich brands do you reccommend?
How can you see if one is goos or crappy?
@@dimmacommunication I would suggest provent, only downside to it is that you need to change the filter from time to time, but that is in another sense also a good thing.
Also deleting the egr as someone said would be bad if you ask me, it's there for a reason and it's not only for less pollution.
The bronze filter got clogged up on my one and the pressure building up in the engine (BMW 325I N53) made the valve cover gasket leaking. I took the bronze filter out and placed stainless steel wool in the catch can. Works now even better.
Just wanted to point out that what you are calling "filters" inside these catch-cans are inbound flowing and function as a condenser to cause the crankcase vapors flowing through them to condense into droplets that then drip into the reservoir.
Regarding to that, it 's also important that the airflow restriction is keeping as small as it could be.
Otherwise the crankcasepressure is getting high and causes Oilleaks.
So, you have to keep the routing short and the catch can should not contain a Brassfilter in it.
A better solution would be to have some kind of filter or deflector inside the crankcase, before the PCV valve. The collected oil would just drop back into the case. Actually, some kind of retrofit plug would be feasible.
My 2007 Volkswagen comes from the factory with a PCV valve that incorporates an oil separator and a drainback feature. It is a little complicated because the engine is turbocharged. At idle the crankcase gases are routed to the intake manifold by vacuum. At high RPM the intake is under boost pressure, so the crankcase gases are routed to the turbo inlet.
This is generally a better idea than an oil catch can. I wish there would be options for this.
Lots of cars, possibly all of them, have this and it's a fail. Sure they help but it's not cutting it. If you put a filter after it you'll see what I mean.
I bought the $25 one and added a sintered bronze filter and a drain plug and hose. Works fantastic.
Jason! I want to learn about the regen braking on your Tesla. Can you do a video showing its effectiveness and how much energy return you can actually expect to get from it?
I have a 2 liter Solstice GXP. Routed the PCV to atmosphere. Problem solved. Lots of discussion over the years about the value of catch cans. Nice to see some engineering testing. What about SeaFoam treatments to remove deposits?
But you introduced another issue of not venting your crank case with vacuum while driving which reduces engine life. Real solution is to pull a vacuum with exhaust but through a catch can to burn as little as possible.
I recently did an LS2 swap on my 04 GTO with cam, heads, stall converter, and built transmission (in short) and bought the Elite Engineering E2 catch can with a clean side separator, and I'm very impressed with it. I changed my oil after breaking the motor in to 1500 miles and was surprised at how much oil was inside the can (roughly 3 to 4 oz) within that mileage. So I'm glad I bought that system instead of having all that oil going through my intake manifold and diluting the fuel..so it's well worth it! It cost me around $330 for everything which was the catch can, hoses, clips, nickel fittings, one way check valve, clean side separator, and extra o-rings..so if anyone is looking for a nice system, Elite Engineering is my recommendation!
ExtinctLS1GTO you get single or dual port? Got a g8 gt and that’s my current mod that I on the market for.
@@kapss0832 I got the E2 standard single port, item SKU is STDCatchCan on Elite Engineerings website, you can select your model car for it..as I said I also got the check valve and clean side separator, quality is really nice and got everything quickly. I'm beyond happy with it
ExtinctLS1GTO great I’m sold on it keep going back to it after looking at others. How much power you making to the wheels with all the mods you put on ya goat?
@@kapss0832 the LS2 made 421 on a dyno jet tuned by Justune..so it make a good amount more compared to the worn out stock LS1 at 278
ExtinctLS1GTO nice dude! I just got this g8 gt bone stock had 26,000 miles so far this past weekend threw in kooks LT, soloperformance cyclone catback system 3inch, VCM otr cold air and currently waiting on a tune from livernoise Motorsports.
Interesting video to be sure---thanks for your time creating and sharing this with us. I found this after reading such a device could reduce deposits even on PFI engines like my Ford 5.4 normally aspirated. I would think draining one of these during each oil change would not be a huge issue and would prevent them becoming too full.
Thanks again!
2 years later, but it bears mentioning: you'd think people would do regular oil changes. A lot of blissfully ignorant people do not chage their oil. They don't know about it....
So he talks pretty quick and efficiently already... I forgot it was still on 1.25x playback. My eyes were popped out of my face trying to keep my brain up to speed with his words 🤣🤣🤣 great information
You can look at the outlet to see if oil still stick to the walls of the hose.
