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Oil Catch Can, Eliminate that knock!

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by danlatu, May 22, 2017.

  1. danlatu

    danlatu Senior Member

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    It does not mean that there is anything wrong, until you have engine knock. People that drive short trips in cold/humid climates will build up more oil/fuel/water in the intake plenum without the OCC. I also think toyota knows about the problem and just accepts it for now. I am also willing to bet they will fix this in future models. Hell the epa is requiring diesel engines put catalytic converters on them with the use of urea to clean the NOX build up off them. They are also being smog checked in certain states. That is why California Air Resource Board (CARB) exists. The air pollution in california was so bad because of population/car density. They had to tell the epa you are not doing a good enough job. Carbon monoxide is the results of concentrated carbon dioxides. The cdc stated that cars produce carbon dioxides and consider them safe, What a lie. Stand next to busy freeway or tunnel and breath it in to change a tire, you will get sick. People are dying in india and china due to the air pollution. Just my 2 cents. We are all here to help each other in the community and I do appreciate the comments and feed back. Everything is subjective these days.
     
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  2. danlatu

    danlatu Senior Member

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    Just was reading about how a lot of corolla 1.8l engines are also experiencing cold start engine knock. just like the prius. If toyota does not fix this, they are going to loose a lot of customers, that is if they had not left already.
     
  3. StarCaller

    StarCaller Senior Member

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    what catch can did you buy exactly? were the hose connectors included?

    BION
     
  4. danlatu

    danlatu Senior Member

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    Clamps are included. I only used 1, everything fit nice and tight.
    previous pics show pcv and hose cut in half to use 3/8 coupling.
    3/8 hose and coupling can be found @ lowes/homedepot
    3/8 coupling
    Screen Shot 2017-05-23 at 6.12.57 PM.png
    3/8 braided tubing
    Screen Shot 2017-05-23 at 6.15.01 PM.png
     
    #24 danlatu, May 23, 2017
    Last edited: May 23, 2017
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  5. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Yes, but the question was, "Why doesn't Toyota include an OCC?" I think the answer is maintenance. They went to 10,000 mi OCI because it's good enough to reach the 60,000 mile warranty. They went to lifetime tranny oil because it's good enough to reach the 60K warranty. Yes, there are definitely technology improvements which reduce maintenance needs, but I think it's all intended to meet the 36,000 and 60,000 mile warranties and it's your problem after that.

    So I change my oil every 5K and I've changed my tranny oil twice and lubricated my brake pins and changed my engine coolant ahead of schedule. And now that I know about this PCV problem, I'll very likely install an OCC.

    To err is human. To ignore good advice is just plain stupid :)
     
  6. mjoo

    mjoo Senior Member

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    I know Toyota did #2 with the Gen 4 Prius.

    I believe what danlatu is trying to tell us is: it's the combination of the oil in the PCV from blow-by and the soot from the EGR combined. I agree with you that oil alone may not be a bad thing for an engine. It seems that it's the mixture of oil, gasoline, water, and soot that glues up an engine. It's like mixing concrete and water to make bricks, or fat and cholesterol forming plaque (atherosclerosis) in arteries.

    Its a culmination of a few things feeding on each other and exacerbating the problems in the engine. The engineering term used to describe this is positive feedback. Without proper maintenance it's basically a bomb with a long fuse.

    Most people don't experience the end of their engine because they don't drive their car long enough. These engines have precision parts and tolerances. The gunk will open up and loosen these tolerances. Some of us enjoy a smooth running machine that is less noisy, leaky and with optimal fuel economy and will do extra maintenance to obtain it.
     
  7. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    I noticed pool of oil in the bottom of my Prius battery when it was brand new. Catch cans release a lot of pollution and if u live in state with inspections you will fail inspection with one.
     
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  8. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    You have answered all of my suspected questions regarding Ford. I thought I was the only who one felt that their cars break down too early and too often! And yes, my Ford always wound up sitting a day or two longer at the dealer due a "part issue". My transmissions in Fords always slipped. Fuel injection malfunctioned. Main computer would burn out (cheap circuit boards would warp due to heat..........really?), etc. And any and all of the so called "sensors" throughout the car would go out at 10k, 20k and 30k miles. Two issues that made me turn from Ford forever: One was when my car broke down when I was on my way to LA to pick up relatives and return home to celebrate my daughters birthday. Computer shut down and would not let car start. The other was on my wedding anniversary and we had been gifted tickets to the Hollywood Bowl. Never made it there. Spent 2 hours stuck in traffic listening to horns honking at us. Tow truck towed us back home. Yeah, a real winner for the wife!!
     
