Fitting a catch tank just getting my head round it?

[Mongo]

Happy new year all hope your all ok.
Right im going to purchase a catch tank for the volv im thining if i take the intake mani off and throw that plastic pcv away i can fit a catch tank run a pipe to a Y price a conect the 2 black pipes that gointo the block together then run the other pipe off the caych tank to the valve onthe intake pipe?
Think this will work anybody whos dunnit or thinks im getting in wrong please feel free to help lol.

[merc85]

Standard set up

Top Pipe, from rocker to pcv box,
Top of pcv box around to the air intake/turbo ptc,
Top pipe from block to pcv box,
Bottom PCV box to block

The last one i took off had the bottom hose to block completly blocked off with what must have bin a 22mm bolt lol, then the to top hoses were connected together and routed back into the turbo!!

[Wobbly Dave]

replace the PCV system - much easier?

[merc85]

I change my oil and filter every 3k and the pcv has bin good as gold, clear even 30k later

[Wobbly Dave]

Just thinking - that Volvo when to all the trouble of designing & sorting out a PTC valve all the hoses etc. TBH I think the catch tank thing is a fad - and that's coming from someone who likes engine bling.

[smithy]

Just thinking - that Volvo when to all the trouble of designing & sorting out a PTC valve all the hoses etc. TBH I think the catch tank thing is a fad - and that's coming from someone who likes engine bling.

Yes and no on an older car they can be benefits with them .i use one and never had a problem with it ever and I have no nasty stuff going into my turbo .you will be quite surprised what you see in the catch tank.

[Mongo]

Yes and no on an older car they can be benefits with them .i use one and never had a problem with it ever and I have no nasty stuff going into my turbo .you will be quite surprised what you see in the catch tank.

How did you fit yours smithy? Im getting oil in me plugs so its bypassing me filler cap sill.

[merc85]

How did you fit yours smithy? Im getting oil in me plugs so its bypassing me filler cap sill.

I take it u have replaced the oil filler cap seal itself.

[smithy]

I take it u have replaced the oil filler cap seal itself.

You need a new cap and seal from Volvo mate

[smithy]

I left the black breather box on the the engine mate and then run the pipes off that to the catch tank

[Mongo]

I left the black breather box on the the engine mate and then run the pipes off that to the catch tank

Gone through oil seals like there goin out of fashion got genuine oem uprated all rubbish so thats y im thinking maybe its breather it had a new pcv set up 1000miles ago. Maybe just not good enuff.

[p fandango]

Just thinking - that Volvo when to all the trouble of designing & sorting out a PTC valve all the hoses etc. TBH I think the catch tank thing is a fad - and that's coming from someone who likes engine bling.
good point. With Volvo being the prestige car company there known for i'm sure it would really impress the everyday drivers with the line "check catchtank & empty sludge every fortnight" in the owners manual. Its like saying Volvo would of fitted a Garrett if it was good enough :smirk:

[theflyingbrick]

im probably wrong but.................being as these cars were designed to run in freezing temperatures and what not,apart from the origanal intercooler pipes being adapted to prevent the tb freezing up,i understood the pcv to do a similar thing ie pre heat the turbo with recycled engine oil!! seeing as i doesnt get very cold over here,we simply dont need it!! but like i said im probably wrong lmao

[p fandango]

im probably wrong but.................being as these cars were designed to run in freezing temperatures and what not,apart from the origanal intercooler pipes being adapted to prevent the tb freezing up,i understood the pcv to do a similar thing ie pre heat the turbo with recycled engine oil!! seeing as i doesnt get very cold over here,we simply dont need it!! but like i said im probably wrong lmao
the oil/gunk contaminating the air/fuel mix doesn't do combustion much good either, thats why i don't even vent the catch tank back to the air intake

[theflyingbrick]

the oil/gunk contaminating the air/fuel mix doesn't do combustion much good either, thats why i don't even vent the catch tank back to the air intake


i didnt even think about that!!!! lots of people looking at different ways to get cold air feeds etc etc but your getting a load of heated up sludge going in with it!! im definatly going for a solid intake pipe and do away with the pcv i reckon ;)

[JT]

and dont forget the "heated up sludge" has coated the inside of the I/C causing it to loose some of its efficiency

[kfc]

would there be any issuses if you were to remove the pipe from the inlet pipe and allow it to vent to air through a filter etc? and then block off the hole on the inlet?

