PCV Oil Catch Can, see what your engine is burning! - Page 2

ZL1power69 · 10-16-2005, 05:23 PM

yes that helped me alot. I have everything except the hose which i'll get tomorrow. just 2 final questions for ya;
-can that filter be cleaned by like rinsing it out with water?
-brian r makes a good point: if the filter slows down the air flow to capture more contamenents, wouldn't that reduced airflow to the pcv cause the problem that the system is trying to eliminate?

BlazerLT · 10-16-2005, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZL1power69

yes that helped me alot. I have everything except the hose which i'll get tomorrow. just 2 final questions for ya;

Ok, here we go again.....I kid...I kid......

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZL1power69

-can that filter be cleaned by like rinsing it out with water?

It is a solid plastic filter and when you look inside of it, it is mostly hollow. You cna clean it in some mild cleaner every once in a while. But it won't be trapping much solids, more gases and liquid which flow right through it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZL1power69

-brian r makes a good point: if the filter slows down the air flow to capture more contamenents, wouldn't that reduced airflow to the pcv cause the problem that the system is trying to eliminate?

You see, this is what I though to when I initially removed it. The thing is, my engine idle was 50rpms above where it was before which is because the hose tubing is quite large and you don't have that much restriction in the system.

I installed the filter again and everything smoothed out and the idle is perfect and spot on again. It was leting too much flow through and I know that the PCV valve is supposed to regulate that, but out PCV valves are not spring loaded so it will open up even more.

Even with the filter installed, you will be flowing more than the stock setup.

Trust me on this, I have had this installed for over 3 weeks now. And no, you are still getting rid of all the gases in the crankcase and there is nothing being left behind.

ZL1power69 · 10-16-2005, 06:03 PM

yea sry about all the damn questions, lol. i just like to know all the details before i start a project. i got it all straight now and i'll install the system tomorrow. again thanks for the info. i'll let ya know how it works out seeing that i have the same engine.

BlazerLT · 10-16-2005, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZL1power69

yea sry about all the damn questions, lol. i just like to know all the details before i start a project. i got it all straight now and i'll install the system tomorrow. again thanks for the info. i'll let ya know how it works out seeing that i have the same engine.

Oh for sure, and also route the hose coming from the PCV valve through the back of the accumulator and have a little slack going down to the PCV valve connection so you don't have the PCV valve on an angle.

ZL1power69 · 10-16-2005, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

Oh for sure, and also route the hose coming from the PCV valve through the back of the accumulator and have a little slack going down to the PCV valve connection so you don't have the PCV valve on an angle.

thanks for that tip. i had planed on using ur photos as a "map". I'll route it exactly as u have it on urs. this system might be a cheap way to save my high mileage motor.

BlazerLT · 10-16-2005, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZL1power69

thanks for that tip. i had planed on using ur photos as a "map". I'll route it exactly as u have it on urs. this system might be a cheap way to save my high mileage motor.

Oh for sure. You will like it. Might as well install a news PCV valve while you are at it if you have never done it.

ZL1power69 · 10-16-2005, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

Oh for sure. You will like it. Might as well install a news PCV valve while you are at it if you have never done it.

changed the pcv as part of the tune up i did while performing the cpi swap so i'm good to go

.

BlazerLT · 10-16-2005, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZL1power69

changed the pcv as part of the tune up i did while performing the cpi swap so i'm good to go

.

Excellent, take photos of your install.

ZL1power69 · 10-16-2005, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

Excellent, take photos of your install.

i'll do that.

Brian R. · 10-16-2005, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

It is a solid plastic filter and when you look inside of it, it is mostly hollow. You cna clean it in some mild cleaner every once in a while. But it won't be trapping much solids, more gases and liquid which flow right through it.

It was leting too much flow through and I know that the PCV valve is supposed to regulate that, but out PCV valves are not spring loaded so it will open up even more.

Even with the filter installed, you will be flowing more than the stock setup.

The oil that is in the filter will restrict flow through the filter. It will continuously and slowly flow through the filter, slowly since the oil is viscous, and continuously since once it flows through the filter, it will be replaced by more oil from the crankcase. Your oil viscosity and dilution will change how much the filter restricts flow, so each engine will have different restrictions. As the filter gets dirty, it will restrict more.

The PCV valve is the biggest restriction in the stock system by alot. If you hook up bigger tubing, it will not make any difference to the flow since it will not affect the PCV valve restriction. Also, the PCV valve is either on or off. There is no variability to how open it is. If it clicks closed, it is closed. If it clicks open, it is open. If the filter becomes nearly as restrictive or more restrictive than the PCV valve, then the total restriction of the PCV system will increase and you will get less flow out of the crankcase.

