Ford performance oil air separator

[Racket]

You know what I meant... but I'll re-phrase it Do those other vehicles have the factory designed separation systems, installed from the factory on the new vehicle, like the Ranger does?

Yes. It part of what is commonly known as the pollution control system.

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[XRANGER2019]

Just because you catch fluid in your catch can after you plumb one in doesn’t mean that the factory system isn’t working...

the problem is where the oil fuel and water go not that it works factory system goes back into the oil and the intake were it deposits carbon on valves and pistons a catch can you remove it from the system.

 

[Dgc333]

FWIW, all 2.3 Ecoboost engines have the same baffle plate / PCV assembly on the side of the block. Some of the early 15 Ecoboost Mustangs had an issue with smoking at idle which was addressed by issuing a revised baffle plate/PCV assembly under a TSB.

The baffle plate causes the air traveling through it to change direction several times resulting the oil in suspension to colesse drop out of suspension and drain back into the pan. Is it 100% effective, of course not. Radium makes a billet aluminum replacement that has more sophisticated baffling which will cause more oil to drop out of suspension than the factory unit. It isn't 100% effective either.

A catch can will collect the oil that gets past the baffle plate but it is not 100% effective either. Awhile back I read an article on an F150 forum where folks with the Ecoboost engines were putting two catch can in series. The second one would still be catching oil.

Besides oil collecting on the back side of the intake valves potentially impacting performance, oil in the cylinder reduces the octane of the mixture which can result in detonation.

The factory has decided that a more sophisticated oil separation system is not cost effective. It is entirely up to us Ranger owners to decide if the added cost of a better system is worth it.

 

[txquailguy]

I've had my Mishimoto catch can installed for several years now and about 70K miles....so here is my take.
I only run 91 octane (highest we can get at the pump) and that makes a huge difference. Higher octane, less gunk.
So in the summer I catch VERY little in my can and it looks very refined....somewhat golden and clear....not a problem.
In summer/hot weather you have to empty the can like once or twice in 3 months.

Now in the winter it's a totally different story due to fuel chemistry.....
MUCH more water vapor and solids....looks like clay water with clay in it at times.
In winter you have to empty the can after each fill up if the weather is cold and wet.

Bottom line....I would not want what I catch in the winter to go back into my engine....can't be good!
IMHO as always.....

P.S......I don't know if the catch can has anything to do with it but my Ranger runs as good or better today at 91K as it did on Day 1.......

 

[RangerTX]

The dampener has fixed so many things, that I mounted one under my hood to act as a catch can. It works great. Long live the dampener!

 

[Trigganometry]

Radium makes a billet aluminum replacement that has more sophisticated baffling which will cause more oil to drop out of suspension than the factory unit. It isn't 100% effective either.

Take a second look at that. I was looking to use one of their aftermarket plates and then they say not for use in our Rangers. Have no idea why, but that’s what they say

 

[quangdog]

Oh look, more fuel to add to this fire: I'm currently working on a video testing intake valve cleaner - the one from CRC, specifically. My truck just hit 30k miles, and I cracked open the intake and popped a borescope in there to see how the valves looked. Then I reassembled everything and did the valve cleaning with the CRC spray, then took the intake off again and re-inspected. For background, I run 91 octane (highest I can get in my area), always from a Chevron station.

There will be a full video when I finish editing, but here's a screenshot before cleaning:

And after:

It's a bit hard to tell with just screenshots, but in the after shot, the back of the valve is so shiny that the camera has adjusted it's exposure to compensate - so the darker areas look MUCH darker than they actually are. Note that the walls of the intake have a lot less carbon on them, and the valve itself is substantially cleaner. Most of the junk that was caked on the back of the valve is gone, the stem is cleaner, and the ridge of built-up carbon along the rim of the valve is reduced. Again - this is much easier to see in the actual footage, so stay tuned for whenever I can finish the edit.

My bottom line: These engines have a fair amount of junk that gets onto the back of the valves, starting from day 1. Catch can systems likely help a lot, but they are pretty expensive. It's much more cost-effective to do this chemical clean every .. say... 10k miles than to install a catch can. This cleaner runs about $12 at my local auto parts store. If I clean every 10k miles, that's $120 in cleaner per 100k miles driven. The catch can systems I've looked at cost north of $300... and you still need to perform a cleaning like this from time to time - just less often. For me, the math does not add up to install a catch can.

But you do you!

 

[SilverSlugger]

That is incorrect brother.....I can prove that too.

Why don't all major car manufactures have them?.... Ill wait. And don't tell me its cost savings, as their marketing team would spin up the commercial of "longer lasting" in a second if they did anything LOL

 

[SilverSlugger]

Catch cans are a total waste of money. If they did anything to make an engine last longer, every major car manufacturer would have them stock.

If you are truly that paranoid that your brand new engine needs a catch can, then look into walnut blasting your internals. That is an actual proven practice done to remove carbon build up.

 

[Grumpaw]

Catch cans are a total waste of money. If they did anything to make an engine last longer, every major car manufacturer would have them stock.

If you are truly that paranoid that your brand new engine needs a catch can, then look into walnut blasting your internals. That is an actual proven practice done to remove carbon build up.

What about pistachio blasting ???

 

[dtech]

What about pistachio blasting ???

I prefer to eat pistachios then wash them down with a big gulp of my latest catch can contents, less wear and tear on my internals. So I can honestly say my catch can is not a total waste of money, plus if you have one posting pics of it's contents on here is a popular pastime, that in and of itself might justify buying one.

 

[SigOris]

It never ended. It's like Groundhog Day.

Or HERPES

 

[dtech]

Or HERPES

I always start hearing in my head the DC Five song, Catch us if you can instead of I got you babe when this subject invariably re-emerges. DC Five had that driving drum beat in their songs, Glad all over , I like it like that, bits and pieces etc.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

This is my catch can. I only have to change it once……when I sell it.

 

[dtech]

ok, that pic of a barrel brought back images of the guy below, appropriately known as The Barrelman, for many yrs was a fixture at Denver Broncos games, note the fans in winter garb behind him, if you wondered how he stayed warm - well I caught a whiff of him at a game once and he wasn't lacking in anti-freeze and not the ethylene glycol type although it wouldn't have surprised me if he had had his share of that. Who knows what toxic/noxious substances collected in that barrel . RIP barrelman.

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