I had a friend tell me today that I need a "catch can" for my Mini. What is the purpose of a catch can and is it something that is necessary? If so, where can I find one?

I tried the search function but couldn't seem to get it to work properly for me.

I drive an 08 Cooper S with 88,000 miles.

Thanks in advance!

 

catch cans are pointless. if you want to make a difference just vent both your pcv lines to the atmoshpher by running the lines under the car. doing this prevents carbon build up on the intake valves which is a big problem with the r56 MCS

 

They're meant to catch oil instead of being recirculated back into the engine to burned. Stoping it or lessen carbon build up on the valves. ^ it helps but it really only prolongs the inevitable as it doesn't catch all of it all the time. But regardless I do have one . I made for about 20$ total. But if you do based on your driving style hook it up to one of the two of the two pcv valves. I got high oil consumption rates by blocking rear. I now run both lines open with one in my rear pcv.
Sent from phone

 

http://www.mc2magazine.com/MC2_Oil_Catch_Can.cfm

Look at the above link. Probably the best on the market at the moment as it provides proper filtration. There are many threads here on catch cans and carbon build up on valves.

 

how exactly do you do this? is the a photo DIY on here?

 

If you care at all about the environment, please don't do this. There's a reason that the vapor from crankcase pressure is routed into the intake - reducing pollution. Don't spread oil all over the road, get a good catch can. The MC2 can is a great design.

Besides, disabling a key piece of your pollution control system is illegal, and you won't pass any half competent emissions inspection.

 

This ^^
Best way to solve carbon buildup. Although it isn't the greatest solution if you spend alot of time sitting in traffic, as the fumes will be stuck under the car.

 

Honestly, catch cans are a waste of $100-300. I have the BSH. It does stop some build up but not all. The best way to prevent build up is with a methanol injection kit, but those can get pricey. Then again it is about $700-800 for the dealer to shell blast your valves clean and 3-5 hours to hand clean them yourself for free. I would say just save that money for something else.

 

There are some very smart people here who might argue with you about this. I'm not one because I'm not smart. I also have the BSH can but am replacing it with the MC2 which is in the post. I also have the water/meth injection so have probably wasted my money twice. But as I said, I'm not too smart.

But I believe after reading hundreds of posts about the carbon build up, doing nothing is going to cost you money.

 

I got my 08 MCS with about 50k miles on it, and it had a bunch of maintenance done just before I bought it. One of the things done was carbon cleaning. Within 5k miles of owning it, I put on a BSH can with the rear port blocked. I empty the can every week, and get a bunch of water (and a small layer of oil). In the winter, I get about 6-8 oz of water every week, in the summer it is just 1 or 2 oz.

Now I have 80k miles on it, and just had carbon cleaned again. I looked at the ports a couple of months ago, and knew it needed it. My car is a daily driver, and I drive about 20 miles each way to work.

I don't regret having the can on it, but in my application it didn't prevent the buildup. I don't know if it slowed down the accumulation or not, since I didn't have the car for long before the install. The dealer charged me $340 for the cleaning (no charge for diagnosis since I told him what I wanted). The car idles better after the cleaning and seems to pull harder.

If your car has never had the valves cleaned, you should check the ports. It is not hard to pull the air filter housing and intake off of the car, then look in the ports with a mirror and light. All of the gaskets are reusable, so it should not cost you anything to check. It is probably an hour job, even the first time that you will do the inspection. It is up to you to decide if you want to clean them yourself or pay someone else.

Sorry for the long-winded reply. Just wanted to share my experiences.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Sharpstick if you're at 88,000 miles I would def check the intake and valves to see the degree of your build up. Also, there is a good chance you have some oil in your intercooler that needs to come out.

 

My closest Mini Dealer is 4 hours away. Is there a link on here that gives instructions on how to do the intake cleaning yourself?

 

Solskjaer I think I sent you a PM by mistake. My closest Mini dealer is 4 hours away. Is there a post on here that gives instructions on how to clean the intake yourself?

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...n-the-n18.html

One of a couple

 

I live in washington and the emissions test consits of them plugging into the OBD II and checking for fualt codes. so i pass no problem.

 

Basically all you need to do is go to the mini dealer or you can buy online and get a cap for where the pcv runs into the intake manifold. it's like ten bucks . un hook your pcv line running into the intake manifold and put the cap on and then redirect the line under the car. then on the driver side of the motor un hook the pcv line where it goes into the turbo inlet and redirect it under the car and then you will need to but a expandable plug that goes into the turbo inlet. you can get those at a parts store.

intake manifold cap
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Site...034/ES2101889/

 

Basically all you need to do is go to the mini dealer or you can buy online and get a cap for where the pcv runs into the intake manifold. it's like ten bucks . un hook your pcv line running into the intake manifold and put the cap on and then redirect the line under the car. then on the driver side of the motor un hook the pcv line where it goes into the turbo inlet and redirect it under the car and then you will need to put a expandable plug that goes into the turbo inlet. you can get those at a parts store.

intake manifold cap
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Site...034/ES2101889/

 

instead of spending 200-300 on oil catch can setup, why not just buy the stuff to do the carbon cleaning @ home? Everything is reusable except for the walnut shells and they are not very expensive.

 

I said "half competent." That's not half competent, that's pathetic.

I'm in CA, the emissions testing may seem like a burdensome pain in the *** to some, but if you grew up in LA during the 60s and 70s like I did and remember the brown soup smog, the emissions testing is worth it. We have far cleaner air today thanks to the CA emissions standards and testing. It really pisses me off to see people who knowingly pollute just to save themselves a few bucks.

 

OK now what have we all learnt from this site through other peoples experiences and observations. For any one who's starting out forget the fmic, forget the catch cans and go straight to w/m injection do not pass go do not collect 200hp. I'm still waiting for definitive evidence that this is the way to go, but cost to benefit would say its the right choice in the long run. Either that or get plenty of experience of manually cleaning the buildup of carbon on your valves or paying someone else to do it.