Catch Cans Work - Toyota D4-S 3.5L V6st (Proof)

[StevieC]

Ok, I passed 1,000km (600 miles) with the catch can installed and it has caught a fraction more oil than it did in the first 300 miles so I'm not sure why the amount varied over the 600km after the initial oil caught in the first 300. It doesn't appear to be linear even though the driving pattern is about the same.

I will take a picture in another 1,000km (600 miles) now that I put some stainless steel filter material in the baffle cage to hopefully help condense the oil better although the outlet hose is dry so I'm not sure any more oil will be caught.

The inlet hose and top of the catch can were wet with oil as and all the cans internal parts so it is definitely still catching oil. The outlet hose is completely dry.

As the can gets really hot under the hood and because the outlet hose is completely dry I have decided to forgo installing the fuel filter because I'm not sure the media in the filter or the plastic housing of the filter can take the heat as it is rated for cold fuel. I e-mailed the manufacturer and they couldn't tell me whether or not the filter could be used at high temperatures.

I didn't take a picture because the oil caught would look similar to the same amount caught in the first 300km.

I'll be back at 2,000km (1200 miles) with an update.

 

[The_Nuke]

Originally Posted by demarpaint
I'd love to see if there's a difference in what the can catches between different brands of oil and if changing viscosity matters.


Oils with a high NOACK tend to fill up the CCs more quickly than a lower NOACK engine oil if run in the same conditions.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted by The_Nuke
Originally Posted by demarpaint
I'd love to see if there's a difference in what the can catches between different brands of oil and if changing viscosity matters.


Oils with a high NOACK tend to fill up the CCs more quickly than a lower NOACK engine oil if run in the same conditions.


I'm going to test that theory here. The Amsoil 0w20 has a Noack of 8.5 which is pretty good so I'm interested to see what another one like TGMO with a Noack just shy of 13 does.

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted by StevieC
... The Amsoil 0w20 has a Noack of 8.5 which is pretty good so I'm interested to see what another one like TGMO with a Noack just shy of 13 does.
Hard-to-control variables will make it difficult to draw conclusions. Cooler weather, for example, will increase the amount of water condensed in the can.

 

[The_Nuke]

While it is a limited application for sure, running a catch can on an engine that has a short/long runner style intake plenum is a good idea IMHO (assuming the device that actuates the valves to change the runner lengths is exposed to the inside of the plenum).

Over time and a lot of miles, those valves can become gunked up from PCV condensation and start to malfunction, resulting in a DTC and CEL usually.

The old Dodge 3.5L engines were prone to this, and they also benefitted quite well from running a CC to keep the infamous P1004 error from popping up.

 

[StevieC]

Update:

Ok I'm at 2,000km (1200 miles) since installing the catch can and I see no extra oil in the can so I'm wondering if maybe I need to mount the can in a cooler spot in the engine compartment where it will be cooler than the general ambient temperature under the hood. Either that or mounting it either lower down closer to the road air flow or in front of the radiator in the space that's there. (To help it condense more)

I thought for sure with the cooler morning temperatures it would have caught more. This is with the baffling material installed in there now as well.

Thoughts?

 

[OVERKILL]

Perhaps things have seated now and you simply have less blow-by

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Perhaps things have seated now and you simply have less blow-by

Maybe but the can where it is now is in a different spot that originally. I also had 10,000km on the vehicle before it was installed. I assumed things would have been seated by then but maybe not?

 

[Nick1994]

I'd put it back where it was initially and see if it continues to fill up.

 

[KrisZ]

I would leave it in one spot, otherwise the results will have too many variables. Maybe change the location when you do an OCI and leave until the next one. This way you will have a much better comparison as to which location catches the most.

 

[The_Nuke]

Did you install it at the beginning of an OCI?

They usually collected more at the very start of an OCI for my 3.5L, but as the stuff cooked off that was easiest to cook off, I saw less and less being collected in the CC.

It also varies according to my driving habits. Any time spent at WOT or near to it would cause the CC to collect more. Just doing the stop and go traffic during work commutes didn't generate much CC juice though.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted by The_Nuke
Did you install it at the beginning of an OCI?

They usually collected more at the very start of an OCI for my 3.5L, but as the stuff cooked off that was easiest to cook off, I saw less and less being collected in the CC.

It also varies according to my driving habits. Any time spent at WOT or near to it would cause the CC to collect more. Just doing the stop and go traffic during work commutes didn't generate much CC juice though.


