Cleaning the throttle body is not an issue you're right but I wanted to install an oil catch can since if you have oil on your throttle body, you're burning some too and (depending on the amount) this is really not good at all for the engine, for the cat etc....which are more than 30min to replace as well as $$$. The PCV system is a compromise (like everything in automotive): you suck out blow-by gasses and thus prevent premature oil wear, sludge buildup and "preserve" the environment but on the other hand you burn these vapors again which means a lower octane and other combustion by products that will go on your exhaust valves and possibly cat. The catch can "remove" these drawbacks but you need to drain it regulary...and it must not restrict flow (which is not proved on my setup). But I agree with you in the sense that it's better to maintain the PCV system and make sure it's working properly rather than messing with it if things are not proven to work "safely". I have now removed the oil catch can and run the regular setup (stock). I renewed all the parts (oil trap and hoses) last weekend and surprisingly (without the oil catch can) there is no oil on the PCV to Intake connection. There was a little bit of oil all the time before even after 20 miles, now nothing! Seems like the new system is working very fine without the catch can too..............but I still need to check the vacuum!
Is it safe to install an oil catch can?
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Cleaning the throttle body is not an issue you're right but I wanted to install an oil catch can since if you have oil on your throttle body, you're burning some too and (depending on the amount) this is really not good at all for the engine, for the cat etc....which are more than 30min to replace as well as $$$. The PCV system is a compromise (like everything in automotive): you suck out blow-by gasses and thus prevent premature oil wear, sludge buildup and "preserve" the environment but on the other hand you burn these vapors again which means a lower octane and other combustion by products that will go on your exhaust valves and possibly cat. The catch can "remove" these drawbacks but you need to drain it regulary...and it must not restrict flow (which is not proved on my setup). But I agree with you in the sense that it's better to maintain the PCV system and make sure it's working properly rather than messing with it if things are not proven to work "safely". I have now removed the oil catch can and run the regular setup (stock). I renewed all the parts (oil trap and hoses) last weekend and surprisingly (without the oil catch can) there is no oil on the PCV to Intake connection. There was a little bit of oil all the time before even after 20 miles, now nothing! Seems like the new system is working very fine without the catch can too..............but I still need to check the vacuum!
The water/air separators have a rubber o-ring to seal them.
The cheapie ebay catch cans don't work (no baffle). I updated to that setup last summer to add volume. After 5k mile is was empty. I chucked it.
kilou,
The PCV system pushes vapor into the intake manifold. The only requirement, is to have less pressure outside the PCV so the PCV itself can push from high pressure to low pressure (if pressure was constant, nothing would exit).
The air intake outlet provides some suction, which only aids in vapor removal by the PCV. There is no need to have the same pressure from beginning to end.
In the case of my 2002 Maxima, it is not a little oil mist on the butterfly.
Mine has pools of oil in the intake manifold that I have traced back to the PCV. On my car, OEM is to route the PCV directly to the intake via some tubing (no trap). It seems to be inherent to the design of the intake manifold (which acts as a large catch can). As the pools increase, they drip into the cylinder and lower the octane, resulting in a low RPM ping.
The water/air separator alleviates 90% of this. From looking across many different car forums, this seems to be a common problem resulting from different companies "active intake" systems.
Do the air tool filters come with the little rock type thingy in them like mechtech was alluding to? I think that would help condense the oily watery vapory crud.
Also, do they come with the threaded barbs already attached?
As someone pointed out earlier, if too much angles are added to the travel of blowby gasses in the lines or within the oil catch can, the vacuum force won't be enough to draw the gasses out of the system. There will always be a lower pressure in the manifold compared to the PCV system but if the flow is restricted by some means, you're adding dynamic friction...and thus ""pressure"" that is acting against the manifold vacuum force. The flow is then not able to escape as easily as before and may simply be stopped if friction forces overcome the vacuum force. This is probably not likely to happen under high loads when the engine produces a lot of blow-by gasses and push them into the PCV which may overcome minor flow restriction but under normal load and especially during idle, vacuum force is supposed to be the major force to suck gasses out of the crankcase. Someone said that adding more than 4 corners in a vacuum line may render the vacuum suction inefficient.
This for sure doesn't affect your design since it is quite small and doesn't provide big restriction to the flow but my catch can is quite different. For now I don't get any oil anymore on the intake without the catch can. If I get some in the future I may reconsider installing it however.
Jeez, peeps, it doesn't get any simpler than the Husky can. Cut the stone off at the top of the can. Use baby clamps to hold the cut ends of the stock hose onto the Huskey inlet and outlet tubes. I hand-tightened the "jar" onto the "lid", it has an o-ring, and it is quite tight. The gasses from the crankcase pass through the jar at a fair velocity and "drop off" the goo into the bottom of the jar.
