Oil Separator on both sides? Oil Separators at? You decide evidence is clear.

[Van@RevanRacing]

The following pictures are from three different cars. One being a 5.8 and the other two being 5.4 examples.

We'll start with example #1. My 2014 GT500 after I decided to swap intercoolers for the Kenne Bell BIGUN Intercooler. I did 1,000 miles with no oil separator and 1,800 miles with just a passenger side oil separator.

See for yourself. Ford Motorcraft 5w-50

Now let's move on to a 2011 GT500 that has 39,000 miles on the clock and 15 PSI max boost pressure and has never seen an oil separator EVER.

Oh and there's no oil blow through on the driver's side you say??? Wrong again. 2007 GT500 with KB 3.6 and 25 PSI. Driver Side inlet tube and throttle body pics.

Oil separators will not catch 100% of all of the blow through. But it sure is good peace of mind knowing you're at least trying to prevent this from happening to your ride.

 

[tvspower]

Thanks Van... That's why I run BOB'S ......BEST

 

[NightRide]

I've always ran both, it makes things much worse when using motorcraft.

 

[builttodrive]

I would like to add these to my 07 at some point. I know oil through your intake and intercooler aren't great things but can you guys shed some light on the negatives if one doesn't run them? What are the best ones to use? Bob's? JLT? is there another?

 

[Speedboosted]

We run JLT's with the newer style filter on each side. I haven't found anything in the driver side yet, but the car really hasn't been ran very hard since that one was put on. Pass side catches a TON of oil...really quite concerning since it was without a separator for about 40k miles

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

I would like to add these to my 07 at some point. I know oil through your intake and intercooler aren't great things but can you guys shed some light on the negatives if one doesn't run them? What are the best ones to use? Bob's? JLT? is there another?

Oil in the intercooler reduces the effective air quality going into the combustion chamber which can reduce the overall a/f mixture and result in knock and reduced performance. Best to try and keep that intercooler clean as best as possible.

 

[1320 Junkie]

A Breather can is the best option for the track in my opinion (minus a vaccum pump)....but unfortunately the smell can get pretty aggravating....I run a UPR catch system on mine now on both valve cover ports....Breather can is a 5 min swap for the track...it also adds a few hp ;-)

Pressurizing the crank case is all bad on alot of different levels..especially at high boost It shows its ugly face.

 

[GT Premi]

So, if a car has never had a catch can and the "damage" has already been done, what would be the point of adding one now? I would imagine there's a "critical mass" point where everything is sufficiently coated in oil and no more residue sticks. What will a catch can do now other than adding one more thing to deal with at maintenance time? Is there some way to clean out all/most/some of that gunk without having to pull the intercooler assembly?

 

[BMR Tech]

Good post Van.

I will likely end up just going to a breather set-up, once I build my motor....but for now, the separators will be more than sufficient.

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

So, if a car has never had a catch can and the "damage" has already been done, what would be the point of adding one now? I would imagine there's a "critical mass" point where everything is sufficiently coated in oil and no more residue sticks. What will a catch can do now other than adding one more thing to deal with at maintenance time? Is there some way to clean out all/most/some of that gunk without having to pull the intercooler assembly?

Fair question. I don't know at which point the intercooler no longer collects or allows oil residue to stick to it or if it ever does. Assuming there is "damage" (I'd prefer to call it "accumulation"), by adding them now you're simply trying to stop further accumulation on the core itself.

Great question about cleaning. If you look closely at the pics there is a drain plug in the bottom of the lower intake under the intercooler. I suppose one could use copious amounts of brake cleaner and open that drain up to catch and vacuum the residue and whatever comes out.

 

[Steve@TF]

anyone have the link to the recent thread about installing Bobs on drivers side of GT500?

 

[Kel]

Fair question. I don't know at which point the intercooler no longer collects or allows oil residue to stick to it or if it ever does. Assuming there is "damage" (I'd prefer to call it "accumulation"), by adding them now you're simply trying to stop further accumulation on the core itself.

Great question about cleaning. If you look closely at the pics there is a drain plug in the bottom of the lower intake under the intercooler. I suppose one could use copious amounts of brake cleaner and open that drain up to catch and vacuum the residue and whatever comes out.

