Finally Jumped on the Oil Catch Can Bandwagon

[Jason in DLH]

Mounted the catch can today but need some 90° or 45° Hose fittings. I also need someone to confirm my thinking on the flow. The catch can has a port that goes straight into the body of the can and one with a filter on it. I assume the filtered port should be out to the manifold and the unfiltered one is in from the valve cover.

As required.

View attachment 275297

Nice!

 

[George B]

The inlet is the filtered side. Unless they flipped the design, the inlet should be the port on the left, if facing the top with both ports aimed away from you.

So out the valve cover and into the catch can port with the filter. Then out the port without the filter to the intake. If so mine is opposite the orientation you described.

 

[George B]

Installed. I hope the flow is right. It comes out of the valve cover and into the port with the brass filter. Then out the unfiltered port and into the intake. I have some 45° elbows on the way because I don’t like the way the hoses come up to the can.

 

[iamdub]

Installed. I hope the flow is right. It comes out of the valve cover and into the port with the brass filter. Then out the unfiltered port and into the intake. I have some 45° elbows on the way because I don’t like the way the hoses come up to the can.

View attachment 275995 View attachment 275996

They must've flipped the inlet and outlets. I remember it being the other way around because it makes the hoses cross as they're routed from the cover and to the intake manifold. I considered getting the 3-port (dual inlet) version and plugging the other side just so the hoses didn't cross and looked neater. But, it's my bro's truck and he couldn't care less. All resolved with a simple hood slam.

 

[George B]

They must've flipped the inlet and outlets. I remember it being the other way around because it makes the hoses cross as they're routed from the cover and to the intake manifold. I considered getting the 3-port (dual inlet) version and plugging the other side just so the hoses didn't cross and looked neater. But, it's my bro's truck and he couldn't care less. All resolved with a simple hood slam.

It’s odd because I have seen conflicting information on the flow direction for these. Many sites claim the filter is to keep the oil in the can but that seems counter intuitive to me.
I agree with you on the flow and when reading about coalescing filters I get that the air should pass through the filter media and then out of the can into the system. The oil coalesces and drops i to the can. I went out and checked on my flow again. I am going into the can on the port with the filter and out the unfiltered and my lines don’t cross.

 

[George B]

Another question. What about freezing temperatures. Any worry about the can freezing and plugging?

 

[gooffeyguy]

What temp does engine oil freeze at?

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[George B]

What temp does engine oil freeze at?

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I was thinking more about the water condensation.

 

[iamdub]

It’s odd because I have seen conflicting information on the flow direction for these. Many sites claim the filter is to keep the oil in the can but that seems counter intuitive to me.
I agree with you on the flow and when reading about coalescing filters I get that the air should pass through the filter media and then out of the can into the system. The oil coalesces and drops i to the can. I went out and checked on my flow again. I am going into the can on the port with the filter and out the unfiltered and my lines don’t cross.

Thanks for confirming that they flipped the port orientation. I often refer people to that can when they're looking for one and aren't hell-bent on spending $50-$500 for it. The port orientation doesn't affect the function, it just allows for neater hose routing with the can being on the driver side.

You want the oily air coming into the can to hit the filter media first and "stall". This lets the droplets collect together and become too heavy to be carried by the air, so they fall down into the reservoir. They're not gonna be "picked back up" at this point. Look at it as the reservoir catching what made it past the filter. If the oily air were allowed to come into the can on the unfiltered side, it'd freely pass the reservoir and then hit the filter media. You'd only catch what was heavy enough to collect on the filter and fall "back" into the reservoir, against the direction of flow. Whatever makes it past the filter at this point is headed into the intake manifold.

 

[iamdub]

Another question. What about freezing temperatures. Any worry about the can freezing and plugging?

Any condensation should be settled in the bottom of the can. Since it's not pure water, it's gonna have a lower freezing point. Even if it were to freeze, it shouldn't expand enough to fill the reservoir. If your can is filling up, either you're going way too long between drainings or your engine has oil control issues. It's the same condensation that's in the oil in the crankcase. It just turns to steam and catches a ride in the PCV currents and collects in a smaller tank than the crankcase. Most of it still (harmlessly) goes into the intake manifold and is burned off. What collects in the can is a very small amount compared to what passes through the engine when running.