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
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