Catch Can?

[SuperRaptor]

Well that's flattering. ?
But I assure you that I'm really just an old man who spends way too much time reading what the collective have experienced. Admittedly for years now.

Having said that, I prefer to dance around this subject a bit. I personally will not be putting a catch can on mine. I have great respect for the design of the factory PVC system after being "schooled" by someone who IS very knowledgeable about the 3.5 Ecoboost. He's pretty convincing regarding how Ford approached managing the crankcase ventilation on this motor. It's well thought out and had a ton of testing behind it. It's not just parts bin stuff slapped on.

But that same fella did agree that if someone insisted on adding a catch can to this motor, if they KNOW what they are doing, and thus avoid the really poorly designed ones, they could at least mitigate the risks of creating problems, some of which can be serious long term.

My interests are piqued, what are the problems a poorly designed one could cause? I didn’t run one on my 18 EB but on my PB with the crazy temperature swings I see sometimes running with the engine off I decided to install a JLT. I collected about a tablespoon in the first 1500 so nothing too crazy.
I don’t doubt the ford design per say but I do realize they can’t install catch cans from the factory.
I had ran one on my 6.2 Raptor and I don’t think over the whole life I had it (~25,000 miles) that it would have filled up an entire container but most of its trips were longer.

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[Big Cam]

I don’t doubt the ford design per say but I do realize they can’t install catch cans from the factory.

Why can catch can's not be installed from the factory?

ALso I hear a lot of people refer to the 3.5L ecoboost engine as a PB or I presume Powerboost engine. Isn't the PowerBoost just the 3.5L ecoboost with an electic motor as a helper?

Wouldn't a catch can on a PowerBoost 3.5L be as necessary as a catch can on the regular 3.5L ecoboost??

I'm so curious because my Tremor is not a powrrboost, but is the 3.5L ecoboost and with less than 1,000 miles, if this is a critical need, I'd rather do it sooner than later.

 

[Jack_P]

Why can catch can's not be installed from the factory?

ALso I hear a lot of people refer to the 3.5L ecoboost engine as a PB or I presume Powerboost engine. Isn't the PowerBoost just the 3.5L ecoboost with an electic motor as a helper?

Wouldn't a catch can on a PowerBoost 3.5L be as necessary as a catch can on the regular 3.5L ecoboost??

I'm so curious because my Tremor is not a powrrboost, but is the 3.5L ecoboost and with less than 1,000 miles, if this is a critical need, I'd rather do it sooner than later.

I'm not sure it is as critical on the newer 3.5 Ecoboost (and Powerboost) that have the direct and the port injection.
The port injection will help clean the valve and combustion chamber of the EGR PVC goop But It definitely cannot hurt to keep that crap from being put into the entire intake side, inlet tubes, intercooler, turbos, etc.
These pics are of a UPR kit I installed on my 13 3.5 Eco after i upgraded the intercooler and saw what looked like nasty oil change poor out of my stock intercooler..... My son still has this truck, runs great. Still screws?
I'll be installing a J&L Catch Can Kit on my 22 PB in the next week or so.
Good Luck

 

[Snakebitten]

In colder temps it is not unusual for there to be a large increase in collected volume of liquid water and fuel, as a result of condensating vapors that otherwise wouldn't have liquefied, but rather passed harmlessly through the combustion chamber. So it can be a little misleading. And in really cold conditions the system could actually freeze and block/plug the flow.

As for potential negatives from a poorly designed catch can solution,........ a malfunctioning check valve, or collapsed or blocked lines, can result in unintended high crankcase (-neg)vacuum or (+pos)pressure that can wreak havoc on things like rear main seal leaks, ring pack loads, and oil flow irregularities.

As long as it's properly installed, designed to perform properly in all conditions, there's likely no harm. I'm just not convinced it's addressing a serious issue, but rather introducing a potential for one.

 

[astrand1]

J & L makes one for the 21 and 22 powerboost. Have one on my Ecoboost and it works fine.

Same. I also have the J&L. I dont really catch very much but I don’t think it hurts to have it. I don’t see where it would do any harm but who knows.

 

[SuperRaptor]

Why can catch can's not be installed from the factory?

ALso I hear a lot of people refer to the 3.5L ecoboost engine as a PB or I presume Powerboost engine. Isn't the PowerBoost just the 3.5L ecoboost with an electic motor as a helper?

Wouldn't a catch can on a PowerBoost 3.5L be as necessary as a catch can on the regular 3.5L ecoboost??

I'm so curious because my Tremor is not a powrrboost, but is the 3.5L ecoboost and with less than 1,000 miles, if this is a critical need, I'd rather do it sooner than later.

It is the same motor indeed. From what I’ve seen, and I could be WAY off here, but I have some routes that my ICE motor may be off for 3-4 miles and I’ve seen my coolant drop nearly 40* (180-140ish). In my mind it would make sense that all the coolers are seeing similar drops and you’d have a condition for condensation in the crankcase. Like I said I could be way off ?

The beginning of my route to work is all downhill as well and from when I leave my house to until after I get my coffee it’s usually 10 minutes with the ICE off where my coolant temps are sitting ~100* for quite a while, even in the summer months.

I'm not sure it is as critical on the newer 3.5 Ecoboost (and Powerboost) that have the direct and the port injection.
The port injection will help clean the valve and combustion chamber of the EGR PVC goop But It definitely cannot hurt to keep that crap from being put into the entire intake side, inlet tubes, intercooler, turbos, etc.
These pics are of a UPR kit I installed on my 13 3.5 Eco after i upgraded the intercooler and saw what looked like nasty oil change poor out of my stock intercooler..... My son still has this truck, runs great. Still screws?
I'll be installing a J&L Catch Can Kit on my 22 PB in the next week or so.
Good Luck

That came out of your intercooler? Around 8oz of oil??

