Oil separator - can you explain it?

I am aware of the purpose of this device but have a few questions.
Isn't this already the job of the PVC valve/system?

This product seems to pull quite a bit of oil out, how could the engineers at Ford miss this? I guess it just seems like such a necessary add on and I am surprised it wasn't standard.

Thanks

Pcv is just positive crankcase ventilation. It's allowing the pressure and along with it fumes that are building up in the crank case to go somewhere. It does not have any filtering. With the heat and movement in your engine you have oil and some gas being aerated. Adding the filters is a good thing but it does require additional maintenance as they will eventually fill up if left unchecked indefinitely.

As the heated gasses and aerated oil pass through the PCV tubing, the oil / air separator has that contaminated air passing through a screen and the heavy stuff - i.e., the oil - falls to the bottom while the now somewhat cleaner air recirculates back into the intake to burn off any excess that that didn't drop in the catch can.

As for why not standard, I'm guessing it has something to do with the federal regs on emission systems and maybe a requirement that they be a closed loop.

I have never seen a car with a PCV system that didn't have some sort of baffling to keep the oil in the engine. Some very rudimentary to some very elaborate like you see on the Ecoboost engines.

Well designed catch cans take it to the next level. They are not standard on cars because they require frequent maintenance which typical car owners won't do. A full catch can can cause a slug of oil being drawn into the engine which in a worst case senario could cause hydraulic lock ruining the engine. An automatic system that would drain the contents back into the engine would be cost prohibitive.

svt93style said:

I am aware of the purpose of this device but have a few questions.
Isn't this already the job of the PVC valve/system?

This product seems to pull quite a bit of oil out, how could the engineers at Ford miss this? I guess it just seems like such a necessary add on and I am surprised it wasn't standard.

Thanks

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Ford engineers didn't miss this, it states in the GT350 owner's manual supplement to run catch cans if you track your car.

With that being said, its still a good idea to even run one on the passenger side at the least for normal driving as well. I've caught quite a bit on the passenger side of mine.

dgc333 said:

Well designed catch cans take it to the next level. They are not standard on cars because they require frequent maintenance which typical car owners won't do. A full catch can can cause a slug of oil being drawn into the engine which in a worst case senario could cause hydraulic lock ruining the engine. An automatic system that would drain the contents back into the engine would be cost prohibitive.

Click to expand...

This. From a warranty standpoint, it would be an absolute NIGHTMARE to expect that all 80k people who buy a Mustang each year, to include everyone from kids to dental technicians to nail technicians to lawyers and a small percentage of enthusiasts, would drain their catch can on a regular basis. I drain mine every 2k miles, and while it's not hard to do, I find that even I forget about it from time to time.

As for an automatic system, there's no way it would work. The oil that's in the catch can is a nasty mix of oil, water, and other garbage. The reason it 'works' in standard operation is because all that stuff just goes back into the combustion chambers to be burned, but it gunks up your intake on the way. If you were to put it back into the oil supply, it would end up causing corrosion from the inside, due to the contents of the blow-by.

JR

Thanks for all the input. I’ve been out of the saddle since the fox bodies.
Is there any cost traindication on installing this on day one?

JLT looks like the way to go. Ford’s is nice too but it seem you have to remove the unit to drain it?

svt93style said:

Thanks for all the input. I’ve been out of the saddle since the fox bodies.
Is there any cost traindication on installing this on day one?

JLT looks like the way to go. Ford’s is nice too but it seem you have to remove the unit to drain it?

Click to expand...

JLT is definitely the easiest to drain, just go ahead and put one on from day 1.

dwalker said:

JLT is definitely the easiest to drain, just go ahead and put one on from day 1.

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I see your in TN, some beautiful driving there.
Have you made it to the "Dragon's Tail"?

svt93style said:

I see your in TN, some beautiful driving there.
Have you made it to the "Dragon's Tail"?

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That’s not far from me! I’m about an hour north of Knoxville myself.

I did take my 2015 GT to The Dragon, but I’ve yet to take the GT350. But it’s definitely on the “to do” list for this summer.