Those with fine filters will probably create resistance and high cranckcase pressure which can blow various gaskets. Also the inner diameter of the hose should be very close or larger than the original
I’ m installing a cleaning injector on my gdi, the project is almost ready. Waiting for the pressure sensor, T low pressure line adaptor and some programing of the control box
A lot of people are asking why the manufacturers aren't including these on new cars. They don't want to advertise another maintenance item that people need to do, and don't want the liability. If they are never emptied, that can be worse than just not having one. Let's say your can is completely full, and then you drive on some sort of slope, a huge (yuge!) glob of crud is going to get sucked straight into the valves and pistons, and that's bad. Kudos to every DIY'er who takes care of his/her car. 97% of the people buying cars would say, "Huh?"
Manufactures do use Air oil separators. They are similar but drain into the oil pan. It makes no sense to run a catch can on a street car at this point. Many are also tied into the engine coolant to warm them up when cold and cool them when hot.
Good point. At one point they did though. Nissan had one on the S13 SR20DET.
That is an assumption. Another possibility is that catch cans are ineffective and do not help much- and that overheating valves are the issue. Or.skmething else entirely. For example the engineers at Toyota have gone to the trouble of fitting port injection to DI engines, why if a self draining catch can would have done?
Maybe manufacturers like to make money repairing gummed up valves and inlet manifolds?
By the time you have problems it's out of warranty and they're killing the pig...
until you get a massive lawsuit on your hands.
Who knew that I'd get to see ZZ Top in your video.
Is that from Brazzers?
I nearly choked on my phlegm! Haha
i think you everyone forget something about catch can. experience on modified VW golf R mk6. it look to me install a catch can make a restriction on the PCV system. Normaly de blow by have all the intake to circulate and now you restricted the pressur on a small can and small hose and go back somewhere in the intake system. As a result i see engine smoking. And i think have more positve pressure and maybe can dammage the engine. Then when you look in the can its more like oily water. For sure it little bit less crap in the intake but dont solve the problem. At the end of the day you still have to make a valve cleaning. So i prefere no catch can, more safe, anyway i will clean the valve someday. could be interesting to know comments from Jason about restriction.
isn't any VW enthusiast a mechanic by default. how else would they get from A to B without a tow truck.
LOL, sadly no. Seen a lot of really awful repairs on VWs over the years.
as a kid I remember the rumour that a collision in a Beatle was fatal at any speed.
And how Kombis were a scourge on country roads where at the head of a long string of cars was a struggling Kombi.
😂
pls dont leave out Benz and Bmw: sick quality right from factory day-1. They luxury rides have a button in overhead controle pannel to call Emergency Sces.
No worries Chinese cars are on the way.... disposable just like shoes
Please, VW's rule! My 2008 Jetta is pushing 235,000 and still runs like a top!
I was planning to get a catch can, after finding pools of oil in my manifold, now i will be getting one... 👍
I bet you don’t have a video of you checking your oil.
i have used the cheep one for 2 years now best 25 bucks ever
Your manifold might be getting this oil from your intercooler too?
@@banglaforceuk na no intercooler, its a V8, it pools under the runner tubes
F165 funny story... no
Interesting! 😃👍
Best option: no GDI!
2nd best option: a big can, easy to drain.
3nd best option: any can is better than no can.
I'd be a bit sceptical with the filters, made if tiny bronze/brass spheres. I had such a filter in an additive can for an engine running on LPG.
The filter became heavily clogged up by gum/wax after some years. It's difficult to clean when completely clogged up.
So I'd suggest you sprayclean this filter every time when disposing the residue in the can.
One thing you forgot to mention: some engine oils create fumes/droplets that increase engine knock!!!
2 questions: 1.) If the solstice made it 500k miles without a catch can, is it really necessary? 2.) The test you referenced is a comparison between stock PCV and no PCV, so why are we assuming that plumbing in a catch can is the same as completely deleting the PCV? Seems a bit of a leap.
1.) That wasn't the purpose. The use of the high mileage car was to pick a worst-case blow-by example.
2.) Yes. You did make a bit of a leap there.
they just vented their catch can into atmosphere. with a good catch can, I think the difference between venting to atmosphere and venting to intake is gonna be minuscule, if it even turns out to be measurable.
and yes, even though you ''can'' make it 15k miles between oil changes for example, it's gonna be way better for the engine if you don't stretch it that long.
Any car will make it past 500,000 with enough repairs
The logic leap on no PCV catch can is difficult to understand.
@@loomspace I know right. If routing a pcv to intake causing so much problems. Just eliminate it. Or like I posted just tap a breather/check valve into the crank case somewhere and into the atmosphere.
I actually have the $25 catch can. The baffle unscrews from the top and apart. It should come with a 3M 84CC Scotch-Brite pad that you rip off and put inside and reassemble. You do have to change it though. But still worth the $25. Easy install and saves you in the long run.