That's what you do with the Grand National intercoolers - remove and flush with Brake Fluid. Of course the OEM intercoolers were quite small and easy to remove/clean compared to ours. Straight forward and works well.

 

[GT Premi]

... Assuming there is "damage" (I'd prefer to call it "accumulation"), by adding them now you're simply trying to stop further accumulation on the core itself.

...

I knew "damage" was too harsh a term, but I meant damage as far as whatever effects there are to boost/intake. I did notice the drain holes in the pix. The other important question is, where does that drain lead? I certainly wouldn't want to flush brake cleaner through my engine. Then again, most any cleaner strong enough to remove that residue is probably not going to be too healthy for the engine if it pools.

Maybe you should test some methods of cleaning the intercooler with everything in place and let us know what's the safest/best. ;-) If I can get my intercooler cleaned up in place, I will add some catch cans. If I have to disassemble everything, it's just not worth all that effort to preserve/regain just a little bit of boost.

 

[Dynobrat]

It's never too late to add a catch can. You won't gain any boost adding them. And you don't have to clean your intercooler either.

It doesn't hinder performance using or not using them. Of course you will read help prevent octane degradation and detonation but it's more a scare tactic to sell the damn things. It's designed to prolong engine life and reduce buildup on the pistons etc. It will also extend the life of your oil keeping it cleaner longer. So the idea behind them is a cleaner engine. Not just the intercooler.

Like was stated. They don't stop 100% of the blowby, they reduce the amount going through quite substantially. Nobody will have a totally spotless squeaky clean intercooler and there is no need to lose confidence in adding them at any point during the engines life and use.

The jury is out on the need for a drivers side catch can. I have both sides and after months of driving the car there's not even a hint of anything on the drivers side. (Many, many others will say the same). If you have an extra hundred dollars burning hole in your pocket get both sides but at least start with the passenger side.

My car is a 2010. 16,000 miles. Never had a catch can. We did the blower swap and during the process the intercooler was very clean. A little oil is almost a gaurantee since these cans don't trap everything. But adding them won't hurt. It will only add to the life of the engine. No need to be discouraged. No need to disinfect and bleach the motor. Just add one for a cleaner engine overall. If you look at these pics sure you might see some oil but it is still clean.

If you have a fresh clean oil change and add the catch can, a month later you check the can, you will see the oil "trapped" is much darker and dirtier than the oil in the crankcase. That's the idea behind them. To stop that contaminated oil from recirculating through the engine, even farther than just the intercooler. It helps keep things clean. Cleaner engine means better circulation of the oil and longer engine life.

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

I borrowed this pic and information from a post that 91svtbird did a couple years ago.

"Ford designed a scupper and a special metered drain located at the bottom of the lower intake housing. It is connected back up to the SC inlet using a special molded hose. This is to allow any excess oil which has been drawn into the intake through the PCV system and not initially burned to accumulate at the bottom of the lower intake housing where it can be reintroduced and atomized in the intake airflow and then burned. "

 

[Coonsnake]

You can plug that hole and pick up some boost as long as you run a catch tank on the valve covers

I wonder why Ford didn't run a catch can? Were they not that concerned with the oil build up, I know the Gen 2 Lightnings were bad about sucking oil

 

[Nsssane1]

So, if a car has never had a catch can and the "damage" has already been done, what would be the point of adding one now? I would imagine there's a "critical mass" point where everything is sufficiently coated in oil and no more residue sticks. What will a catch can do now other than adding one more thing to deal with at maintenance time? Is there some way to clean out all/most/some of that gunk without having to pull the intercooler assembly?

Bought my car with 20k miles on it with no catch can. Pulled the stock blower at 20.5 k and there was no oil. I did add a passenger side can at the same time and it does catch some oil!! Pulled the blower at 22.5k that had the catch can and no oil!! I dunno????

 

[03 DSG Snake]

anyone have the link to the recent thread about installing Bobs on drivers side of GT500?

Curious as well. Looks like there would be some custom mounting needed.

 

[jonw605]

This thread inspired me to buy a JLT.

 

[ShelbyGT5HUN]

Going to get the pass side one for sure.