Oil catch cans are not something you will find factory fitted in cars. The device is designed to improve engine efficiency by reducing blow-by and to increase engine life by preventing the build-up of contaminants at the intake manifold.
Let’s take a look at how oil catch cans work and what benefits it brings to the table.
WHAT IS AN OIL CATCH CAN?
To understand the working of oil catch cans, we have to understand the function PCV valve and how it helps reduce blow-by in the engine
BLOW-BY AND PCV VALVE
The cylinder sleeve in the engine block consists of pistons connected to the crankshaft along with exhaust and intake valves on the cylinder head. During the engine operation, when the combustion occurs in the cylinder, sometimes the exhaust gases can leak through the pistons into the crankcase i.e. housing of the crankshaft. This is known as engine blow-by and can result in blowing up seals.
The leak usually contains a mixture of contaminants, air, fuel and oil, which leads to added pressure in the engine block. The mixture of oil mist and exhaust gases can also result in corrosive oil sludge that can clog the engine.
To prevent the build-up of oil sludge, positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) is installed near the intake manifold. The PCV valve allows the mixture of air and oil in the crankcase to escape and routes them back to the combustion chamber. This leads to safer burning of the harmful mixture without environmental consequences.
Since the PCV reroutes the mixture, it is susceptible to damage due to oil build-up. This is where oil catch cans come in.
OIL CATCH CANS
Oil catch cans are installed in between the PCV and crankcase. Instead of routing the air-oil mixture into the chamber, the PCV directs the mixture towards the oil catch cans.
The oil catch works as a filter to remove the oil from the air. It has two tubes, an inlet and an outlet. The inlet is connected to PCV, which brings the contaminated mixture into the catch can bypassing the filter. As the mist passes through the filter, it blocks off the oil to settle down. The outlet carries the clean air back into the combustion chamber.
Oil catch cans have drain valves that can be used to drain the accumulated oil. The drainage requirement varies based on engine blow-by and environmental conditions. On the other hand, ignoring to drain the oil catch can result in intake sucking in the contaminated oil fluid.
ADVANTAGES OF OIL CATCH CANS
The benefits of oil catch cans are more prevalent on turbocharged direct fuel injection engines. Here are some of the notable oil catch can purposes that make it worth the trouble of installing it:
- Keeps the intake manifold and valve clean by trapping the contaminated oil
- Prevents carbon build-up on other components including intercooler and turbocharger
- Prolongs the engine life and increases the performance, especially during race applications
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OIL CATCH CANS AND AIR-OIL SEPARATORS
The oil catch cans differ in quality whereas some expensive ones may have oil baffles to improve their effectiveness. However, you need to drain them on a regular basis.
The air-oil separator is usually more expensive as it contains more chambers and baffles to improve the effectiveness of filtering oil from the air. The air-oil separator allows the filtered oil to be redirected into the engine, thus removing the need for drainage.
However, since external factors can increase the rate of oil collection, it is best to keep track of fluid accumulation at first in the catch can. The price of an oil catch can is dependent on the quality and design. The design varies from simple filters to more expensive ones with baffle chambers for more effective separation of oil.
You can change oil catch cans to increase the efficiency of the engine when you buy a used car in the UAE. Besides, always choose the right type of oil to not only enhance the engine’s performance but also increase the engine’s life.
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