I recently installed the inexpensive catch can sold by Evil Engineering from Amazon on our 2015 EQUINOX. I modified mine with a drain on the bottom using a metal tire valve. Every few months I do remove it and wash the steel wool filtering media. I couldn't not believe the crud that this unit prevents from re-entering my motor. I have also added a vented oil filler cap to help prevent pressure build up in this motor. Best money I've spent on this car to prevent GM's infamous issues with their 2.4 liter motor.
Please explain what a vented oil filler cap does (obviously relieves pressure, but what does relieving pressure do), what are the 2.4 engine issues?
Really needs to be mentioned that especially the 50 micron bronze mesh catch can will INCREASE you crankcase pressure, it is somewhat better with it removed, but its still a significant increase up to 4 mbar from 1.59. The cheap baffle-only can was only a negligible increase in pressure.
I have a 007 Lexus IS350 V6 that has both Direct injection and port injection. I've recently upgraded the intake tube with a RR-RACING Carbon fiber tube and introduced a K&N crank case breather. My question is:if I install a $200.00 quality catch can with a filter will my breath filter balance out the amount of pressure built up in the crankcase?
The consequence of increased crankcase pressure is oil leaks past seals especially the crankcase end bearings.
This indicates a vacume leak… as when the system is connected correctly the engines would create a negative pressure at all times even with resistance.
Clogged pcv could also cause this.
The best design is the $25 one with two Scotch-Brite pads (stainless) inside. They cost $2 and fit perfectly. This setup has caught lots of oil in my '04 Wrangler.
Roughly how fast did it fill up? I do like the dipstick that comes with it.
You should do a video on HHO generators and prove that you don't get an increase in fuel economy nor power. Your scientific methods and explanation is second to none!!
Another great video, thank you!
A tuned Pontiac Solcetice with 800K KM?’!
Stop lool! That’s impressive.
Sasha Klim Must’ve Been the one GM screwed up and build right.
@@recoveringnewyorker2243 The solstice/sky interior is garbage, the suspension is ill-suited, the absurd to use top is prone to leaking and other problems + it's $2K to replace. The expensive fiberglass fenders break just due to stress from the brackets holding them on, the electrical system is an accident waiting to happen, the window motors burn out, the rear diffs leak, and 150 dollars in cam position solenoids need to be replaced every 30K miles. The ignition recall and airbag recalls affected them, 500 dollar passenger airbag sensors that go bad every 40K miles only became recallworthy 2 years ago thanks to my forum badgering GM. The engine is beyond tumultuous so they had to put a flywheel the size of a dumptrunk on it that makes it drive like a minivan. The turbos only last 70K at best, the gauge cluster is invisible during the day, and the body control modules almost all had problems. They did NOT build it right. They made a sexy mess with supercar maintenance expenses and chevy cavalier build quality.
That they then drove 16k more KM wow
E So? What else is new?
@@e2622 Well, it's not even sexy... Fugly and also a piece of crap as well xD
Back in the good old days, engines had something called a "road draft tube" which just vented pressure from the crankcase to the atmosphere. No oil in the intake manifold or on the valves, no reservoir full of dirty oil sloshing around, no problem. Goddamn you, EPA.
You can still do that today, just do it back up before inspection or emissions test day.
also y u used to see oily mess down the middle of the lanes and cars and trucks sitting at red lights with vapor/blowby wafting out from underneath aah the good old days ? i'm old enough to remember i see the pros and cons ur talking about still think we can do both cleaner air and cleaner running cars we have the technology (6 mill dollar man ref )
My first car, 56 Chevy with a 235 Stovebolt, had one.
@@snap-off5383 so do you plug the side going to the intake?
@@tommak6516 It's pretty involved without it working properly the computer will throw a fit, so you have to reprogram it too. . . plenty of googleable info. . .
You didn't mention that some car manufacturers are utilizing a dual injection system that mainly injects fuel directly but also will occasionally inject fuel through a port injection system which helps keep the intake valves clean, virtually solving the problem of contaminate buildup on the intake valves, hence circumventing the need for a catch can. Trouble is trying to figure out if your particular vehicle is utilizing this dual fuel injection design or not. Also worth noting, the cheaper catch cans require that you supply your own hose, and on engines with a high pressure side that has a stronger vacuum applied to it, ordinary rubber hose from the auto supply store may collapse under high vacuum conditions, something to watch out for.
Hey Jason (or anyone who will be able to answer),
The question i had that wasn't answered in this video is this - is it crucial to have your catch-can connected to the intake, or can you just filter the air out to the atmosphere? Do i really need the under-pressure that i get in an intake to connect to the valve cover?
