Cleanside solutions?

M

metroplex

New member
Has anyone tried different oil separator/breather solutions for the cleanside part of the engine (crankcase/camcover to air inlet tract)?

Bpd1151 had an interesting solution with a K&N breather filter that fits into the camcover, but I'm not able to use the engine cover on my 2014 - the breather contacts the oil filler tube rubber ring and wouldn't clear the cover.

I've seen CFM's solution with the check valve in the oil filler cap with a breather filter. It is supposed to allow excessive pressure to release, but not allow air through the filler tube. It seems to have gotten rave reviews from forced induction users.

I already have the JLT 3.0 separator installed, and this came highly recommended from GT500 owners. I see that Ford Racing even has a oil separator for their S550 GTs and Shelby GT350s, so it looks like the OEM even wants to remove oil from the PCV system... but I don't see any easy standalone solutions for the cleanside.

Any ideas?
 
metroplex said:
I've seen CFM's solution with the check valve in the oil filler cap with a breather filter. It is supposed to allow excessive pressure to release, but not allow air through the filler tube. It seems to have gotten rave reviews from forced induction users.
Click to expand...

I just re-read your post and noticed this. I looked up the CFM breather kit and found this description:
This breather is the ONLY one in the market which incorporates a check ball to keep unmetered air from coming through while the crankcase is under vacuum. In other words, this breather acts just like a factory oil cap under normal driving conditions and when you get into boost it will release any crankcase pressure present. 

To me, this seems like a BAD IDEA unless you have some other means to allow fresh air to enter the engine, otherwise you are essentially blocking the intake of your PCV system. With that breather in place, you'd want to leave your clean side plumbing hooked up to the charge pipe (or allow it to pull from atmosphere; filtered, of course). You would NOT want to block it off, otherwise I imagine you would prematurely fail your seals and oil life would be greatly reduced due to increased crankcase pressure and blowby with no way to vent off combustion byproducts.

This video is a little dry, but is a good general explanation of the PCV system:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPIfI9aZHt4
 
I am familiar with how the PCV system works, it hasn't changed in over 30 years. The PCV allows a lot of oil vapors to enter the intake manifold, while the crankcase breather still allows some oil to go back into the air intake stream although it seems to be a much bigger issue with forced induction. With the CFM, I'd keep the cleanside tube in place - but I wonder how effective it would be if the oil vapor is free to flow back into the air intake tract since there are 2 paths to vent crankcase pressure.
 
metroplex said:
I am familiar with how the PCV system works, it hasn't changed in over 30 years. The PCV allows a lot of oil vapors to enter the intake manifold, while the crankcase breather still allows some oil to go back into the air intake stream although it seems to be a much bigger issue with forced induction. With the CFM, I'd keep the cleanside tube in place - but I wonder how effective it would be if the oil vapor is free to flow back into the air intake tract since there are 2 paths to vent crankcase pressure.
Click to expand...

Cool. Thought the video might be helpful for others. :)

Might be interesting to find out the cracking pressure of the CFM gizmo, because you're absolutely right - path of least resistance is where oil might end up.

Easy fix to your concern (but another component) is a check valve on the cleanside tube pointing toward the valve cover. That way, when it burps it only has one path, and your engine cover should still fit.

This obviously wouldn't fix the issue of possible reduced PCV flow when under boost, but it also wouldn't be worse than stock, and you'd probably keep more oil out of the intake over time.




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Looking at Ford Racing Parts' catalog, Ford obviously knows something is up because they have the PCV oil separator and Cleanside oil separator for the Mustang GT/GT350:
M-6766-A50 (PCV for 5.0/5.2) and M-6766-A50S (Cleanside for 5.2).

I'm not sure how often the breather element would need to be cleaned, and if it is too dirty (accidentally neglected) would it cause piston ring/sealing issues. A dedicated separator for the cleanside is probably the best way to go but I haven't seen any kits.
 
metroplex said:
A dedicated separator for the cleanside is probably the best way to go but I haven't seen any kits.
Click to expand...

While I haven't seen any advertised for the EcoBoost (other than the Elite CSS for the F150 (which the oil cap adapter may physically fit the transverse), the CSS "kits" that are out there appear to be simply the separator, a piece of hose, and a couple of clamps.

http://teamrxp.com/products/clean-side-separator-billet-aluminum-housing
http://www.uprproducts.com/ford-f150-billet-oil-clean-side-separator-ecoboost-11.html
http://www.eliteengineeringusa.com/clean-side-oil-separator/ (maybe the F150 is the same oil cap threads??)
http://www.rxspeedworks.com/product/clean-side-separator/ (similar or same as teamrxp CSS)

You could easily make your own kit with a few extra parts. Is Michigan an emissions inspection state, or are they OBDII only?

Based on your first post, I presume you want to be able to keep your engine cover in place.

Obviously, the primary objective is to keep oil in the engine and eliminate oil from migrating to the intake. The best way to do this is to remove the connection to the intake piping altogether.

