Oil Catch Can, Eliminate that knock!

I'm catching at a similar rate, albeit less cus our usage is a lot less. Barely 500 kms monthly. There are a few others have their occ's fill real fast, not sure what's up with that. Hopefully not coolant...

 

Thank you very much to all contributors and all the great info in this thread. It took me a while to read all pages and posts. I finally finished my install of my OCC Reuien style from the ebay links. I did clean EGR, EGR cooler, pipe, intake, MAP, new PCV. My cooler was not as bad as some on here with 171,000 miles on my 2013 (Northern California, San Jose area).

I am afraid that I may have further trouble. By the time I read to the part of the thread where someone mentions head gasket problem and possibility and to check coolant level, (after 4 days since knock started during the cold and rainy months) my coolant was low.

After the install and cleaning, I still get an occasional knock / rattle on cold start. I had refilled my coolant and trying to observe if it is loosing. I had to top off a few ounces coolant after a few hundred miles...(not too sure yet if it was actually loosing coolant). I do not see any leaks. [/IMG]

Note 9 ?

 

No pink crusties seen from below, underside of water pump? Funny, but I guess that would be preferable.

 

More short trips = more moisture to the engine and then to the OCC when engine heats up properly.
I drive much quite short trips, under 5-10km many times, car always outside. On colder weather(not yet freezing) i got so much more then to OCC after driving little longer after short trips. On long trip engine heats up good and moisture starts getting out via PCV.
Then at summer, no moisture at all. Or also during one cold week, i drove only couple longer(one hour) trips and also no water at OCC.

I chose not to use OCC at all on freezing temps like i have written before. I rather ”burn” those moistures than get em to the OCC where they can potentially freeze.

Short trips also reason for me to change oil every ~7k km.
There is also ”rule of thumb” here in Finland. If you drive lots of short trips at winter, then be sure to take car at least once a week to longer hour or so trip. That will dry out engine at it will really like it.

 

I’ve searched for this bracket and can’t figure out how to order one. Can you help? Thanks!!

 

Send @danlatu a message. He has a link on his profile where you can order one

 

Edit: wrong thread!

 

Bought a 2010 gen3 trim IV new in Aug 2009 and only have 54.5k miles. Work commute is ~17mi round trip. With a short commute and freezing temp winters would this end up being a "high "maintenance mod?

 

Do you mean is it worthwhile to do?

 

Yes

 

Then yeah. It's good for anyone really. There were some worries about protracted sub-freezing winter temps maybe freezing up an OCC, with bad results. I'm not sure how serious that is. A pool at the bottom of the intake manifold is inevitable without one, and who knows how much stuff didn't condense and stay there, blew through, carbonning up the combustion chamber, the EGR.

@qettyz (up the page, located in Finland) I believe takes his out through winter, concerned about freezing. I think I'd rather just monitor, see if it was in fact freezing, and also consider something like an oil pan heater, to keep it from freezing. Winter is when you tend to accumulate the most.

 

Even if the stuff at the bottom of your OCC freezes, isn't that the equivalent of just having a slightly smaller OCC?

 

Depends on the internal labyrinth. Mine's a couple of steel wool "Wheaties", in the flow, and I think if they froze solid it'd be problematic:


That's the top half, pictured. The bottom half is basically a screwed-on cup, with a drain spigot.

OTOH, the engine bay is warm, once the car is warmed up, but how long does that take? FWIW, I had no problems, but very mild west coast winters, once or twice got below minus 5C, in the dead of night.

 

1790 kms since I last checked the oil catch can, 80 cc drained today. Pretty watery, caramel stuff. Rain winters seem to result in a lot more accumulation.

 

This past Winter, I took out the wire mesh wheatie from the OCC to give it more volume. I think it was just as effective collecting contaminated creamy caramel fluid. May not replace the wheatie. The OCC is a Ruien style installed behind the left front headlight.

 

Saw this today: