Oil Catch Can Froze Up...Car Consumed Excessive Oil

Hi All,

My worst fears about installing an oil catch can in a northern climate came to fruition...I wish I had never installed it.

We are in a deep freeze right now (-30 Celsius / -22 Fahrenheit) and I had an extended drive home (1.5 hours) after visiting with family. The majority of the trip went without incident until I got back into the city. I noticed the car was starting to miss and hesitate when cruising in 6th gear. This went away at higher rpm.

When I stopped at a traffic light, that's when I knew I had a big BIG problem. My car started burning oil and smoking like crazy. My immediate thought was the catch can was frozen and the PCV system was plugged off (this happened to my BMW e46 years ago that has an OEM air-oil separator).

I pulled over at a nearby service station and checked the oil. It was barely registering on the tip of the dipstick. Thought about just having it towed to the nearby Mazda dealership, but decided to just top off the oil and limp it home (15 min drive from where i was parked). I ended up having to add approximately 2.1 quarts to bring it to the Max line on the dipstick. That means I had approximately 3.9 quarts in the oil pan.

Without question, the catch can is being removed. And before anyone asks, yes...I was emptying it regularly and did so before my trip.

My main concern is my engine...will the low oil have starved the bearings resulting in damage or a spun bearing? I will drop the oil and open the filter. If I don't see a glitter party, is it likely to be safe? Really concerned right now.

Andrew

 

First off, you can't check the oil after having just run it. You need to let it sit so all the oil can drain off of everything back into the pan, so you're probably *overfull* now. Check it when it's cold or hasn't been run for at least half an hour.

Secondly, even a little bit of oil can produce a HUGE amount of smoke, so you might not have burned off as much as you think.

 

I did as you said in your response. First time I checked it I waited 10 minutes and then came back to it with oil an hour later and checked again.

After getting the car home (after topping off the oil), I checked the level hours later and was a little over the Max line. I had added 2.4 quarts in the parking lot, bringing me slightly over Max. Therefore, I guesstimate I was about 2.1 quarts low, and therefore had around 3.9 quarts remaining in the oil pan.

 

OK that's better, but unless you were completely smoking out entire neighborhoods as you drove by, your oil consumption due to the PCV is likely not the main culprit of your low oil level (unless you checked oil level before that trip).

 

That oil level on a highway trip is probably fine. I would confirm where all of the oil went. If you are going to have a problem with the motor you will know when you start it up.

 

It was smoking a ton in the city...to the point it was hard to breathe in the car and was very embarrassing. It really really stunk too and was affecting how the engine was firing...it was missing a lot and wanted to die while idling.

Start-up fortunately sounded normal and did NOT sound strained like an overheated engine does.

I do not see any leaks anywhere. I checked my oil level before the trip and it was normal. Looks like a limited amount of oil (I.e. weepage) squeezed past the seal for the cam shaft position sensor.

Fun fact, the when my BMW did the same thing it blew the valve cover gaskets. The other option was to hydro-lock one of the cylinders. Freezing off the PCV system is a very big deal...10 out of 10 don't recommend it, lol.

 

I might have had an event like yours (however only while idling in my driveway) and in the process the turbo seals failed.
It was a slug of ice in a drooped section of OCC line. Slowly passed a good amount of oil in the intake and into the exhaust system.
Might be worth taking a look. I hope all is ok tho.

 

Thanks for the heads-up @SyntheticAtmosphere. Did the slug of ice dislodge from the OCC line and impact the turbo impeller? Edit: I'm not sure this could happen with my setup because I'm running the DM stage 1 OCC setup with the lines running between the PCV and intake manifold.

How would I check for that? Undo the intake tract and check for damage on the blades and oil in the system?

Thanks @Enki and @Easter Bunny...I appreciate your responses today!

Andrew

 

The slug just stopped the flow of gasses from evacuating the crankcase. I had my lines hooked up with the pcv & valve cover ports going to the can, and the can going to the inlet pipe. (It was suggested that way in a blog a while back, but I now have DM stg1 like yours).

I had oil here...
Pull the intercooler and look there.
Disconnect the exhaust downpipe to midpipe and look there.

It is possible you are ok. I had no oil registering on the dipstick and the car had been idling for quite some time.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

 

Thanks @SyntheticAtmosphere.

I suppose if there is oil in the intake tract and exhaust, that would indicate the turbo seals have failed, requiring a replacement turbo.

If there is oil in the intake tract, but none in the exhaust, the turbo should be fine.

Damn...didn't even think I'd need to pull the test pipe, but I suppose it's not a super big job.

Thank you for the advice!

 

From looking more at the interwebs dropping hoses can certainly cause issues with drainage and lead to ice plugs, ensuring that there's no low points seems to be huge for cold weather.

I know when I cleaned my valves last year I took the time to shorten hoses to ensure less droop seems to be a straight shot now

 

I had loads in the intake tract. Enough to stand up the intercooler and let it dribble out. I had to rinse everything out large. Good Luck!

 

I saw a trick from a midwesterner a number of years ago to keep the OCC warm. Got a bunch of hose and connected the throttle body coolant line from it, wrapped around it and back to the throttle body. The coolant warmed the OCC and prevented the freeze. Just took the hose off the throttle body, T's it to the lines and just added a new line. Pretty cool.

 

I've had my eye on this for a long time. Pricey, but never have to empty it and is heated:

http://www.radiumauto.com/Universal-Air-Oil-Separator-Return-AOS-R-P890.aspx

 

Thats a really sweet piece.

This one is cheaper but not heated. I saw these when I was shopping, but picked up a DM can. No one in the community was running one, so I passed it by. I also dont drive my car in winter, or I would probably disable the OCC ir something.

 

That's honestly the only way to do it

 

What's the fun in that? Plus all the water that goes in the occ goes to the oil. Just wrap the can in coolant lines and do the drain.

 

The water that shows up in the OCC is because the can cools off and lets it condense. Having everything go back to the pan lets the engine heat burn it off and it runs through the cylinder like stock.

 

Heh. I like draining the can at an oil change.

 

One of the perks of living in Florida is that that works for you