Do I really need an oil catch can?

[Angrey]

If it comes from factory its fine. If you buy the ford performance one and have it installed at dealership you should be fine. When you buy a non approved aftermarket part and install it yourself is where its a grey area. Really not a hard concept.

My suggest would be to remove the catch can if you have a engine failure or anything related to the PCV/oil system. Before you take your car into service.

Although I agree with your point, I think you're grasping here. There are some jerk dealerships out there that like to reject warranty claims on all sorts of chincy things, but I've never heard or read about a dealer trying to deny a warranty claim based upon an oil/air separator.

I do agree that it's better to not have an issue at all, but when weighed against the likelihood of a warranty claim issue, I think the odds are small to none and the need for a can is demonstrable.

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[edco]

i put the risk of losing warranty from a catch can right up there with modding the cabin with an air freshener.

On the camaro forum about 5 years back. A new Camaro buyer had his 6.2L freeze from a crank lube system failure. 8K miles on the ODO. Certainly a factory defect. But, he installed an aftermarket air oil separator. GM denied warranty for the mod. The guy collected petition signatures on the forum trying to shame GM into covering the 6.2L. About 200 camaro fans signed on. No dice. I felt badly for the guy. He had a $42K auto note, was tapped out on rent and expenses, and he owned a C6G lawn monument. Ouch.

 

[Angrey]

On the camaro forum about 5 years back. A new Camaro buyer had his 6.2L freeze from a crank lube system failure. 8K miles on the ODO. Certainly a factory defect. But, he installed an aftermarket air oil separator. GM denied warranty for the mod. The guy collected petition signatures on the forum trying to shame GM into covering the 6.2L. About 200 camaro fans signed on. No dice. I felt badly for the guy. He had a $42K auto note, was tapped out on rent and expenses, and he owned a C6G lawn monument. Ouch.

Maybe GM is different than Ford. Ford, when you challenge your denial, an engineer has to write an opinion letter stating that the reason for the failure or defect was directly contributable to the aftermarket modification.

We're talking about highly obscure events. Anyone that worried about it, should live in a cave so that you don't die from asteroid strikes or falling airplane parts.

 

[Mspider]

Maybe GM is different than Ford. Ford, when you challenge your denial, an engineer has to write an opinion letter stating that the reason for the failure or defect was directly contributable to the aftermarket modification.

We're talking about highly obscure events. Anyone that worried about it, should live in a cave so that you don't die from asteroid strikes or falling airplane parts.

Its not really about highly obscure things. Call Ford and a few different dealerships. Ask them if its ok to install a aftermarket oil separator to the PCV system. Wanna bet most of them say it will effect your warranty? You can definitely bet Ford will will say yes.

Just google "catch can warranty ford". Read all those discussions by F-150 drivers and dealerships telling them catch cans can cause warranty problems. Its unlikely you will ever have a warranty claim denied due to a catch can because its unlikely you will ever have a failure to your engine or related parts. That`s why the guy on the camaro forums was such a case study. He had a engine failure and a catch can. 2 rare things.

 

[Bulldog9]

Necessary? Obviously for normal street driving NO. The PCV already has some baffling to minimize oil mist in the PCV system. Beneficial? Probably.

OCC's are not a new concept, and as I said above, OEM PCV systems already have a baffle to separate most of the oil out of the PCV flow. They are however, a current internet fad/trend, there is also a big thread on this on the Tundra Forums.

As Ford Performance makes them for the Passenger and Driver side, they obviously see some purpose. My car will never be boosted, and I will likely not be tracking the car, but I did add the Ford Performance Passenger side due to its being an OEM part, and plug and play. I wouldn't recommend cutting the PCV system lines or hacking into anything on a car under warranty.

I'd go as far as to say that if your motor is not modified, you don't NEED one, even when racing or tracking the car, but your motor would benifit from it. I plan to keep my Bullitt 20+ years (as I did my M3 and Porsche) any little things I can do to help with longevity and health of the car is going to be looked at. Therefor, even though I don't NEED to, I put on the passenger FP OCC, put in the magnetic drain plug, and run the larger oil filter.