I don't bother unscrewing the lid, I just stick a paper towel under the jar and push the valve in, draining the goo out the bottom. It smells quite volatile, it burns with vigor, and it is almost like a heavy gear oil, which means allowed to accumulate in the intake and throttle body, somewhere along the way, you're going to have to clean the stuff out. It's a contaminant after all, and all the factory is doing is moving it from the crankcase to the intake. The Huskey catch-can is just a deposit point to gather it ahead of the intake. Shame on the factory not to install a gadget like this in the first place but then if they did, they wouldn't sell many throttle-body cleanings, would they?
If it makes you folks feel any better, when I set mine up, the vacuum measured, via vacuum gage, the same with the Huskey can in-line, as it did with just a length of hose connected to the intake. I keep a full-length piece of hose handy to replace the can when the car goes back to the Stealership. Needless to say, given their greed and need to rip us off with throttle-body cleanings and tuneups, they wouldn't look upon the installation of this handy little device in a forgiving light if they noticed it. I think cars should come with by-pass oil filtration too, but that's too much hassle to install and remove. Not to mention a discussion for another thread.
When I get the car back, it slips right back into place to continue gathering goo. Simple, it works, and will save you trouble along the way, and end the necessity of Seafoam soaks of the intake via vacuum lines, all that sorta rot. I dare say it would even save a little wear and tear on your plugs, oxygen sensor and catalytic converter too.
You guys got me thinking about the melt factor, too. So, I pulled mine off and put it into the toaster oven starting at 300 degrees, and took it up to 375, and it was as solid as it is at room temperature. Not sure at what point it would begin to soften, but heck, if your underhood temps are over or even NEAR 300 let alone 375, you have OTHER problems, I'd think.
So relax, spend the $12.00 for the can and .99 cents for the clamps, and save yourself the power-robbing, throttle-body fouling circumstance of the factory's failure to do the right thing to begin with. Money well spent. Just make sure you replace it with plain hose when you have to take the car to the Stealership.
I don't bother unscrewing the lid, I just stick a paper towel under the jar and push the valve in, draining the goo out the bottom. It smells quite volatile, it burns with vigor, and it is almost like a heavy gear oil, which means allowed to accumulate in the intake and throttle body, somewhere along the way, you're going to have to clean the stuff out. It's a contaminant after all, and all the factory is doing is moving it from the crankcase to the intake. The Huskey catch-can is just a deposit point to gather it ahead of the intake. Shame on the factory not to install a gadget like this in the first place but then if they did, they wouldn't sell many throttle-body cleanings, would they?
If it makes you folks feel any better, when I set mine up, the vacuum measured, via vacuum gage, the same with the Huskey can in-line, as it did with just a length of hose connected to the intake. I keep a full-length piece of hose handy to replace the can when the car goes back to the Stealership. Needless to say, given their greed and need to rip us off with throttle-body cleanings and tuneups, they wouldn't look upon the installation of this handy little device in a forgiving light if they noticed it. I think cars should come with by-pass oil filtration too, but that's too much hassle to install and remove. Not to mention a discussion for another thread.
When I get the car back, it slips right back into place to continue gathering goo. Simple, it works, and will save you trouble along the way, and end the necessity of Seafoam soaks of the intake via vacuum lines, all that sorta rot. I dare say it would even save a little wear and tear on your plugs, oxygen sensor and catalytic converter too.
You guys got me thinking about the melt factor, too. So, I pulled mine off and put it into the toaster oven starting at 300 degrees, and took it up to 375, and it was as solid as it is at room temperature. Not sure at what point it would begin to soften, but heck, if your underhood temps are over or even NEAR 300 let alone 375, you have OTHER problems, I'd think.
So relax, spend the $12.00 for the can and .99 cents for the clamps, and save yourself the power-robbing, throttle-body fouling circumstance of the factory's failure to do the right thing to begin with. Money well spent. Just make sure you replace it with plain hose when you have to take the car to the Stealership.
toocrazy2yoo, isn't it written on the top of the can "50°C max"?? (http://www.pbase.com/rsrock/image/33614058) I understand you did the test in your oven but it's strange that the can is rated 50°C then, maybe it has something to do with the sealing material.... Another thing is that blow-by gasses are probably one of the worst thing a plastic may encounter since it contains oil residues as well as fuel vapors and acidic compounds with water. Most plastic not "designed" to receive such a treatment wouldn't live long in this environment normally.
For how long have you installed the catch can now and how many miles did you cover? Do you need to drain the catch can frequently? You're talking about a drain valve, does the Husky filter have one (I thought you need to unscrew the cap to clean it...)? Also can you tell me the inner diameter of the inlet and outlet pipes on the Husk filter?
This design is the most interesting since its simple, you can see how much oil you trap and it doesn't seem to restrict the flow (if the diameter of openings is the same as stock piping). The only problem I see is that it apparentl needs to be drained quite often, which is normally not an issue at all but I'm not the only person to drive my car and I think that other would easily forget to drain that thing since it's yet very hard to have them check the oil level every 15000km
For how long have you installed the catch can now and how many miles did you cover? Do you need to drain the catch can frequently? You're talking about a drain valve, does the Husky filter have one (I thought you need to unscrew the cap to clean it...)? Also can you tell me the inner diameter of the inlet and outlet pipes on the Husk filter?