Depending on the blow-by level and ring life or application or power levels you could get away with either. But a vacuum assisted catch can is always better.
Great question!
Up until the '60s-'70s vehicles used to route these exhaust fumes seeping to the crankcase directly into the atmosphere. Of course it is not a great idea due to these being unburnt gasoline vapours and possibly oil mist which are quite harmful. This is the reason why manufacturers had to re-route these through the intake.
Anyway, a catch can is a really good way to prevent gunk from forming up and avoid freeing some toxic gases into the air.
Great question! Along this same line, is there more blow-by in turbo or super-charged engines?
Alex Mobley yes
I’ve looked at the cheapest option he has here and they do have the ability to filter the part with the baffles unscrews and you are supposed to place steel wool in there to act as a filter
Nice video. One nitpick: the bronze 'filter' is not, as you describe, a filter to keep the junk from going back into the intake/valve cover. It is a place for the vapor/mist to collect and drip to the reservoir as large enough drops that they won't be carried straight through to the intake.
Is the filter cleanable?
@@robertrose3068Late to the party here. In all honesty, those shown in the video aren’t filters, one is a vent and the other a muffler. Both are commonly used in pneumatic applications. They can be cleaned with carb cleaner or just replaced cheaply enough. Their filtration properties are rather limited.
Seeing that you used to own a Subaru, would you do an oil catch can vs AOS (Like perrin or grimspeed)? Your in depth videos are what brings me back and I'd like to see someone who knows the science to shed light on this topic.
I'm running an IAG aos... Personally wouldn't like having to worry about constantly dumping a can when an aos is a proven option for our platform.
I actually changed mine to the cheaper can. Found those bronze filters over time clog up. So it’s restricting the oil filtering through properly. The cheap one I’ve had no issues with because there’s no filter that can get blocked over time.
About changing the brass filter? Are they not available? Filter is a good idea, not?
You are meant to wash the filters you know, and also you are better of not using a catch can if you don't even have anything that filters the gases that come through it.
@@Robin-hi8oq Definitely worth putting one on, my catch can is collecting a lot of deposits and nasty oil. They’ve been proven they greatly reduce carbon buildup. Best thing I ever did was put one on. Mines now also setup so you won’t need any filtering. All the crap goes directly into the catch can and no where else. I’ve just got to make sure to empty it.
@@LostInDistance It's good that it works well for you but you are still gonna get oil vapor into the engine without a filter but it probably won't matter that much
@@Robin-hi8oq Nope. I won’t be getting a single bit of vapour. Mines setup so there only a single pipe that comes directly from the engine straight to the catch can. There’s no second pipe going directly back to the manifold. It’s all down to the setup.
Mine also has the small induction looking filter on top of the can to let out the vapours. You might be mixed up with the filters they put inside the catch cans?
And that is why back in the day, i loved teachers that had real life experience in their respective field, before they entered the classroom.
Theory + a solid visual explanation = a good introduction to a particular subject.
Sparks questions, drives interest and the wish to somehow make things even better - be that cars, Computers, houses, sewage pipes... you name it.
Thank you!
Been using it since i bought my car, and always shocked by how much oil it catched in a month. It's a diesel Mitsubishi Pajero Dakar
One of these was vital for my old srt4
I put the $25 catch can on my Prius. Since it doesn't have a filter, I put in half a stainless scouring pad in the bottom. It doesn't exactly filter but it keeps the oil form splashing up and out into the intake manifold. Especially in the winter time, it catches a lot of oil, water and gunk that would've gone into my cylinders via the intake manifold.
Having not installed one of those cans on my 1990 Hyundai Elantra has caused my headlight fluid levels to fluctuate erratically and my discombobulator to quit working.
I sprayed some WD40 on the windshield wipers and it kinda helped for about 2k miles. It also added about 20 more MPG to the car.
I also had a blown head gasket issue. So I flushed the motor oil out with octane booster, replaced it with diesel, then replaced the radiator fluid with synthetic oil and scrubbed the transmission casing clean with a tooth brush. Worked like a charm.
Boats
How dare you steal my patented and copyrighted methods. I’ll see you in court, or maybe in Starbucks.
😎
🤣
👍👍👍👍👍
The proper solution is what other companies did with their DI and have two injectors. one just to keep the intake valve clean.
OK I'm sure he can just make that....
@@HorsepowerHouse they do make PFI injection kits. they aren't super complicated.