[stribo]

I'm looking at fitting one to the C70, if it works O.K., I'll fit one to the R as well.

[p fandango]

would there be any issuses if you were to remove the pipe from the inlet pipe and allow it to vent to air through a filter etc? and then block off the hole on the inlet?
just put a catch tank on instead of a filter then vent that to atmosphere

[960kg]

My train of thought with a catch tank on a road car especially when just vented to the atmosphere is that the PCV system will tend to block more easily as there is no high suction via the turbo inlet to help keep the system clear of any sludge. Trudging around town as shopping cars with lows revs encourages the system to block.

Ok it suits a track or race car as the engines are stripped regularly so the system will never be blocked especially as well as the high revs with racing engine needing cleaner air/fuel mix.

Modern oils do not lend themselves to sludging as previous older ones did mixing with any condensation.

There is probably little chance it will block with the standard set up the way we drive our motors most of the time!!

Overall i think it could well make the situation worse away from the standard set up.

Could well be a fad and not completely understood by some wanting to covert there shopping motor!!

[stribo]

I can't understand why people think they're a fad, as they been used on Ford RS Turbos and Cosworths for years with good effect.

[960kg]

I can't understand why people think they're a fad, as they been used on Ford RS Turbos and Cosworths for years with good effect.


It is Ok, it being a fad so long as the person doing the conversion understands what he is doing!

It no good just to have a pretty catch tank and blind the neighbours with science.

On early Ford`s remember them going uphill with smoke belching out that engine pipe from underneath, well this design of an open end of pipe in the slipstream of the car made a vacuum in the pipe when the air rushed past it thus sucking out the blowpast from the pistons etc.etc. so therefore the fumes have to be either sucked out or blow out, they have to be on a road car.

Now we are in the 21st century that down pipe on Ford`s has been replaced by the Positive Crankcase System so that the pipe is vented into the inlet vacuum so the crap blowpast is sucked in and burned by the engine, it is recirculated. So you can`t have it succesfully vented to the atmosphere from the catch tank under the hood. The system will only cause problems eventually on a road car as it cannot take in all eventualities of the driving conditions.

The Ford Cossy or RS systems have been designed by engineers not by mere car owners!

Our Volvo`s have a system designed for them also.

[nobananas]

Just thought I'd throw my 2 pence worth in. I was a bit sceptical about fitting one to mine but thought anything that stops some of the crap going into the intercooler had to be worth a go !

Here is my install, the original PCV system is still in place but was renewed and the pipework going to the intake hose was simply diverted to the catch tank and then returned back to the intake pipe as normal. The rubber hoses used were marine quality oil/fuel hose and hasn't shown any signs of degrading after two odd years.

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m279/nobananas000/DSC_0756.jpg
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m279/nobananas000/DSC_0752.jpg

I would always drain about half a pint of water out of it every fortnight or so when the missus used it for her 70 mile daily commute and after about 8 months I decided to take it off and clean it out, this was what I found.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m279/nobananas000/Photo-0018_zps1c9646f6.jpg
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m279/nobananas000/Photo-0020_zps77e9a332.jpg


To be honest I'm pretty sold on them, that lovely muck would normally be getting thrown back through the turbo, boost pipes and intercooler !.

Incidentally, if you ever break that long plastic pipe that comes off the PCV box (mine was like it was made of spun sugar !) then 15mm copper domestic water pipe is spot on for diameter and won't ever become brittle. All the rubber vac line and PCV pipes on mine are now copper using an assortment of different diameter fuel pipe with short silicon joiners on the ends.