The cheapest solution would be a breather filter on the valve cover. I haven't seen a picture, but this sounds like the BPD solution you mentioned. I imagine you may need to change or clean the filter once in a while as it would probably eventually get soaked in oil. Since your engine cover won't clear the breather, you could get a 90 degree elbow and a section of hose and remote locate a press-on filter to vent to atmosphere. This should fit under the cover, and if you route your hose with some thought, you can place your filter somewhere that would allow any oil in the hose to drain back into the valve cover, rather than pool up in a low spot. Even if the oil pools in your line, since this is generally under vacuum, it should suck oil back into the engine anyways. You could go one step further here and add a check valve that allows flow to the valve cover, but not out.

The CSS that replaces the oil cap is another, albeit more expensive, option. You could vent that to atmosphere with our without a check valve, or if you want closed loop, you could drill your airbox lid and install a hose barb, per Rx instructions.

Seems like everyone kind of puts their own spin on things, which I suspect is why you don't see a whole lot of vehicle specific kits available.


 
MI doesn't have emissions, so I could run just the breather. But I was thinking that if the filter gets clogged, it may cause issues with the engine. The separator is a cleaner solution, but I think it should just connect straight to the port on the intake tract and not have a new barb drilled into the airbox.
 
metroplex said:
MI doesn't have emissions, so I could run just the breather. But I was thinking that if the filter gets clogged, it may cause issues with the engine. The separator is a cleaner solution, but I think it should just connect straight to the port on the intake tract and not have a new barb drilled into the airbox.
Click to expand...

Well, even better then! :)

VTA, even with a CSS in place, would eliminate any possibility of oil re-entering the intake. You would just need to cap the intake port after removing the OE tubing. If you use a filter of light color, or a color other than oil, you could pop the hood and do an occasional quick visual inspection to see if oil is collecting in the filter media.

Even if the breather filter got oil soaked, it would still pull a good amount of air back into the engine, there's quite a bit of vacuum.
 
I tried opening the JLT but I couldn't fit my hands in there to loosen the reservoir, the only way that I can see is to remove the JLT from the fender mount. Is there an easier way?
 
metroplex said:
I tried opening the JLT but I couldn't fit my hands in there to loosen the reservoir, the only way that I can see is to remove the JLT from the fender mount. Is there an easier way?
Click to expand...

Maybe one of those rubber jar opener things? Or some channel locks with the jaws wrapped in electrical tape?

EDIT: Maybe I misunderstood. There's just not room to get your hand in there? Can you move the bracket slightly to get more clearance?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 
The only thing I could do is remove the separator from the bracket.

Also, I used a pair of new 90 degree OEM fittings for the vacuum cap and breather filter, they are already showing signs of oil vapor but the filter still looks clean.
 
metroplex said:
Also, I used a pair of new 90 degree OEM fittings for the vacuum cap and breather filter, they are already showing signs of oil vapor but the filter still looks clean.
Click to expand...

Got a picture? I'm curious how you ended up doing this.
 
No pics yet. I guess I just forgot... but the problem with my 2014 is that no breathers can fit straight onto the valve cover and still be able to use the engine cover.

The 62-1330 and 62-1340 are 2" OD at the top, so they prevent the engine cover from being replaced. With the 90 degree fitting, they can vibrate against the coil pack right by the oil filler.

I ended up using 62-2480 which is a much smaller filter than the 1330/1340 (BPD1151 uses the 1330 based on his post from a few years ago), about 1-3/8" OD and shorter in height. I like the 90 degree fittings because they're the OEM quick-disconnect fittings, offering a more secure fit with barbed connections.
 
MiWiAu said:
metroplex said:
Also, I used a pair of new 90 degree OEM fittings for the vacuum cap and breather filter, they are already showing signs of oil vapor but the filter still looks clean.
Click to expand...

Got a picture? I'm curious how you ended up doing this.
Click to expand...
Its Pic's or Nothing!!. Z
 
Here are the pics.

I pulled the front BOV tube (still waiting on the K&N breathers to arrive) and after a short drive, I can feel fresh oil residue from the BOV itself.
 
Nice. If you wanted to upgrade your OCC, you could use that connector on the intake pipe you capped and tee in to the outlet of your can. You'd want to add a check valve to that line and your manifold line. This would provide you with dirty side evacuation under boost and while cruising. You'd probably have to empty your can more often, though. :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
metroplex said:
Here are the pics.

I pulled the front BOV tube (still waiting on the K&N breathers to arrive) and after a short drive, I can feel fresh oil residue from the BOV itself.
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting  some pics  :) and a thread is worthless without pic's,lol.  Z
 
metroplex said:
It'd be nice if I could drain the JLT without having to remove it.
Click to expand...
I think its most notable that your seeing the can working as designed and you could always modify a drain relief valve or upgrade to a larger unit.  Z
 
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