Oil Catch-Can Installed (1 Viewer)

[boogie74]

Hi,

I saw Eleblancs thread on oil catch cans and thought I'd post my most recent mod. Put this in a couple of weeks ago.
No issues yet. Haven't blown any seals. Like eleblanc found, I do use a bit of oil after my oil change. My dipstick will show
I use an 8th between the high and low marks. Once this is used (first 100 k's or so I use none/very little (only small blow-by)
until the next service. After adding a turbo boost controller, gauge and uping the boost to 12/13psi I notice the extra use in oil
as above. Before uping the boost no oil was used. Part of my reason for the install was that I didn't want the crankcase venting
directly into the air intake. The oil residue was getting sucked into the turbo and then a small amout was making its way into the
vacuum system via the inlet manifold/crossover pipe. The shut of valve had oil on it and maybe a very faint drip. Now the can is
installed I hope this doesn't happen and when I find the time I'm going to pull the intake and give it a clean. The blow-by is
better in the can than in my engine.

I bought a cheap ricer catch can. I put 5/8" fittings on it so the blow-by flow wasn't restricted. Mounted the can in the engine
bay and connected it up. Used hydrolic hose so there would be no issues with the hose perishing. It worked well I think.

Some pics:
Excuse my filthy engine

 

[boogie74]

Buuuummmp!!!!!!

Have I done a bad thing

 

[canucksafari]

Looks okay and you say it works - sooooo I think you've done good. If that's what you'e asking. If not, you better ask that to the woman in your life.

 

[Michael Hanson]

I like it. How long before it needs cleaning do you think. Mike

 

[lostmarbles]

Looks too small to me - but you say it works so then it must be OK. Is it actually collecting oil? And can that oil be drained easily?

I did see a post somewhere about a year ago (- thought it was by GregB but I can't find it now) showing a much larger black PVC unit which looked to be better. (It looked the best of any I've laid eyes on so far. But then I'm not really searching because I'm not considering fitting one. ). .........However I'm sure that one would have been considerably more expensive than yours.

I understand a good "oil-separator/catch-can" needs to drop the gas velocity a lot (hence a large diameter is better) and it also needs "multiple impingement surfaces" internally (such as would be provided by "coarse-steel-wool" for example) to extract the "entrained oil droplets" from the gas flow and thereby make them collect into bigger drops.

And a plastic casing has the advantage over metal in that it extracts less heat from the vapours making "water condensation" less of a problem.

(Collected water may turn to ice in cold climates to create problems when draining.)

 

[eleblanc]

Installing my can is still on the to do list, but in order to do this properly i need to pull the crankcase cover, and THAT is not a easy job with the turbo installed. I've got use to be about 2/3 fillet on the stick.

 

[boogie74]

I like it. How long before it needs cleaning do you think. Mike

I've done a few hundred k's and it hasn't reached the level indicator on the side yet. There is oil in the bottom of it tho. probably less than 100ml.

Looks too small to me - but you say it works so then it must be OK. Is it actually collecting oil? And can that oil be drained easily?

Yeah its collected less than 100ml so far and I put it in about 500k's after the last service. When I do my 5000k service it drops about 300/400ml of oil and then uses very little/no more. I think this is because with the boost turned up it pressurizes the crank a bit more so it blows a little extra oil. Well thats my backyard theory anyway!!! It has a drain bung in the bottom of it and there is enough room under it to drain this into a can.

Installing my can is still on the to do list, but in order to do this properly i need to pull the crankcase cover, and THAT is not a easy job with the turbo installed. I've got use to be about 2/3 fillet on the stick.

How come you have to take the crankcase cover off?

Looks okay and you say it works - sooooo I think you've done good. If that's what you'e asking. If not, you better ask that to the woman in your life.

Hahaha. Never ask a woman if you have done bad.....She will let you know. You dont have to ask

 

[eleblanc]

How come you have to take the crankcase cover off?

To cut the down pipe from the cover, idealy i would need to cut that pipe about 2-3 each from the cover, i might be able to do so in place with a die grinder, but still need to toss a few things. Like air filter, etc..


Lots of stuff in the way now!

 

[boogie74]

Aaah ok, I see. Its a bit tight in there to be using an angle grinder. Hope the install goes well. Just use the same size hoses for the
catch can that were originally on the brether pipe. You dont want to pressurize it. The size of the can depends on how much blow-by
your getting. I worked out 500ml was enough for me. I will have to keep a closer eye on it next oil change. Striaght after the oil
change is when I use the most.

Cheers.

 

[Big Blue 84BJ60]

for some reson my new/used 3b and turboed uses oil right after a change 1L and then steadies off n does use as much .5L but still burns some off or something it never smokes blue only grey white n black preformance is good fuel efficency not that great but i got the fuel turned up and i have a heavy foot but i keep the egt below 1200F (pre turbo) and the truck is always cooled down before shut off also the front drive shaft is coverd in an oil film from the breather tube which leads me to beleve the crank case is pressurized (as previosly stated before).

what happens if you plumbed the crankcase breater tube in before the turbo? (besides oil on the air filter) would this reduce the oil consumption? or is it worn valve guides/bushings and or piston oil rings?

 

[boogie74]

How much boost are you running Big Blue?
I found when I increased boost from stock (8psi on mine) to 13psi that it had a
bit more blow-by. It went from unnoticeable to using about 1/2 a litre. More boost
might pressurize the crankcase I think but not sure. You can reroute the blow-by to
the air intake pre-turbo but do you want that gunk going through your engine?

 

[Big Blue 84BJ60]

I'm running about 13-15 psi

i guess to find out if that gunk is harmful to get it tested but my guess is that its mainly vaporized oil

thanks

 

[boogie74]

is it worn valve guides/bushings and or piston oil rings?

I think that if you are constantly losing oil it would be the piston rings. In the situation you have, like mine, you lose some right
after a service and then minimal after that. Maybe the crank pressurizes more with the increased boost/airflow going to the
engine.

Does anyone know if there is a link between increased boost and blow-by?

 

[lostmarbles]

..........Does anyone know if there is a link between increased boost and blow-by?

I'd say "Definitely".

Increased boost = increased blowby

But how much the blowby increases (and whether it becomes a problem) is affected by the condition of your engine. (By how much wear is present in cylinders, pistons, compression rings, valve guides etc.)