Did the Catch Can Work? 10k MILE TEST

Does a catch can work? Will it keep carbon off the intake valves? Is a catch can worth the money? These are all great catch can questions. Today we test 10k miles and over one year of running a catch can on my Golf R. I also sent a test of the catch can contents to Blackstone to see whats really in it.

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disclaimer:
The content of this video is available for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for the professional advice of a mechanic who has personally inspected your vehicle, nor does it create a relationship of any kind between the Humble Mechanic and you. Every situation may be different, and the Humble Mechanic does not make any warranties, whether express or implied, as to the accuracy, fitness, or applicability of the information or automotive parts portrayed in this video to any project and makes no guarantee of results. The Humble Mechanic and any sponsors of this video will not be liable for any damages related to personal injury, property damage or loss of any kind that may result from the use or reliance on this video and/or any automotive parts represented in this video. You are using the information and automotive parts portrayed in this video solely at your own risk.

[gldmembr]

Finally someone that did true testing and true inspection of the valves with a catch can.

[met]

Good update! If those lines are not teflon lined lines they will leak smell through. Almost need to run fuel rated lines for catch cans. I figured that out the hard way haha :D keep up the great work

[Nipplator]

I usually put about a 1/2in. of antifreeze in a catch can, with a water separator catch, during the few months the temp can reach freeze danger after patching 3 winter cracks.

[pilotsafari]

Hi Charles, you’ll probably find that the rest of the carbon build up is coming from the egr system. It would be an interesting experiment to run an egr delete and the catch can for a while to see how much it affects it.

[lisaapthorp]

I used to have a Mishimoto catch can but it was a pain to clean. I changed it for a generic one that has a valve for emptying on the bottom. Noticed no difference in quality between the two, except that the cheaper one was smaller, easier to make room for and to clean. I put a silicone tube on the clean out valve to make it easier (and discrete) to empty.

I found the smell from the catch can came mostly from the hoses going to and from the can. Mine are silicone, I have to change them yearly. Also between changes they need cleaned. If they get too fume logged, or people don't empty their cans the 02 will pick that up and adjust, leaning the car out.

The can is not only saving the engine from having to burn that junk up, it also keeps it from going through the turbocharger and exhaust. No carb spraying out the exhaust if you two step, although it's kind of funny.

Most importantly the catch can saves my diverter valve and therefor the turbo and engine. If you don't have a catch can, all that condensation gets caught up in the faster cooling parts of the system. Before I installed the catch, my car would bog or go into limp mode on rainy or even humid days. When I checked the DV I could dump the condensation and oil out of it.

I personally would not run a modified, turbo charged car without a catch can. The original design uses a carbon reservoir like a catch can, but that's for a stock air intake. If you change to a CAI, the stock carbon canister just gets loaded and eventually your system can get choked out on condensation alone. So carb saving or not, I'd keep a can on.

[JasPlun]

I researched my wife's vehicle choices and we chose a 2020 Toyota Camry SE over the VW simply because we wanted to avoid these hassles and Toyota actually did something about the carbon issues by adding Port a long with the Direct injection. A little more complicated, but so far to this day we have had no problems with the car and we have put 50k miles on it so far. I hope VW introduces their own version of the Toyota D4S system in future cars its a really good sallution.

[mikeschafer]

I really like the catch can on my focus st because it has a hose that comes down from the bottom with a valve so I can drain it from under the car while I'm doing my oil change all as the same time. It's really nice I don't have to remove the can each time, just open the valve.

[wanderingsouthafrican]

Hey Charles, I run a ProVent 200 'Catch-Can' more a oil separator than a traditional catch can from MAN+Hummel on my 3.2L Diesel in my Ford Ranger and have noticed the same as you.

My theory is that there is less 'wet' oil returning from the crank case to the valves which provides adhesion for carbon in the exhaust gasses from the EGR to stick to and then burn on in the heat. As there is less oil in the system the gasses from the EGR over time may potentially have a cleaning effect, over time. MAN-Hummel actually recommends that people do not block their EGR off after installing their system. I tried finding the video where they said that but cant track it down.

[deanstephens]

Hi Charles - Do you think what could be happening is that the catch-can is preventing further carbon build up, and the fact that no further carbon was being added to 3 and 4 has allowed the previous deposits to have been burned off?

[benzineist]

Would you consider removing the PCV plate to investigate the burning oil smell/general inspection of that component?

[alexpope]

Great video Charles. I am glad to see you use CeraTec as well. I just recently starged using in my 3.6 VR6 (and Liquimoly oil as well), can't tell a big difference with it but I also put in my Gen 3 Coyote F-150. It made a huge difference in it, that engine is typically very noisy and it calmed down a lot of ticks and taps and made it run much smoother.

[MC-yxgn]

Great video. I’m debating putting one on my 2020 WRX, and being that it’s a turbo charged engine I’m leaning towards doing it. An AOS is arguably better (so I’ve heard) but I’ll set reminders on my phone to just check the can every couple months or so. I now know that my prerequisites for make/model are: drain valve (or plug at minimum), seamless install w/out removing factory components, biggest size I can fit to avoid multiple servicing. I’m going shopping.

[indpeanut]

Dual injection would fix ALOT of problems.

[MatthewGDunlap]

The Humble Wife: "Honey, where is my good measuring cup?"

Charles: ...

Is there a recommended interval for cleaning valves in a DI engine? I would be interested to see how the engine looks with a catch can from clean, all the way to that interval.

[sotelinho]

Hello, yes the catch can worked for me, however I'm up in the north long Island NY and with the cooler Temps my can would fill up quicker with water so I removed it due to the large amount of water collection in the can from the moisture. Very good info as always thank you.

[ThunderGoatz]

Got my '19 GTI around the same time as you humble. Except mine has 74k kms on it. Get to driving my man! Good stuff with the catch cans, I wish winter time wasn't a concern, or I'd probably get one as well for a peace of mind.

[mroldsoul]

I don't think a catch can will eliminate carbon on the valves. I think it's slows the build up

[Gushers]

@7:50 so catch can doesnt do anything to help the valves....?
does it help with making a better cleaner combustion ?

the silver mesh filter vs the copper filter makes a difference? ( i read copper filters can plug easily )

[chevyons]

I run a catch can on my silverado 5.3L (Vortec, not a DI ecotech) and I’ve never had a problem with it freezing up in winter time even after 3 winters with below 0° temps. But I also have never seen that much water:oil come out of my can. I have just a small moroso can, but I drain it every 2k miles or so, little more frequently and it’s never been full.

[davidfrom]

I have the same catch can installed on a MK7.5 as well and I installed it because I watched your video and I have to say the same about the oil smell after the install. Also I have the same dislike with the engine bolt and washer bottle diminished capacity. I hope others understand it's not a cure to the carbon build up but a little help in preventing it.