    #28 Montgomery, May 23, 2017
    Last edited: May 23, 2017
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  9. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    "One of the reason Ford has done so well for so years and did not need a bail out is because there equipments breaks down frequently. Ford generates money from internal financing, equipment failure, brand loyalty etc. Ford spends more money in advertising and uses the consumer as the guinea pig to test out there products. Ever wonder why they discontinue so many engine's, transmissions etc. Not to mention mid year changes."

    Totally agree!!
     
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  10. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    No comparison between Toyota reliability and Ford reliability. I still have my Prius 10 years later because
    It runs great and has not pissed me off. But when my Crown Vic P71 does some stupid stuff I am not surprised. But I get it fixed because I like the car. But it's a Ford so you tend to wonder when is it going to blow up.
     
  11. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    I have to say I respect your opinion Danlatu because of your knowledge of engines. You command our respect of your opinions because you back it up with fact, not emotions. I cannot thank you enough for explanations regarding why things clog, break, etc.
     
  12. danlatu

    danlatu Senior Member

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    Only if it is vented, you will not be able to run a vented catch can on the prius because you will loose vacuum and it will develop a rough idle. Venting a catch can will push pollution in the atmosphere, Burning the oil is also pollution too. European Union (EU) is going to make the internal combustion engines illegal by 2030.
     
    #32 danlatu, May 23, 2017
    Last edited: May 23, 2017
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  13. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Lots of talk about aftermarket catch cans on the new C7 Corvette. They get messy when you lean on them hard and need proper venting.
    Corvette forum.
     
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  14. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Google corvette c7 oil catch can
     
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  15. danlatu

    danlatu Senior Member

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    When I had a rodent eat my knock sensor on my ridgeline, I had to take apart the intake plenum to get to it and found brown reddish oil crust everywhere. It was coming from the pcv system. I have a feeling it is more of a vapor and have not found any pools of oil like the prius has @ the bottom of the throttle body. Tacoma world, toyota nation, vw vortex, honda tech etc have pics of oil catch systems being thrown on all kinds of cars. Thank you for sharing the corvette catch system. I saw that ford made a factory one, lol.
    I was here to report that in the last year and half of using the OCC has stopped the 2010 prius cold start knock. I would love to see everyone's report on this. Pics of what you found weekly or even per oil change. I would love to know if it has stopped the knock. I have noticed that there are to many prius' here blowing head gasket's, that engine knocking is not helping. I recently bought a prius 2011 with 297k miles with a blown head gasket and bent rod. I do regret not taking more photo's of the oil build up in the pcv hose(lower), intake plenum, head, egr cooler to show how much oil/carbon build up was found. It took me three days of soaking and cleaning before I could rebuild the engine. The prius is running great now. Hell I may go on a midnight run to push some more miles on it.
     
    #35 danlatu, May 23, 2017
    Last edited: May 23, 2017
  16. danlatu

    danlatu Senior Member

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    I really don't need the respect but I appreciate the comment. I just want prius' to have the best reliability and help the community with these fantastic machines. Not to mention my girlfriend still owes money on hers and it pisses me off when crap breaks and you owe money with no warranty. I know some people are financially behind because of their cars. Jeep has 84 month financing, good luck with that business plan. I can predict the future already, 5 years 60k from now the jeep will break and not be covered under warranty. The occupant is then taking the bus to work and telling chrysler finance to piss off. So who is going to eat it. They get there broken car back thats worth nothing. My brother has a pos ram and with the extended warranty they still refused to fix the blend door and argued with my brother making him feel guilty. FCA are crooks. I'd rather buy a Ford then jump through those hoops. At least Ford fixes it. Down with vw diesel. In South korea they banned and fined VW/Audi from selling diesels because of the dieselgate. I need to stop rambling now.
     
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  17. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Dan,
    That OCC you linked is vented. Is that the one you bought? Can you seal off the vent?
     
  18. StarCaller

    StarCaller Senior Member

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    there's one without the breather

    [​IMG]
     
  19. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    I agree with the idea of the OCC. Well... I'll look at my PCV hoses when I disassemble and see if they are oily. But I did observe the oil in my throttle body when last checked, and I assume this is from the PCV.
    All I meant was, if you see oil in the throttle body (and you definitely will), it doesn't mean that your Prius needs repair. There is apparently a solution, but the oil is how the car is made and it happens to all of them.
    Time will soon tell as more of is install these and observe whether the throttle body oil buildup stops.
     
  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I guess "airplane" style clamps are ok with steel spigots? The spring steel ones (like OEM) are maybe hard to find, in particular the right size? (n)

    So you basically splice this in, in "series", on the hose connected to the PCV valve? And position it to be accessible, for dumping, without need to disconnect?

    Why braided clear plastic tubing, as opposed to black rubber vacuum lines? To more easily monitor? Oil will break the latter down?
     
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