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Advantages of using an oil catch can! Here's the proof.

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Jettech498

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2021 Ford Explorer XLT
I put a JLT catch can on our 2021 XLT when it was almost brand new. I changed the oil in it at 700 miles using Mobil 1 EP and the factory oil filter before we went on our trip to Maine from Atlanta. After just 2800 miles, this was in the catch can. See the pic. That oil that was trapped in the catch can would have been starting the coking process on the intake valves, of which is not a good thing at all. I have no affiliation with any catch can manufactures but I do swear by JLT because they always fit perfectly and do their job. If you haven't put one on your vehicle yet, please do. It's only 150 bucks that I can promise you will save you a ton of money down the road. Unfortunately our 2.3L engines are not port injected, which would help clean the backside of the intake valves. It is what it is...

20210826_212131.jpg
 



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They definitely do a great job of keeping the valves and turbo clean.
 






I put a JLT catch can on our 2021 XLT when it was almost brand new. I changed the oil in it at 700 miles using Mobil 1 EP and the factory oil filter before we went on our trip to Maine from Atlanta. After just 2800 miles, this was in the catch can. See the pic. That oil that was trapped in the catch can would have been starting the coking process on the intake valves, of which is not a good thing at all. I have no affiliation with any catch can manufactures but I do swear by JLT because they always fit perfectly and do their job. If you haven't put one on your vehicle yet, please do. It's only 150 bucks that I can promise you will save you a ton of money down the road. Unfortunately our 2.3L engines are not port injected, which would help clean the backside of the intake valves. It is what it is...

View attachment 341945
Where was this purchased? And how's the installation procedure and fit?
 






All GDI engines should come from the factory with catch cans. I thought all of Ford's turbo engines used dual port injection these days. The port injectors only fire periodically to help prevent carbon buildup on the intake valves. Also, that oil lays in low points of the intact tract and coats everything along the way.
 






All GDI engines should come from the factory with catch cans. I thought all of Ford's turbo engines used dual port injection these days. The port injectors only fire periodically to help prevent carbon buildup on the intake valves. Also, that oil lays in low points of the intact tract and coats everything along the way.
Unfortunately Ford did not add port injection to the 2.3L engine.
 






Where was this purchased? And how's the installation procedure and fit?
I bought mine from Amazon. I totally recommend the JLT brand. The fit and finish is perfect although it is kind of a pain to install. You have to jack up the drivers side front and get under the vehicle to hook up the lines. Aside from that it's perfect.
 






I'm not usually one for after market stuff as most are quite useless, such as cold air kits and etc.
However, this particular mod may have some usefulness for this application. I thought about it for my 2011 Mustang but really...it wasn't required.
The 2.3 GDI engine though, could benefit from the oil catch can.
 






I'm not usually one for after market stuff as most are quite useless, such as cold air kits and etc.
However, this particular mod may have some usefulness for this application. I thought about it for my 2011 Mustang but really...it wasn't required.
The 2.3 GDI engine though, could benefit from the oil catch can.
You might be surprised how much oil and water a catch can will intercept from a N/A engine. Especially on a high compression engine that sees a lot of spirited driving.
 






You might be surprised how much oil and water a catch can will intercept from a N/A engine. Especially on a high compression engine that sees a lot of spirited driving.
The 3.7 and 5.0 litre engines in the 2011 Mustangs are not GDI and therefore don't suffer from oil coking up on the back side of the intake valves as the GDI 2.3 litre in my XLT may suffer.
 






The 3.7 and 5.0 litre engines in the 2011 Mustangs are not GDI and therefore don't suffer from oil coking up on the back side of the intake valves as the GDI 2.3 litre in my XLT may suffer.
I wasn't just referring to just GDI engines. Put a catch can on about any engine and it will prevent a large amount of oil from entering the intake tract over time. The higher compression of many newer N/A engines can increase blowby. A catch can on N/A engines isn't as critical as it is on forced induction engines or GDI engines without dual port injection. However, they do prevent oil pooling in the intake tract and carbon buildup in the combustion chambers.
 






Just to add to this. I put a catch can on my 2016 SRT Charger 392. And the catch can was getting as much as well. So they are worth it. Just pay the 150 bucks and watch as it catches the oil......If you all don't believe me......try it for yourselves...
 






I'm not going to try it. Not because I don't believe you but I lease my vehicles so that is another expense I don't bother with. :)

Peter
 






All GDI engines should come from the factory with catch cans. I thought all of Ford's turbo engines used dual port injection these days. The port injectors only fire periodically to help prevent carbon buildup on the intake valves. Also, that oil lays in low points of the intact tract and coats everything along the way.
Catch cans are a bandaid solution, so I can see why OEMs don't include them, otherwise they would be admitting they have a problem. Plus, it's an added maintenance procedure they don't want to push onto the consumer.
 