There is a lot of highway travel and some WOT passing, some minor stop-go traffic. I was under the impression that at WOT the breather is what is doing most of the venting with the PCV working more in the above idle and moderate throttle range.

Originally Posted by Nick1994
I'd put it back where it was initially and see if it continues to fill up.


I was thinking that but it would involve modifying my bracket I made.

Originally Posted by KrisZ
I would leave it in one spot, otherwise the results will have too many variables. Maybe change the location when you do an OCI and leave until the next one. This way you will have a much better comparison as to which location catches the most.


I put it on mid way through the OCI, but yeah I see what you are saying. I only moved it to this other spot because making a permanent bracket was easier.

 

[The_Nuke]

Originally Posted by StevieC

... I was under the impression that at WOT the breather is what is doing most of the venting with the PCV working more in the above idle and moderate throttle range.


Yes, there is truth in that statement, but I think there is some nuance to it as well.

I did a little experimenting with my first Challenger to see just how much blow-by was getting rerouted through the fresh air line at WOT by putting a small air compressor inline filter on it to act as a CC for that line too. And what I found was yes, the direction of travel in the fresh air line does reverse under WOT conditions, but it is very brief and ultimately not much CC juice is being pushed out in those conditions (on a naturally aspirated motor, that is). The amount of oil I collected was very minute, especially compared to the normal CC I had on the PCV line.

My best hypothesis for all that is the fresh air line becomes the exit point for blow-by gases only when the engine is under WOT and it is making max (or very near max) TQ output. The rest of the time under WOT, the internal pressures are not great enough to overcome the PCV valve's desire to slam shut when the engine is at max torque output.

 

[StevieC]

Thanks for the information. I was actually considering adding a second can to the breather line as well.

I'm going to wait until the next OCI which isn't too far off and see if it does in fact generate more right after the change. If not I want to try moving it to a cooler location. Either lower down or in front of the radiator to see if the temperature has more of a condensing effect.

It's a fun experiment and gives me something to mess around with anyway.

 

[StevieC]

Update: I did a lot of reading last night on the higher performance catch cans and the re-occurring pattern in all the installation instructions I could find had this to say about optimal performance of the can so I think I will modify my setup once I get back from Ohio road-trip when I have some free time.

1) The can should be mounted in the coolest part of the engine compartment. In front of the radiator fans or battery is suggested. They suggested not mounting it in front of the radiator for more northern climates as this can cause the can to freeze up with the wind blowing on it at driving speeds.

2) The can should be mounted lower than the exit port from the engine so as to encourage as much oil to stay in the can as possible.

3) The hoses routing to/from the can should be kept as short as possible or should be kept in warmer areas of the engine compartment so as to not create a freezing problem in colder temperatures.

I wish my Chinese Amazon can came with these instructions before I mounted it. Instead I just got Engrish instructions with poor spelling.

 

[StevieC]

Ok I took the catch can off today before I take the Toyota in and the results are 2.5oz (measured) of oil caught over the OCI of 10,000km (6K miles). I was keeping this OCI conservative because the engine is still fairly new. I just wanted to update this thread for those looking at it some time after now.

The can did work. The hose going from the PCV to the can was wet with oil, the hose going from the can to the intake was completely dry so it is working to eliminate the vapor. It did seem to catch a lot at first and very little thereafter but did certainly catch more. It's most likely because it's a new engine and was still seating the rings so perhaps that is why. Needless to say I'm happy with the results that it worked and I would recommend a can like this for GDI / DI engines where valve deposits might be a concern where the proper oil isn't enough to stop the deposits.

I would also recommend putting in the some baffling material as I added to my can after the first 2,000km (1200 miles) as it seemed to increase the efficiency.

Any questions, PM me.

Cheers,

Steve

 

[radiometer]

StevieC, or any others, I have a '17 Equinox 2.4L I4 engine that I'd like to add a catch can to. I saw somewhere that this engine has only an internal PVC system and that there is no way I can do this to it. With the experiences on this forum someone probably knows what to tell me on this. Thanks for any attention to my inquiry.

 

[StevieC]

It's possible... There is a hose going from the camshaft (valve) cover to the upper engine cover. On the engine cover side there is a plastic 90 degree fitting. You would install a hose from the valve cover to your can and then from the can to the plastic portion of your the hose shown below that is now connect to the valve cover as you need to re-use the plastic fitting on the end of this to connect back to the engine.

Looks like this: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...sitive+crankcase+ventilation)+hose,11784

PM me if you need more help.