Guess it's time for an oil catch can

[Gone in 60]

I was building a compressor system for my shop around the time I bought my FIST. I had a leftover oil separator, so I routed it inline with the PCV line. Not an automotive piece, just a small glass jar type. Over the 51k miles I've put on the car, it's collected a small amount of oil between oil changes.

A few weeks ago, while the car was out of the garage, I noticed a few oil drips on the floor. It was seeping out around the silicone connector in my Cobb charge pipe coming from the FMIC. Opened up the connection, and there was a film around the inside of the pipe. Sounds like I need a better catch can.

The car is running Cobb OTS Stage 2. My driving style is.... "spirited", but I don't abuse the poor thing.

 

[diamond_rake]

I feel like catch cans on the fiesta are a bit overrated... I hear most people that run them catch roughly a teaspoon of fluid per oil change and even then its mostly water..

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^Maybe so, but I figure that is one less teaspoonful (or couple of teaspoonfuls) of oil coking up my valves, so I installed a Damond.

 

[diamond_rake]

^^^Maybe so, but I figure that is one less teaspoon (or couple of teaspoons) of oil coking up my valves, so I installed a Damond.

That's true. I guess Damond is the way to go if you do get one.

 

[akiraproject24]

2nd the Damond

 

[Gone in 60]

Thanks for the recommendation for Damond. Took a look at their site, and like that it has a drain line.

Yeah, even if it catches a little more than my home made setup, it's less junk going into my engine. I don't plan on getting rid of this car for a very long time, so it will be money well spent in my book.

 

[HardBoiledEgg]

2nd TO IT BEING A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME MONEY AND SPACE

 

[dhminer]

Thanks for the recommendation for Damond. Took a look at their site, and like that it has a drain line.

Yeah, even if it catches a little more than my home made setup, it's less junk going into my engine. I don't plan on getting rid of this car for a very long time, so it will be money well spent in my book.

I’ll be selling a radium set soon both pvc and ccv side. Only ever installed the pcv. Installing aux fuel so idc about a catch can any longer. Had Damond occ on my mazdaspeed6 and it was excellent.

 

[Gone in 60]

2nd TO IT BEING A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME MONEY AND SPACE

I'm an old man who has owned more cars and motorcycles than I can remember. Can you imagine how much money I have spent on snake oil over the years?

 

[HardBoiledEgg]

I DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW

 

[XR650R]

I want someone to go into a high mileage FiST 1.6 and show us how much shit got on the intake valves. There are plenty of FiSTs with plenty of miles on them that seem to be running fine.
The new Dragon 1.5 we don't get in car form has port and direct injection.
We'll never get the new FiST.

 

[Capri to ST]

I read a lot about oil catch cans before deciding not to get one. Some argued that they keep some oil out of the intake system, others argued that that oil would have been burned off anyway and that they are of no use.
Those who are thinking about getting one should be aware of two things. One is that there already is some kind of oil separator built into the Fiesta ST stock. The other is that a catch can can introduce leaks into the system.
Forum member Joker328 posted a helpful blog from Stratified Auto on the subject a while back. The blog concludes that-

"However keep in mind that the OEM PCV system is well designed for the OEM motor. If you are getting a lot of blowby with the OEM motor, you probably need to address why there is so much blowby from the pistons rather than a better flowing PCV system. Also keep in mind that any obstruction you add to the PCV system (ie extra catch cans) can impede flow and therefore can cause issues such as higher oil consumption, leaking, and smoking turbos.

2. Keeping oil out of the manifold/engine. This is a big one for DI (direct injection) cars and turbo cars in general as oil coats the intake valves and can cause knock if a lot of it enters the air stream. This is the intent when installing ADDITIONAL oil to air separators such as catch cans. The additional catch can DOES help in the separation BUT the effectiveness is difficult to measure. It can look like they are doing a lot when emptied but the fluid pulled out is in large part condensation that is a normal occurrence as motors come up to temperature after a cold start."
https://www.stratifiedauto.com/blog/understanding-your-pcv-system-upgrades-and-catch-cans/

I'm not saying people who decided to get one are wrong, just that I made a different decision. I don't have sufficient mechanical knowledge to know whether or not the Stratified blog is correct, but I found it convincing.

 

[Capri to ST]

Further down in that blog they concluded-

"A. They [catch cans] do not stop carbon buildup on the back of valves in DI (direct injected cars). We have seen this time and time again and this is because some oil film still makes its way past the catch cans just like it does past the OEM catch cans. Further, flow reversion during engine operation still brings in oil over the valves. The most effective methods at preventing carbon buildup are: 1. Using high quality oils (some are being designed for DI operation specifically), 2. changing the oil often, 3. driving the cars hard to maintain high valve temperatures (yes having fun!) 4. and if possible running secondary injection across the intake valves which washes them clean and which more and more OEMs are starting to use."

 

[jeff]

I get about 2 ounces in my catch can every oil change which is around 5000 miles. My car has 41000 miles so that's 16 ounces.

View: https://youtu.be/9uCsqrId-fM?t=318

 

[Ewokeee]

If anyone could help it be cool

https://www.fiestastforum.com/threads/tcs-light-solid-wrench-light-esc-ecs-od.28635/

 

[jmrtsus]

I love that those that do have one and see what it catches poo-poo's them LOL!

 

[FiestaSTdude]

I want someone to go into a high mileage FiST 1.6 and show us how much shit got on the intake valves. There are plenty of FiSTs with plenty of miles on them that seem to be running fine.
The new Dragon 1.5 we don't get in car form has port and direct injection.
We'll never get the new FiST.

Thanks Ford!
Aren't lots of manufactures going with port and direct injection to solve this issue? I think the new GR86s have both types.

 

[AmericanIcon]

Thanks Ford!
Aren't lots of manufactures going with port and direct injection to solve this issue? I think the new GR86s have both types.

My 2021 F150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost has both. So it may be going on the whole Ecoboost line.

 

[HardBoiledEgg]

MOST OF OUR CARS ARE DUAL INJECTION NOW

 

[dhminer]

I didn't run a catch can for the first 70k miles. Routine checking of charge pipes, found more oil in them than I'd like so I got a catch can. 3k miles later, about 1 tbsp of oil. I'm not terribly worried about it caking on the valves or causing knock, I just don't want that nasty shit in my charge pipes because it's annoying to pull off a hose and find oil. That said I'm installing aux fuel this weekend and removing my occ in the process.