What's the consensus here on catch cans vs periodic cleaning?

[kakerlak]

I've seen the catch can threads here and I think everybody can agree that sooty carbon buildup in the combustion chamber is generally undesirable.

On the face of it, intercepting that oil vapor before it gets to the cylinders sounds like a no-brainier. That having been said, I'm usually pretty reluctant to modify modern cars' drivetrains with the amount of engineering that goes into them.

And so I wondered if I'd be inadvertently depriving the engine of some intended lubrication and/or subtly skewing the volatility of the air/fuel mix.

Is leaving it as is and doing periodic injector/induction services better? It just seems like the presence of any oil vapor in the combustion chamber would be part of the engineering equation, and that removing it could have some subtle long term ripple effects. That having been said, again, I'm pretty strongly inclined to preempt any fouling in the first place, even if I still run some periodic cleaning chemicals through.

What do you folks think? And, as far as catch can setups go, is there a certain kit everybody favors currently?

 

[joegr]

It's not the combustion chamber that is the problem. It's the backs of the intake valves (outside of the combustion chamber). I don't know how much a catch can helps. I don't have one myself. I can say that properly done, they do no harm at all. There is no requirement for blowby oil in the combustion. It only gets routed there as it is the most environmentally sound way to get rid of the unwanted vapors.

 

[Markymark]

This topic has been exhaustively discussed in these forums in the past.

I do not have a catch can. I don't see how it can hurt but I subscribe to the philosophy of using expensive synthetic oil. I am at 110,000 miles and no misfires to date (knock on wood).

 

[carguy75]

I've seen the catch can threads here and I think everybody can agree that sooty carbon buildup in the combustion chamber is generally undesirable.

On the face of it, intercepting that oil vapor before it gets to the cylinders sounds like a no-brainier. That having been said, I'm usually pretty reluctant to modify modern cars' drivetrains with the amount of engineering that goes into them.

And so I wondered if I'd be inadvertently depriving the engine of some intended lubrication and/or subtly skewing the volatility of the air/fuel mix.

Is leaving it as is and doing periodic injector/induction services better? It just seems like the presence of any oil vapor in the combustion chamber would be part of the engineering equation, and that removing it could have some subtle long term ripple effects. That having been said, again, I'm pretty strongly inclined to preempt any fouling in the first place, even if I still run some periodic cleaning chemicals through.

What do you folks think? And, as far as catch can setups go, is there a certain kit everybody favors currently?

I personally will just perform a physical valve cleaning every 100k miles with the intake manifold removed over installing a catch can on my 5.0 engine.

However, a properly installed and maintained catch can with the proper restriction similar to the stock PCV system would probably be the best route for owners who want to push back the amount of carbon on the valves before dealing with a valve cleaning.

To my understanding a catch can slows the carbon build up on the valves, but do not prevent it from happening.

Note: The PCV system is a fine tuned system and installing a catch can that allows too much pressure(or restriction) could be like having a clogged PCV valve which can cause engine gaskets to prematurely fail due to increase cylinder pressures over time. Leaky engine gaskets will negate using a catch can to avoid cleaning the valves in my opinion.

 

[skipgen]

I've just been using Synthetic oil & change every 3500-4000 mi. since I bought the car @62K now have 108K - no probs so far...

 

[5.0KDM]

Note: The PCV system is a fine tuned system and installing a catch can that allows too much pressure(or restriction) could be like having a clogged PCV valve which can cause engine gaskets to prematurely fail due to increase cylinder pressures over time. Leaky engine gaskets will negate using a catch can to avoid cleaning the valves in my opinion.

Do you think our cars would throw a code if that does happen(clogged PCV)?

 

[skipgen]

Do you think our cars would throw a code if that does happen(clogged PCV)?

I'd say so... Could be mistaken though.

 

[DaleNet]

Yes, it will throw a code if the PCV gets clogged.

 

[carguy75]

Do you think our cars would throw a code if that does happen(clogged PCV)?

I would assume so, but not sure. Some cars do not throw a code when a PCV valve sticks open or closed.

I rather not take the risk on my 5.0 with a catch-can, but I am sure that a well made catch-can will have the proper resistance if properly maintained and serviced.