 

[Mspider]

Maybe GM is different than Ford. Ford, when you challenge your denial, an engineer has to write an opinion letter stating that the reason for the failure or defect was directly contributable to the aftermarket modification.

We're talking about highly obscure events. Anyone that worried about it, should live in a cave so that you don't die from asteroid strikes or falling airplane parts.

I guess the engineer here decided social media was enough without even looking at engine. Just reading this today.

" A field technician specialist (FTS) was assigned to the case but rather than inspecting in person as is typically done, they did not inspect the motor. Instead either he or someone at the dealer looked me up on social media. "

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/toyota-denied-warranty-repair-gr86-153200767.html

 

[1958cyclist]

I have cans on both my Focus ST...direct injection and my port injection Mustang GT. My tech sent me photos of the intake valve crud build up on the Focus after a few thousand miles, before he cleaned them and installed the can. Wow, is all I have to say. Direct injection for sure...port injection...maybe not.

 

[Unas2k5]

I have the right and left one. I do have a supercharger . Should I have the shop install them?

 

[joe603]

i wouldn't risk it...warranty could be denied if you had any major issue. Hell, I've seen a claim denied from an aftermarket warranty company for a car with a CAI.

 

[edco]

i wouldn't risk it...warranty could be denied if you had any major issue. Hell, I've seen a claim denied from an aftermarket warranty company for a car with a CAI.

What warranty? my GT is 16 years old this October. The only reason I still have it is because of good care, maintenance, and the mods. The air/oil separator is a maintenance item I would not delete.

 

[Mspider]

What warranty? my GT is 16 years old this October. The only reason I still have it is because of good care, maintenance, and the mods. The air/oil separator is a maintenance item I would not delete.

Yea once you are out of warranty, who cares. Mod away

Personally I plan to never install a catch can even out of warranty. I also expect to have zero problems due to port injection.

 

[joe603]

What warranty? my GT is 16 years old this October. The only reason I still have it is because of good care, maintenance, and the mods. The air/oil separator is a maintenance item I would not delete.

To each his own...but I'd like to think that if an air/oil separator was needed, we'd see them in more cars. I had one in my 16 charger 392 and while it did get some oil, it wasn't anything crazy. Maybe had to empty it once a year....and I had the car for 5 years.

 

[edco]

To each his own...but I'd like to think that if an air/oil separator was needed, we'd see them in more cars. I had one in my 16 charger 392 and while it did get some oil, it wasn't anything crazy. Maybe had to empty it once a year....and I had the car for 5 years.

Oil separation is about high RPM. Crank windage atomizes 5W20 more than old world 10W40 with STP. The more rpm the more PCV output. One issue is octane and burn rate. Wetting down the A/F charge with 5W20 fog defeats a 93 Octane tune. Second issue is spark. The 93 Oct benefit is above 4200 RPM in the 4.6L. The spark is advanced but has has only millisecods to react. Oil on the plug gap dims the spark energy just when it needs to be brightest.
Getting groceries - every one who says the "can" is not necessary is right.
Driving safari in the Ozarks, running half a day in 3rd at 35-55 hundred rpm, I empty the lexan separator jar in the trash can at the pump, bc it is full. It depends on what you do with the car.

 

[Angrey]

It's noteworthy that the driver's side rarely gets any oil. For whatever reason, the valve cover on the driver's side is different than the passenger side. So either the additional baffle near the crankcase port helps to keep it in the head or the rotational direction of the primary and secondary chains (relative to the port). It's just curious that Ford could replicate the condition on the passenger side. Be nice if someone could just make a valve cover that either relocates the port to a better location and/or includes the baffle arrangement found on the driver's side cover.

 

[K4fxd]

It's noteworthy that the driver's side rarely gets any oil.

That is because the driver side is an air intake 99% of the time. The only time the driver side gets blow by is under WOT.

The crank case ventilation system is fresh air in the driver side, crank case air out the passenger side, unless WOT then both sides see crank case air passing out.

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