[Mongo]

Just thought I'd throw my 2 pence worth in. I was a bit sceptical about fitting one to mine but thought anything that stops some of the crap going into the intercooler had to be worth a go !

Here is my install, the original PCV system is still in place but was renewed and the pipework going to the intake hose was simply diverted to the catch tank and then returned back to the intake pipe as normal. The rubber hoses used were marine quality oil/fuel hose and hasn't shown any signs of degrading after two odd years.

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m279/nobananas000/DSC_0756.jpg
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m279/nobananas000/DSC_0752.jpg

I would always drain about half a pint of water out of it every fortnight or so when the missus used it for her 70 mile daily commute and after about 8 months I decided to take it off and clean it out, this was what I found.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m279/nobananas000/Photo-0018_zps1c9646f6.jpg
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m279/nobananas000/Photo-0020_zps77e9a332.jpg


To be honest I'm pretty sold on them, that lovely muck would normally be getting thrown back through the turbo, boost pipes and intercooler !.

Incidentally, if you ever break that long plastic pipe that comes off the PCV box (mine was like it was made of spun sugar !) then 15mm copper domestic water pipe is spot on for diameter and won't ever become brittle. All the rubber vac line and PCV pipes on mine are now copper using an assortment of different diameter fuel pipe with short silicon joiners on the ends.


Thanks for that very useful post mate thats exactly the anser i wanted. I replaced my pcv and ran all my pipes with silicone just as aget out of jail so it could be mapped my plan was to run 15mm copper then i fort of ditching the pcv box and coming direct out of the hoses out the block. Think ill wheigh up both ideas thanks again.

[nobananas]

Have been toying with the idea of ditching the PCV box on my 'R' when I start putting the engine back together, let us know how you get on.

[960kg]

Nobananas.......
That is an excellent conversion which does include the original PCV in it`s use......but sorry to differ as in my mind this type of thing is no good for Road Cars

as all that moisture and crap in the catch tank has been mainly caused by the cold incoming air hitting the warm tank and with hot oil fumes in the tank pulled in by the vacuum of the air intake to the turbo hitting a cooler catch tank then of course it forms in the tank as sludge.

You are really getting a false impression of how good one would think the new Catch Tank is as if you notice the original pipework from the tank bolted to the engine is covered in thick rubber pipework right up to the point it goes into the intake at the turbo, this is to keep the heat in the oil fumes and to stop them giving as much sludge and water.

You can only use Catch Tanks on race engine successfully as said before because the mileage run is minimal on the track and it is emptied every race. So the colder air transforming the hot air fumes into water and sludge does not matter.

So now you are definately lumbered with emptying the tank every fortnight otherwise you will cause a bigger catastrophe than the original PCV!!!!!!!!

Yes, the tank looks the part but to me are just a way of the manufacturers pulling in the buyers to get money from them.

[p fandango]

sorry, but as its recommended to change the PCV pipework as well as the box itself because of the chance of them blocked because of oil/sludge does go to show that it is getting into the engine

[JT]

Just thought I'd throw my 2 pence worth in. I was a bit sceptical about fitting one to mine but thought anything that stops some of the crap going into the intercooler had to be worth a go !

Here is my install, the original PCV system is still in place but was renewed and the pipework going to the intake hose was simply diverted to the catch tank and then returned back to the intake pipe as normal. The rubber hoses used were marine quality oil/fuel hose and hasn't shown any signs of degrading after two odd years.

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m279/nobananas000/DSC_0756.jpg
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m279/nobananas000/DSC_0752.jpg

I would always drain about half a pint of water out of it every fortnight or so when the missus used it for her 70 mile daily commute and after about 8 months I decided to take it off and clean it out, this was what I found.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m279/nobananas000/Photo-0018_zps1c9646f6.jpg
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m279/nobananas000/Photo-0020_zps77e9a332.jpg


To be honest I'm pretty sold on them, that lovely muck would normally be getting thrown back through the turbo, boost pipes and intercooler !.