This design is the most interesting since its simple, you can see how much oil you trap and it doesn't seem to restrict the flow (if the diameter of openings is the same as stock piping). The only problem I see is that it apparentl needs to be drained quite often, which is normally not an issue at all but I'm not the only person to drive my car and I think that other would easily forget to drain that thing since it's yet very hard to have them check the oil level every 15000km
Hey Kilou..
I suppose filled up it may hold 3 ounces, but the plastic seems very stout, it's still crystal clear and doesn't seem to be affected at the bottom even by the goo, which is in there for weeks on end. When the goo gets a couple of inches or so deep, I push the valve in and drain it from the bottom. It has a valve like a tire, spring loaded. It takes a couple of weeks to a month or so to get that much in it, depending on what kind of driving I do. Fast road miles build the stuff up slower than stop and go traffic in the Washington DC area humidity. I've drained it many times.
I suppose the 50C rating applies in other applications. Remember, this thing is designed to carry, if memory serves, 275 psig, or even more maybe.Since we're not carrying pressure (ok, a little negative pressure), I don't know if we're stressing it. It seems like a very stout and sound vessel for the task Ive assigned it in my car anyway. I don't know if you could break it with a hammer it seems that stout and rigid. It has been on the car since March of this year and about 20,000 miles and looks brand new. I would say it has trapped, lifetime, maybe a 1/2 pint or so. I'm just starting to dump the stuff into a BlackStone sampler and I'm sending it off for an analysis (UOA? VOA?) when there's enough. I'll post the results if that's ok with the bosses.
All that said, I check Husky every time I check the oil (every fillup). It's like new.
I suppose filled up it may hold 3 ounces, but the plastic seems very stout, it's still crystal clear and doesn't seem to be affected at the bottom even by the goo, which is in there for weeks on end. When the goo gets a couple of inches or so deep, I push the valve in and drain it from the bottom. It has a valve like a tire, spring loaded. It takes a couple of weeks to a month or so to get that much in it, depending on what kind of driving I do. Fast road miles build the stuff up slower than stop and go traffic in the Washington DC area humidity. I've drained it many times.
I suppose the 50C rating applies in other applications. Remember, this thing is designed to carry, if memory serves, 275 psig, or even more maybe.Since we're not carrying pressure (ok, a little negative pressure), I don't know if we're stressing it. It seems like a very stout and sound vessel for the task Ive assigned it in my car anyway. I don't know if you could break it with a hammer it seems that stout and rigid. It has been on the car since March of this year and about 20,000 miles and looks brand new. I would say it has trapped, lifetime, maybe a 1/2 pint or so. I'm just starting to dump the stuff into a BlackStone sampler and I'm sending it off for an analysis (UOA? VOA?) when there's enough. I'll post the results if that's ok with the bosses.
All that said, I check Husky every time I check the oil (every fillup). It's like new.
They do, however, over time the oily residue clogs the filter and you get less and less fluid in the container. I removed it and get a 1/2 full container after 500 miles.
Please post your results. I also am gathering mine into a Blackstone container, but am about 10k miles away from getting it half full.
I removed the filter stone and it seems to flow/catch better now. Also I upgraded the copper wire to zip ties
I catches about that amount in 2-4 weeks. Engine is a 2.0L DOHC. In the winter time, the stuff caught is full of water condensation and is quite milky.
Does someone have the inner diameter of the inlet and outlet pipes on the Husky filter?
3/8 I would imagine
They are 3/8 indeed..
When you go shopping for it in the compressor area of the tool section at Home Depot, 3/8 is the way they size them, and that IS the diameter of the nipples the hoses clamp on to for in-out. Just don't forget to chop the stone..
When you go shopping for it in the compressor area of the tool section at Home Depot, 3/8 is the way they size them, and that IS the diameter of the nipples the hoses clamp on to for in-out. Just don't forget to chop the stone..
Ive got an Ebay catch can, it worked "OK" for the first 2 OCI...then I figured Id collect more if it was baffled, Ive heard others suggest adding steel wool to the can, but I figured I didnt want the bits of steel wool detaching and getting ingested into the intake...that wouldnt be benificial. So I bought some steel shot like youd use for a sling shot, found it at WalMart, cost about 10 bucks for all I needed. And it picks up more than triple what the can alone caught.
Thanks for the specs! There are no Home Depot here in Switzerland and I can't find similar air compressor filters around. Would probably need someone to send it from the US but first I'll see if oil comes back on the end of my new PCV hose.
How do you chop off the stone? I'm heading to the Despot (Home Depot) in about 5 minutes!
Mine unscrewed. I have the Campbell-Hausfeld version. Less than $10 at sprawl-mart. The Husky one I saw for $20-25 looks beefier though, had protection around the plastic.
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