If you drive every couple of weeks on the open road for about an hour, this purifies the oil, by allowing it to burn off any combustion byproducts that have blown by the rings and entered the crankcase. Not getting the car serviced on time is also a risk. ‘Chipping’ engines (altering the engine control ECU programming) is also an excellent way to get the engine overfuelling itself, from time to time which will cause a raft of related problems. I think a lot of these reports about clagged up engines are a consequence of never getting onto the open road and allowing the engine to function at optimum temperature in a lean-burn state, to de-coke itself and decontaminate the oil. But if you’ve got a new 4X4, for Christ’s sake, leave it standard, unless the thought of a $25,000 repair bill appeals. So, if you’ve got a 15yo Hilux and you’ve built it up to do mad off-roading, go nuts. You might think this to be unfair, but in fact, you will then need to hire a lawyer and commission an independent technical expert to determine the cause of the engine failure, and let a court determine who pays. Here’s what happens in practise, if you fit a catch can, aftermarket air filter, piggyback engine control ECU ‘upgrade’, EGR ‘delete’, etc., and then your engine blows up: The manufacturer will throw you under the bus, and deny your warranty claim.
In fact, engine modifications generally (and modifications to related systems) are a great way to give the manufacturer justification to deny a warranty or consumer law claim in the event of a major engine failure. Curing the nonexistent problem of oil blow-by with a catch can, which pressures up the system and blows a seal, allowing sump oil to escape could have the nasty feedback effect of catastrophic engine failure, and you will not be covered by warranty. Especially in the wet.)įor this reason, curing ‘maybe/nonexistent’ problems is a bad idea. The feedback effects might include reducing the margin between grip and slip - meaning a sudden transition from grip to sliding, with less warning. (For example, upgrading to stiffer springs and stickier, low-profile tyres improves grip - the primary benefit. It’s ineffective, but might make you feel better.)Īt the regular services, the dealer should inspect the engine (and the EGR and PCV systems) to ensure they’re functioning properly.Īll modifications come with what engineers call ‘feedback effects’ - inevitable changes to the system’s response flowing from some modification to the system. (Fitting a catch can is like taking Panadol for a brain tumour. If they become defective, the fix is to repair the system, not to fit a catch can - obviously.
When these systems work properly, there’s no need for a catch can. The PCV system includes an oil separator, designed to catch oil before it it drawn into the engine, and return it to the sump. Additionally, engines have positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) which pumps poisonous crankcase vapours containing atomised oil and noxious vapours (hydrocarbon byproducts) into the engine so that they are burned to less harmful chemicals before they enter the air we breathe. EGR - an exhaust gas recycling system is built in, which improves fuel efficiency and emissions performance. Modern engines are designed to recycle exhaust gas. If there were an epidemic of engines clagged to death from oil blow-by, then a catch can (or other systematic countermeasure) would be built in at the factory - subject to legislative compliance.
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