Incidentally, if you ever break that long plastic pipe that comes off the PCV box (mine was like it was made of spun sugar !) then 15mm copper domestic water pipe is spot on for diameter and won't ever become brittle. All the rubber vac line and PCV pipes on mine are now copper using an assortment of different diameter fuel pipe with short silicon joiners on the ends.


I like your mounting bracket, where did that come from??? :)

[960kg]

sorry, but as its recommended to change the PCV pipework as well as the box itself because of the chance of them blocked because of oil/sludge does go to show that it is getting into the engine

.......but servicing the original PCV is not every 2 weeks is it??


Because the pipes are more insulated not so much sludge is laid down in the box on the engine.

Just step back and look at the situation and what has been done to better it , nothing......in fact it is worse.

I am all for progress but this conversion is a retrostep.

Not arging at all.....just my opinion having spent most of my life at Brands Hatch motor races!!

[p fandango]

.......but servicing the original PCV is not every 2 weeks is it??


Because the pipes are more insulated not so much sludge is laid down in the box on the engine.

Just step back and look at the situation and what has been done to better it , nothing......in fact it is worse.

I am all for progress but this conversion is a retrostep.

Not arging at all.....just my opinion having spent most of my life at Brands Hatch motor races!!
i see what you mean about the condensation, but only the water will be evaporated not the oil/sludge content

have you raced many Volvo's at Brands?

[Kingsford G]

Nobananas.......
That is an excellent conversion which does include the original PCV in it`s use......but sorry to differ as in my mind this type of thing is no good for Road Cars

as all that moisture and crap in the catch tank has been mainly caused by the cold incoming air hitting the warm tank and with hot oil fumes in the tank pulled in by the vacuum of the air intake to the turbo hitting a cooler catch tank then of course it forms in the tank as sludge.

You are really getting a false impression of how good one would think the new Catch Tank is as if you notice the original pipework from the tank bolted to the engine is covered in thick rubber pipework right up to the point it goes into the intake at the turbo, this is to keep the heat in the oil fumes and to stop them giving as much sludge and water.

You can only use Catch Tanks on race engine successfully as said before because the mileage run is minimal on the track and it is emptied every race. So the colder air transforming the hot air fumes into water and sludge does not matter.

So now you are definately lumbered with emptying the tank every fortnight otherwise you will cause a bigger catastrophe than the original PCV!!!!!!!!

Yes, the tank looks the part but to me are just a way of the manufacturers pulling in the buyers to get money from them.
All this does make sense to me.So whats wrong by blocking the intake part off and putting a breather filter on that pipe instead as I think the crank gases will actually reduce a fuel burning efficiency by having less oxygen in a cylinder.

[nobananas]

All this does make sense to me.So whats wrong by blocking the intake part off and putting a breather filter on that pipe instead as I think the crank gases will actually reduce a fuel burning efficiency by having less oxygen in a cylinder.

Nothing wrong at all with putting a filter on the the tank outlet and many people do. The only thing is you may be able to smell the vapours inside the car and the T5 was the missus' motor and I already smell enough !.

I can understand that the catch tank may cause condensation which is where the majority of the water is coming from but emptying the water only involved opening a tap on the bottom of the can and became part of the routine of checking the oil and coolant. It doesn't need doing as often now because the car isn't covering 25k+ a year. The main thing I have notices since fitting it is that there is a lot less oil contamination inside the intercooler pipework (and I assume the intercooler) which can surely only be a good thing. On N/A motors the PCV pipework usually returns much closer to the inlet manifold (or directly into it) so there is far less chance of the contamination of the intake system then there is on a turbo fed engine where the PCV has to be fed back in prior to the turbo (otherwise the crankcase would become pressurised)