This might change your mind:


I emptied my OCC yesterday, and found THIS MUCH OIL! I've never been to the track, and lately have been takin it fairly easy just commuting to work and back. I let the can drain into this cup, but there was definitely more in there.

I removed my intercooler a couple weeks ago to try the VGS mod, and there was a bit of oil on the IC boots. It made me think the catch can wasn't catching much, but i sure was wrong!

Ken

 

That sludge looks suspiciously like my morning coffee!

 

Cleaned out my Intercooloer after 19,000 miles...UGLY! Changed my mind about a catch can too!

About 1/2 the crude is brake cleaner fluid...But look at that color! and it is still this thick even after dilution with the solvent! ....M7 CC on order!
attached

 

HAHAHA...I needed that this am...pooped!

 

Ken, which OCC are you using and how do you have it plumped that you are still seeing oil in the IC boots?

 

Looked like the coffee in my office! But most likely the oil tastes better. I must admit, it smelled great. Made me feel like I was around old cars, with that fantastic smell of Castrol mixed in with the gas.

As for the OCC, I bought a cheap one off Ebay. I have it in the PVC line only. Stuffed a bunch of stainless steal wool in it. The oil i saw in the IC was very little, but I still thought more would've been trapped by the can.

 

The little bit of oil that you are finding in the IC is probably from the other vent in the valve cover (driver side). It goes to the intake just above the throttle body.

 

Which OCC is it Ken?

And how involving is it to install?

 

Yes, the catch cans do catch some oil, but the vast majority of the stuff trapped would have passed right through the intercooler, through the engine, and out the exhaust.

The vapor that the cans don't catch will still deposit a film inside the intercooler as the oil inside Ken's intercooler boots proved.

Whether you have a can or not, you'll still want to clean the intercooler from time to time because only a thin layer of oil is necessary to begin degrading the efficiency of the intercooler.

Whether you choose to install one of these or not, remember to clean the intercooler just the same.

 

It was a no-name can, red, about 6" tall (way bigger than needed). If you look on Ebay, you'll see them. I'll search for them today too. I think you can see it in my gallery. It was very easy to install. A pain to mount (lack of SPACE), but easy to connect to the PVC line.

 

FWIW, polizei recently posted an install walkthrough with the same OCC, except he mounted it in the area under the passenger cowl vent. Quite informative.

 

The blue can in Polizei's post looks just like mine, cept mine's red! I mounted mine where he drilled the 2 holes for the hose, i.e. very close to the "MINI" cover on our engines. It gets HOT, but no problems yet.

 

how does one clean intercooler?