My Ford has.both injectors as do other makes buy what you want
Doesn’t work for diesel, you can’t port inject diesel fuel or else your engine will throw a big sad :(
Best solution is adding a methenol tank that goes straight to an atomize injector on the intake manifold (custom throttle body spacer with the injecter fitted into it). Not only does it keep your intake manifold and valves somewhat clean, you get good power out of it. Keep in mind that you're required to tune the fuel ratio if you pick the high performance setup, if you run out of menthanol then you may damage the motor if you run it for too long.
Absolutely a must for BMW e46. If you attach the catch can input to the drain on the dipstick tube it the can can be hidden under the intake tube yet still simple to access for maintenance.
Thanks for answering the title in the first 8 seconds of the video!
Can you please do a video on if the K&N air filters flow more dirt than a Stock paper filter?
HE did already
They work awesome, have an 06scion tc with 240k on the odometer. Those contaminants are entering back and also hitting the catalytic converter
I have been wondering what those actually did for years now. Thank you for letting me know. I'll get one for a newer car that has direct fuel injection.
I think you should have talked about cold weather a bit. I don’t recommend running a catch can in places where there is freezing temps. Run it in the summer and remove it during winter.
Why does cold weather make a difference?
Geoff Kim it can freeze and plug up your pcv system.
I live in NY and it is below freezing for several months. You can run a catch can in cold weather but you really want to check it a lot more often. One thing to note is that it's oil and water mixed together which does have a lower freezing point. I've never opened it up to find frozen liquid in it. On the same token, most of the crap it filters out in the winter is condensation on startup so you have a higher percentage of water. Another solution would be to put a couple tablespoons of antifreeze in the can after you empty it to prevent it from freezing.
Perhaps insulating the can would minimize the condensate.
Jigga Man What part of NY do you live in? I live in the boroughs (NYC) and while it does get could during winter, I’m not sure if I would label it “freezing”. I imagine Canada and Russia become freezing during winters.
The vacuum on the intake is incredible so it can suck up oil pretty good. I got a 20 dollar one and works great. The hose it came with is fairly soft and collapses when the engine starts. Not sure if it's good or not but I kinda like that it's cutting off some of the vacuum to the engine.
Use fuel line / hose
What about using muffler bearings to reduce exhaust friction?
*CHRIS FIX HAS ENTERED THE CHAT*
Sounds like fake stuff. But do ceramic coat the inner parts of your exhaust. A slippier surface creates less friction.
Can we officially retire the muffler belt and blinker fluid Dad pun? It’s 2020.
@@plog1805 I'm a dad, so I can do with these puns as I please.
@@plog1805 My fog light fluid needs to be changed...
What if you just vent the pcv to atmosphere? Does it need that vacuum to pull the pressure properly? And where would you run the vacuum line on a turbo car?
You could, and a lot of people do, you've probably seen those small filters they put on the valve cover breather. It has some drawbacks though. A turbo car connects the breather pipe to the intake side of the turbo so it sees vacuum and not boost
@@TomNicklasSand so if your running an unfiltered open turbo then you have to run it to atmosphere right?
@@mazory1162 yeah or you could run the line to a catch can
The pcv is designed to work off of vacuum. You can vent to atmosphere safely, but will be changing how the system is intended to work. Crankcases work better under vacuum. Also you will get oily residue wherever you are venting it. Running it on a turbo engine is no different than on any other engine. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that if your pcv valve fails on a turbo car, you will literally be pressurizing the catch can, which may or may not cause you some issues there lol. You can also run a catch can on other parts of the vacuum system depending on the engine. Anything that connects to the valve covers is a good spot, regardless of a PCV valve being there.
@@7inchexhaust awesome thanks. Only issue if rotarys dont have valve covers lol
I'm a mechanic by trade with 30 plus years, I've always used and still use oil catch cans on every car and installed a few days after getting the car car. They do help reduce oil deposits form on the valves keeping your car running smoother. Only thing is when cars go in for some sort of warranty I need to take them off. I got my catch cans on Amazon for like $23 each, I drilled and taped in a drain to make thigs simple. If you can't use your OEM hoses, save them in the event it has to go to the dealer for repairs.
As a Mechanic, I want folks to understand that you shouldn't have one with the filtered vent (that I see on nearly all of them). First reason is that vent effectively reduces the 'Positive crankcase Ventilation' to 'Maybe a little crankcase Ventilation'! Secondly, I have seen a couple of check engine lights that 'Read out' as Evaporative emissions system leak small/large'.
So, No vent (just plug any vent hole' and Empty it! Check it when you check your oil, like every other fill-up. If you don't fill-up your car, either check it every two weeks or don't buy a catch can. You can put the money towards filling up your car!🤣🤣🤣
Ya'll Take Care and do it right!