Catch Cans For Crank Case Ventilation - Why You Should Install One

The chances are, if you’re seriously into off-roading, you take good care of your engine and it’s pretty reliable. After all you know how serious it could be if you had a major breakdown deep in the bush. Keeping all the mechanical bits clean and well maintained is essential, but don’t overlook prevention either. One way to prevent your engine collecting grime from burned fuel. Piston rings never give an absolutely perfect seal so every time a cylinder fires some of the gas will find its way into the crankcase. That’s bad news, because if it stays there it will dissolve into the oil and contaminate it with tiny, abrasive particles that will slowly grind away the guts of your engine. Regular oil changes will minimise the damage, and modern factory fitted Positive Crankcase Ventilation systems keep the amount of gas in the crankcase down, but to get even more protection you can’t go wrong fitting a catch can.

The problem with PCV systems is that they recycle crankcase gases and vaporised oil back into the engine’s air intake. That’s unavoidable because of the way they work – the low pressure in the intake creates the draught that sucks dirty gas out of the crankcase - but it’s also inefficient, and in time the intake can become highly contaminated. This starts to feed gunk back into the engine, increasing wear and burning lubricating oil along with the fuel. Adding a catch can to the PCV system solves that problem. Like the name suggests, it traps carbon particles and oil mists as they pass through it, so what’s fed into the intake is clean. The result is your engine suffers less wear and burns more cleanly, reducing oil consumption and exhaust emissions.

The basic idea of a catch can is simple, but making them efficient is a lot more complicated. There’s a wide choice out there and some are a lot better than others. The best one we’ve found is the Provent 200, from filter specialist Mann Hummel. Designed for the latest turbodiesel power plants, the Provent 200 does an excellent job of collecting all the gunk before it finds its way back into the air intake. That helps keep your turbo in perfect working order as well as protecting the engine itself. Cleaner burning will also cut your oil consumption and reduce how much particulate comes out your exhaust. The Provent’s design also prevents oil collecting in intercoolers.

We expect anything from Mann Hummel to be very high quality and the Provent 200 definitely qualifies. It really is a quality bit of gear. If you’re running a turbodiesel get yourself one of these. It’s easily going to pay for itself in increased engine life.

Check out the Provent 200 here:
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