I purchased the JLT catch can and installed it today. Will monitor every couple thousand miles and see what it's catching.

What are the potential risks, downside if you will, of an oil separator? One I can think of is the added maintenance every 10k to clean the little filter in the can, which if not performed, could clog up that PVC hose, causing issues?

Any other risks or downsides? I'm wondering how long the JLT product will last, meaning, is it going to start causing unintended issues at 50k or 100k miles?
 






Catch cans are a bandaid solution, so I can see why OEMs don't include them, otherwise they would be admitting they have a problem. Plus, it's an added maintenance procedure they don't want to push onto the consumer.
How are catch cans a bandaid solution? Of course OEMs don't admit that they designed engines to suck gallons of oil into the intake tract over time. Or that this oil causes a number of issues. OEMs take the easy way out for handling emission problems. It doesn't have to be an added maintenance item. They can drain the can directly back to the crankcase if they chose to do so.
 






I purchased the JLT catch can and installed it today. Will monitor every couple thousand miles and see what it's catching.

What are the potential risks, downside if you will, of an oil separator? One I can think of is the added maintenance every 10k to clean the little filter in the can, which if not performed, could clog up that PVC hose, causing issues?

Any other risks or downsides? I'm wondering how long the JLT product will last, meaning, is it going to start causing unintended issues at 50k or 100k miles?
I honestly don't know of any downsides or risks of installing a catch can. If it is emptied at every oil change there shouldn't be more than an ounce or so of oil in it, and I've used them for years. I've never had one back up with oil, that would be a problem if you're doing fairly constant oil changes. You should be absolutely fine sir and know that you are keeping quite a bit of oil out of your intake system, and that's always a great thing!!
 






I purchased the JLT catch can and installed it today. Will monitor every couple thousand miles and see what it's catching.

What are the potential risks, downside if you will, of an oil separator? One I can think of is the added maintenance every 10k to clean the little filter in the can, which if not performed, could clog up that PVC hose, causing issues?

Any other risks or downsides? I'm wondering how long the JLT product will last, meaning, is it going to start causing unintended issues at 50k or 100k miles?
I'm not sure there are any downsides. My experience tells me it's more of a belt-AND-suspenders kind of thing even without dual injection. I, for one, would be curious to see if there is any scientific data linking all that sludge buildup not necessarily to GDI but to people believing in 10-15,000 mile oil change intervals.
 






I'm not sure there are any downsides. My experience tells me it's more of a belt-AND-suspenders kind of thing even without dual injection. I, for one, would be curious to see if there is any scientific data linking all that sludge buildup not necessarily to GDI but to people believing in 10-15,000 mile oil change intervals.
That is a great comment sir.... I'm curious as well.
 






There is always lots of talk about the DI only ecoboost engines and how terrible they are going to coke up on the intake valves. Yet searching for actual images and actual issues seems to be pretty... well, quiet... Other than the constant chatter that these engines are going to have issues.

For an engine that's been around since 2015, and other ecoboost applications that aren't having issues... says sometimes folks worry too much.

Do catch cans catch stuff? Absolutely. Is there stuff going doing the intake valves and could it cause issues? Sure. But does it actually do so? The current evidence doesn't scream that it is a problem on these ecoboosts... And no, I don't care that Audi's had huge issues at one point...

To me, images of catch cans collecting "stuff" is only evidence of that. Not that its going to save me lots of money down the road... Your mileage may vary, and that's OK. Just another data point.
 



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There is always lots of talk about the DI only ecoboost engines and how terrible they are going to coke up on the intake valves. Yet searching for actual images and actual issues seems to be pretty... well, quiet... Other than the constant chatter that these engines are going to have issues.

For an engine that's been around since 2015, and other ecoboost applications that aren't having issues... says sometimes folks worry too much.

Do catch cans catch stuff? Absolutely. Is there stuff going doing the intake valves and could it cause issues? Sure. But does it actually do so? The current evidence doesn't scream that it is a problem on these ecoboosts... And no, I don't care that Audi's had huge issues at one point...

To me, images of catch cans collecting "stuff" is only evidence of that. Not that its going to save me lots of money down the road... Your mileage may vary, and that's OK. Just another data point.
My two cents: As Jettech and others have said, the catchcan will not cause any problems. I have had one on my n.a. 4.6 3 valve for years and at each oil change the can is almost full. I think that if you do frequent short drives there is tremendous benefit. The oil going back into the intake will not really have time to burn up as its supposed to and that will lead to sludge down the road. If you do frequent long drives , I think that whatever goes back into the intake will burn up. With that said and there is no down side, why not put one in? It can only help. I want to put one in my 2.3 but unfortunately my back has not been cooperating lately so not getting under the car. If I am feeling better next spring I'll do it then.
 






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