It's up to you whether you want to keep the filter or not, but you'd better keep an eye on it and have some way of telling if it is restricting PCV system flow.

tblake · 10-16-2005, 09:48 PM

I'm kinda being nosy here, but what are the real benafits of installing such a system?

Brian R. · 10-16-2005, 09:50 PM

You are trapping contaminated oil that is otherwise burned by the engine. The oil will contribute to carbon formation in the combustion chamber as well as emissions.

BlazerLT · 10-16-2005, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian R.

The oil that is in the filter will restrict flow through the filter. It will continuously and slowly flow through the filter, slowly since the oil is viscous, and continuously since once it flows through the filter, it will be replaced by more oil from the crankcase. Your oil viscosity and dilution will change how much the filter restricts flow, so each engine will have different restrictions. As the filter gets dirty, it will restrict more.

The PCV valve is the biggest restriction in the stock system by alot. If you hook up bigger tubing, it will not make any difference to the flow since it will not affect the PCV valve restriction. Also, the PCV valve is either on or off. There is no variability to how open it is. If it clicks closed, it is closed. If it clicks open, it is open. If the filter becomes nearly as restrictive or more restrictive than the PCV valve, then the total restriction of the PCV system will increase and you will get less flow out of the crankcase.

It's up to you whether you want to keep the filter or not, but you'd better keep an eye on it and have some way of telling if it is restricting PCV system flow.

Brian,

I sincerely appreciate your contribution to this thread.

Unfortuneately, I am going to have to disagree with you there based on the following. I thought the same thing and I cut the element out seeing you still need the filter element assembly to put everything together. I did this and the idle engine speed went up by close to 50-75rpms. I then installed a new filter element back in there and everything went back to normal. The increase in hose size did allow for more flow through the assembly and because you also removed the small stock PCV hose size restriction which lead to more flow and there for the engine recognized it as a vacuum leak. Even if there is only a finite amount the pcv valve opens up doesn't mean there is a finite amount of air that can be sucked through that diameter of opening.

The filter element does restrict the flow, but nothing close to what you think it does.

As shown above, the filter is incredibely porous and if you blow or suck through the actual full assembled separator assembly, the restriction is minimal.

What it boils down to is the filter does not hinder the PCV gas evacuation from the crankcase. As you can see in the photos, it is getting PLENTY of airflow if it is able to get that much oil in that small of a timeframe.

I tested it both ways and the engine and filter performs better with the filter installed. With the filter cut, the flow was just too high and oil way not being separated as well. The flow was too high and some of the oil was still getting through and into the intake.

It is perfect with the filter installed. Check out the other links in the first post in this thread. Most people actually leave it in.

Brian R. · 10-16-2005, 10:31 PM

As I said, if you leave the filter in, you better have a way of check it's contribution to flow restriction as time goes on. Your short time using it is not indicative of how it will perform in your truck (nor in other's trucks) in the future. How much it resticts the flow now and how much it restricts the flow in 20k miles are two different things.

Regardless of what happens in your truck, i think it is advisable for everyone who tampers with the PCV system to be cautious and be aware of how much each truck differs in blow-by, as well as oil viscosity.

Extrapolating advise to everyone on the basis of what is best for your truck is chancy in this type of modification, at best.

drdd · 10-16-2005, 10:34 PM

with the filter and catch can being oriented at 90 degrees to the hose/air flow ... ... ... how is the oil/air/fuel/gunk being drawn towards the filter and into the can?

does the filter extend up into the black plastic part with the directional arrow? meaning all flow must go thru the filter first?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

Brian,

I sincerely appreciate your contribution to this thread.

Unfortuneately, I am going to have to disagree with you there based on the following. I thought the same thing and I cut the element out seeing you still need the filter element assembly to put everything together. I did this and the idle engine speed went up by close to 50-75rpms. I then installed a new filter element back in there and everything went back to normal. The increase in hose size did allow for more flow through the assembly and because you also removed the small stock PCV hose size restriction which lead to more flow and there for the engine recognized it as a vacuum leak. Even if there is only a finite amount the pcv valve opens up doesn't mean there is a finite amount of air that can be sucked through that diameter of opening.

The filter element does restrict the flow, but nothing close to what you think it does.

As shown above, the filter is incredibely porous and if you blow or suck through the actual full assembled separator assembly, the restriction is minimal.

What it boils down to is the filter does not hinder the PCV gas evacuation from the crankcase. As you can see in the photos, it is getting PLENTY of airflow if it is able to get that much oil in that small of a timeframe.

I tested it both ways and the engine and filter performs better with the filter installed. With the filter cut, the flow was just too high and oil way not being separated as well. The flow was too high and some of the oil was still getting through and into the intake.

It is perfect with the filter installed. Check out the other links in the first post in this thread. Most people actually leave it in.

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