Engine Oil "catch cans"

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TnMike46

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I just discovered this web site and have been very impressed by the knowledge of you guys. My daughter recently purchased a 2018 Mustang
Ecoboost (and loves it). I don't know if this is the right forum for this, but here goes.

I have read a lot about the "need" for an oil catch can to prevent premature carbon buildup in the intake and on the valves. This is apparently a problem with these engines to the point that the fairly rapid buildup of carbon has often caused what is referred to as
"Ecoboom" (engine blowing up)

I would be interested if anyone would like to chime in on this subject.

We have read many forums about the subject and there are varying opinions on this subject but more often than not it is recommended.

What you guys think?
 
Catch cans are a very controversial topic in every car forum I've perused online...guess I have never seen hard evidence that they actually make a difference.

Would carbon buildup really make an engine blow up? I don't really know, but if Ecoboosts are really booming I would guess that LSPI is a more likely culprit given they are DITs. But, it seems like those engines don't have a reputation for suffering from that potentially nasty problem and there are certainly enough of them around that one would think word would get out if they were very likely to exhibit LSPI.
 
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I removed both of mine. After a teaspoon of byproducts was all it collected over two OCi.

...and WELCOME TO THE FORUM
 
Originally Posted By: ctrcbob
They are selling you "Mouse Milk".

Mouse Milk is actually good stuff!

But catch cans don't do much in the way of carbon buildup. Can look pretty trick, though.
 
I run an elite engineering catch can on my 05 GTO. At each oil change it has about 1 or 2 ounces, but can have more especially when I drive from DFW to Mexico city, and I get enthusiastic on the loud pedal. The LS2 has a not so great pcv system and the owner manual says that burning up to a quart per our change is normal. The catch can helps keep that oul out of the intake tract and keep the computer from pulling timing. Do you absolutely need one? No. Does it help keep the intake cleaner absolutely, especially if you're in the upper rpm range. Just my opinion based on what I've seen on my motor.
 
Mine collects 4-5 ounces after 1000kms. A lot of guys use it them in boosted applications. If you keep the vehicle for a long time it will probably pay off as you will get build up in the intake manifold. I used a Borescope and found it was pretty caked on. Chemical sprays didn’t do much to clean it. The PCV system is more active if you drive slow vs if youre hard on the loud pedal. Personally I’m glad that oil isn’t getting burnt up in the cylinders even if it’s minute. Just get a cheap one off amazon which is what I did. Get better hoses and done.
 
It’s been proven to do nothing in VW EA888 motors and is considered a waste of money.

Mazda may have figured it out by managing intake valve temps with their SkyActiv engines, from what I’ve seen.
 
I run one on my fiance's 2007 Mustang GT and on my 2014 Mustang GT. I first heard about catch cans back in about 2012 when I noticed my fiance's Mustang was blowing blue smoke out the pipes on start up. This was when the car only had about 10,000 miles on it.

I went on the various Mustang forums and asked what could be causing this to happen with such low mileage. I had many people tell me to try installing a catch can to prevent oil from entering the intake and is what probably was causing the blue smoke.

I bought one of the suggested brands and installed it and very soon after that, no more blue smoke out the pipes and the can was catching quite a bit of oil. When I first pulled off the factory line going from the PVC to the intake, the end of the line at the intake was soaked with oil.

To this day, the car no longer smokes on startup.

Because of the experience with her car, I installed a can on my car when I first got it and I catch quite a bit of oil.

Whether it really makes any difference long term, who knows, but at least I feel like it does something beneficial and I don't like oil going into my intake.
 
The only way to separate oil from air flow is with a coalescing filter which would have to be so large to live longer than a few days it would take up too much space (yes its hard to get around real facts). Yes they are used primarily on compressor system but the function would be the same, removing oil/water droplets from the air flow.

None of these cans AFAIK have one so they just catch a minimum amount with metal screens or in some cases just an empty can which lets a lot more go by it than it catches anyway, for all intents and purposes they are useless pocket pickers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalescer
 
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^^^ this is what I've come to as well. Folks who have gutted the catch can and added metal gauze or steel wool have had more success in catching debris, but you have to be careful with things like steel wool because you introduce steel dust into the plumbing when you handle it. The empty can alone allows the vapors to pass right through, catching only a little.