 

[Ryan74]

That looks like the Butterbeer I got at Universal Studios Harry Potter Land ?

 

[Jack_P]

It is the same motor indeed. From what I’ve seen, and I could be WAY off here, but I have some routes that my ICE motor may be off for 3-4 miles and I’ve seen my coolant drop nearly 40* (180-140ish). In my mind it would make sense that all the coolers are seeing similar drops and you’d have a condition for condensation in the crankcase. Like I said I could be way off ?

The beginning of my route to work is all downhill as well and from when I leave my house to until after I get my coffee it’s usually 10 minutes with the ICE off where my coolant temps are sitting ~100* for quite a while, even in the summer months.



That came out of your intercooler? Around 8oz of oil??

No, that came out of the catch can, in @2500-3k miles.
It separates like that after sitting for a few minutes. Nasty mix of oil, gas, water.
Note: The PCV still works to let the engine breath to get rid of moisture, etc. Just the catch can gives the ability to trap most of the goop before it gets back into the engine.

 

[SuperRaptor]

Interested in a link for the guy making the lights as well.

OP - That grille looks good. I was underwhelmed with the BAP grille also. I love the polished Platinum grille however I’m not paying for one and then paying to have it patch matched. LOL

No, that came out of the catch can, in @2500-3k miles.
It separates like that after sitting for a few minutes. Nasty mix of oil, gas, water.
Note: The PCV still works to let the engine breath to get rid of moisture, etc. Just the catch can gives the ability to trap most of the goop before it gets back into the engine.

Holy Sh** I’ve never seen that much come out of a catch can that quickly. Cold weather/short drives?
My PB barely covers the bottom of the catch can every 1,500 miles.

 

[Snakebitten]

The desparity between the quantity and makeup of the contents of two similar trucks (engines), should at least make one wonder?

 

[Jack_P]

Holy Sh** I’ve never seen that much come out of a catch can that quickly. Cold weather/short drives?
My PB barely covers the bottom of the catch can every 1,500 miles.

As stated, its from my old truck. 2013 3.5 Eco with mods.

 

[scott011422]

I've been on the fence now for awhile. Regardless of the extra injector cleaning the valve, I still hate the thought of all that crap in my intake. There are many makes to choose from and the points made by SnakeBitten about freezing lines is definitely a concern in northern Illinois.

As far as oil in the intercooler or charge piping, that person prolly has a bad turbo. Unless someone is dumping oil in their air cleaner, Really the only way for oil to get in there. The PCV system is in the intake, Which is where the goop would be. The charge piping and intercooler is between the turbo and intake. Far from the PCV system. A bad oil shaft seal could definitely leak oil into the charge air which would wind up in the intercooler.

Has anyone seen this video from FordTechMakuloco? While better than DI only, There still is a pretty good start to some notable buildup. To people keeping their truck for the long haul or lots of miles still something to think about. I traded in my 05' F150 on my Powerboost with 190k. You cant tell me I may not have had problems with twice the buildup.

 

[astrand1]

I've been on the fence now for awhile. Regardless of the extra injector cleaning the valve, I still hate the thought of all that crap in my intake. There are many makes to choose from and the points made by SnakeBitten about freezing lines is definitely a concern in northern Illinois.

As far as oil in the intercooler or charge piping, that person prolly has a bad turbo. Unless someone is dumping oil in their air cleaner, Really the only way for oil to get in there. The PCV system is in the intake, Which is where the goop would be. The charge piping and intercooler is between the turbo and intake. Far from the PCV system. A bad oil shaft seal could definitely leak oil into the charge air which would wind up in the intercooler.

Has anyone seen this video from FordTechMakuloco? While better than DI only, There still is a pretty good start to some notable buildup. To people keeping their truck for the long haul or lots of miles still something to think about. I traded in my 05' F150 on my Powerboost with 190k. You cant tell me I may not have had problems with twice the buildup.

Yes I’ve watched that video. I am subscribed to his channel. Lots of great info from Brian. I’m glad that he talked about when the port injection actually is used. That’s a question I always wondered. So along that line of thinking I’m someone who keeps it out of the turbos as much as possible so by keeping the load low to keep my mpgs up I wonder if I’m keeping my valves cleaner than say someone who is either towing a lot or hot rodding around. ?

 

[TexasTruck]

Finally got around to posting my 1K miles UPR catch can results. To my surprise, I don't see any indication of condensation mixed with the oil. When I emptied the catch can, it looked similar in color to the oil I drained from the oil pan; dark amber. Any way, I wanted to measure the amount of oil with a popsicle stick, if only I had one, so I used a kitchen knife (shhh don't tell my wife, yes I wiped it off and some times use them as a flat blade screw driver)...

As you can see, I have about 1/2" of oil as shown on the knife tip...

It may not seem like much and the port injection helps the intake valves, but I'm not sure where this oil would pool inside the intake manifold if I didn't catch at least some of it.....

 

[Dat1Guy]

Thought I'd share my 0.02$ 21 PB waited until the I went over the bumper to bumper milage instantly installed J&L air oil seperator... 15min install and honestly took more time to find tools than it took to install it...

After running it for a few months I ordered a new intercooler and a canister extention from seeing how much oil it was pulling from the system, your factory intercooler would be coated in oil by the time the factory warranty runs out. And removing the rubber hose into the intercooler will confirm it on yours like it did mine...

Best of luck to all Ford should have added one of these from factory and I regret running truck without one from day 1.

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