Oil Catch Tank
Catches and condenses the burnt oil vapour from the crank case instead of pumping it into the engine.
Mod difficulty:
Mod Credit: Evilution
We all know that to get the best performance from out car we have to give it cold dense
air, with the burnt oil vapour being added this can retard the performance slightly.
Also, as the vapour passes through the intercooler it will condense causing the intercooler
and neighbouring pipes to fill with dead oil. It is this condensed oil that is blown out of the
outlet of a dump valve if fitted and makes people think there is a problem with their turbo.
The easiest option is to disconnect it. You obviously can't just leave the pipe dangling so the idea
is to extend the pipe and fit an oil catch tank. This catches the old oil in a container which can be
emptied and disposed of when necessary. As it isn't venting to the atmopshere, it will pass the MOT.
Fitting A Catch Tank
If you are thinking about catching oil from both breather pipes, you will need 2 tanks.
This is because the method of connection for each pipe is different.
You should NEVER plumb both breather pipes into the same catch tank.
Lower Breather Pipe
The lower breather pipe is connected to the TIK pipe, there is no boost or vaccum in the lower breather. It breathes in both directions so can be plumbed directly to the catch tank.
The 2nd port on the catch tank must have a filter attached to it.
Although the pictures below show a custom TIK pipe, this will still work on a normal intake.
Here you can see the black breather pipe has been disconnected from the TIK pipe.
You need a double ended 3/8 inch connector and a length of 10mm tube.
Join the two pipes together using the double ended connector and fix with zip ties.
The pipe can then be routed to the catchtank.
The catch tank must have a small air filter attached to the remaining outlet(s).
Go back to the TIK and the hole that the oil vapour pipe has left, get a 10cm offcut of
the 10mm tube, push it onto the outlet, fold it over on itself and zip tie the 2 ends against
each other. Folding the pipe crimps it in the middle so nothing can get into the TIK.
Upper Breather Pipe
The upper breather pipe is connected behind the plenum of the throttle body. This means that there can be boost or vacuum in the upper breather. The upper breather has an inline check valve to stop the boost air going into the engine but the vacuum is used to suck air out of the engine.
Because of this, if you fit a catch tank you should keep the original connections.
The position of the check valve and the orientation of it is crucial.
If it is placed back to front, the boost pressure will pressurise the crank case and force oil out of the lower crank case breather. If the check valve is fitted on the wrong side of the catch tank, the tank will become pressurised. They are not designed to handle pressure.
Take your 10mm tube, plumb 1 outlet of the catch tank to the engine.
And the second outlet should be plumbed to the throttle body.
Important Information
Lower Breather
If you route the lower breather pipe to an oil catch tank there are two things you must do.
The inlet of the catch tank should be below the level of the lower breather outlet.
This is so any condensed oil will run into the catch tank and not back into the engine.
The catch tank must also be vented but this vent must have a filter on.
This is so when the lower breather is used to draw air into the engine, the air is clean.
Upper Breather
You must fit the check valve in the correct side of the tank with the right orientation.
The inlet of the catch tank should be below the level of the upper breather outlet.
This is so any condensed oil will run into the catch tank and not back into the engine.
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