Volvo's oem design as he says is so true. It's about or slightly larger than 1 qt in capacity, has 1" openings into the oil pan, is filled with gauze, and causes fits when it fills and gums up, requiring full replacement. No question that it collects debris, however. Volvo fans quickly adopt full synthetics which appear to improve the life of the unit. Full failure usually results in things like blown cam seals, so it's not a small item.

-m
 
I can't figure out how to attach a photo so it displays properly but here is how much oil I got out of my Mishimoto baffled catch can after 4,591 miles of driving. It's around 36mL that stayed out of my engine. I have noticed how much cleaner my intake manifold is as well, less oil everywhere in it.

https://imgur.com/x5wrE2D
 
Use of a catch can in your 2018 Mustang could possibly void your warranty. I think you'll do better by using a top tier fuel and a synthetic Dexos Gen 2 oil. Even though Ford uses a higher calcium lower magnesium non Dexos Gen 2 with their Motorcraft synthetic blend 5W-30 oil I think the synthetic Dexos Gen 2 oils will serve you better as it addresses LSPI. Though I don't know for sure whether Ford EcoBoost engines are subject to LSPI as are other small displacement DI Turbo engines. I have the 2.3 EB in our 2017 Explorer and that what I'm doing and the UOA's using Mobil 1 5W-30 have been decent for the usage. I posted them in the UOA section.

Whimsey
 
Crankcase ventilation filters absolutely do work, if engineered properly, and are pretty much a mandatory item to be seen on engines at a certain level.

The problem with most CCV systems out there is that either the OEM didn't take the design seriously enough, or it's an aftermarket product that made the same mistake.

An intercooler is not a catch can. Oil deposits into an intercooler paste themselves everywhere and reduce the efficiency of the intercooler.

A hole in the intercooler will throw off the mass air calculation as the engine will be providing fuel for air that is no longer present. When the system is under vacuum (off boost), that hole will suck in anything of opportunity.

Proper CCV devices are available, but don't launch bombastic advertising campaigns, because they are pretty much all commercial devices. The ones used on commercial engines have both the advantage of internal media that does pull everything out of the air stream, and one more important factor: They drain the collected oil back to the crankcase. By remaining perpetually "empty", there is a lot less opportunity for oil to escape into the intake tract.

Space for these devices is less an issue than the fact that a proper device gives one more filter to be changed. The CCV on my Cummins 6.7 engines must be replaced every 60k miles. A less effective system with no media can last forever, doing a half-donkey job.

Does it work? Recently pulled my intercooler to replace my radiator. Wiping the interior of the intercooler with a paper towel revealed no contamination. Bright aluminum. No oil. Turbo inlet (Where discharge goes) clean as a whistle.

Similar results found when servicing CCV filters on commercial rigs (which are cylindrical cartridge filters, changed like a cartridge oil filter).

If you want a "catch can " that actually works, this is it:



2 Notes:

Inlet and outlet are large, and would need to be stepped down.

The drain at the bottom needs to drain either back into the crankcase, or some sort of sealed container. If this CCV is not allowed to drain it will NOT work correctly.

This works because of cyclonic action (think Dyson), the internal filter, and the constant drain.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
The only way to separate oil from air flow is with a coalescing filter which would have to be so large to live longer than a few days it would take up too much space (yes its hard to get around real facts). Yes they are used primarily on compressor system but the function would be the same, removing oil/water droplets from the air flow.

None of these cans AFAIK have one so they just catch a minimum amount with metal screens or in some cases just an empty can which lets a lot more go by it than it catches anyway, for all intents and purposes they are useless pocket pickers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalescer


All cans are not designed equally and some are better than others. None will prevent 100% of the oil from going through. I tested several different cans on my 14 Mustang and even did some comparison tests where I had one can in front of another to see how much the first can was letting through to the second can. It was pretty interesting and you could see which ones were better at catching oil than others.

Having a catch can is probably more of a feel good measure than anything else but in our case, we didn't like to see the blue smoke coming out on startup from the oil that was being deposited in the intake track and ultimately inside the engine.
 
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