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Are oil catch cans a needed modification for the 2.0L and 2.5L ecoboost engines

Maverick2022XL

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As I've been reading and researching since this is my first go round with direct injection and all these new fangled engine designs. Last time I bought an almost new vehicle was in 2004 and the Maverick is the replacement for that one. I come across oil catch cans to filter oil out of the recirculated gases in the valve cover to the intake. On the surface it seems a good idea to help prolong the life and performance of the turbo and an oversight of Ford to not include them on these engines since it is a known problem.

Apparently they do have an oil seperator on the crankcase on both the 2.0L and 2.5L used on the hybrids.

The hybrid oil seperator is also used on 2020 - 2023 Ford Escapes with a 2.5L engine.

The 2.0L ecoboost oil seperator is also on a bunch of different models from 2020 up like the Escape, Ranger, Edge, Explorer and Bronco.

So question becomes does it work the same as an oil catch can would or not? If it does is there any real reason to have an aftermarket oil catch can installed other than for redundancy?

Ford Maverick Are oil catch cans a needed modification for the 2.0L and 2.5L ecoboost engines 2.5l


Ford Maverick Are oil catch cans a needed modification for the 2.0L and 2.5L ecoboost engines 2.0la
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Maverick2022XL

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To partially answer my original question.

Not endorsing the part just that it gives a good explanation how the oil seperator works when attached to the crankcase.

https://www.mountuneusa.com/Breather-Plate-Ford-Ecoboost-2-0L-And-2-3L-p/2363-obp-aa.htm


"Engines create oil vapor from the crankcase and cylinder head that is usually recycled back through the air intake system. This vapor can create a buildup of carbon deposits on the intake valve that can reduce engine performance.
Additionally, the oil vapor can accumulate on the intake hoses, turbocharger, intercooler, and intake tract over a period of time slowing airflow thereby reducing performance. For optimized engine performance, the oil should be removed from the vapor before it reaches the engine’s intake system.

The mountune Breather Plate directly replaces the original engine block plate and features a 100% increase in baffle surface area over the original part. The increase in baffle surface area allows more crankcase vent vapor to be trapped and remain in the crankcase where it belongs. Additionally the route the oil vapor takes on its way to the intake manifold is significantly increased through the baffles resulting in an increase of deflection areas. At each deflection point, additional oil is removed from the vapor. Installation is easy and while not required the mountune Breather Plate can be used with many catch can systems on the market. This part is a must for high boost, high performance applications."


So the question then is how well does the stock fiter system work under normal usage and is a catch really necessary or is it a case of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure type of thing?
 
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The Weatherman

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As I've been reading and researching since this is my first go round with direct injection and all these new fangled engine designs. Last time I bought an almost new vehicle was in 2004 and the Maverick is the replacement for that one. I come across oil catch cans to filter oil out of the recirculated gases in the valve cover to the intake. On the surface it seems a good idea to help prolong the life and performance of the turbo and an oversight of Ford to not include them on these engines since it is a known problem.

Apparently they do have an oil seperator on the crankcase on both the 2.0L and 2.5L used on the hybrids.

The hybrid oil seperator is also used on 2020 - 2023 Ford Escapes with a 2.5L engine.

The 2.0L ecoboost oil seperator is also on a bunch of different models from 2020 up like the Escape, Ranger, Edge, Explorer and Bronco.

So question becomes does it work the same as an oil catch can would or not? If it does is there any real reason to have an aftermarket oil catch can installed other than for redundancy?

2.5l.jpg


2.0la.jpg
There’s a long running thread on here about this subject. Lookup @Buschur and see what been said there. David Buschur is a long time engine guy dealing with these for years.
 
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Maverick2022XL

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Yes, but.... my understanding is that the issue comes with direct gas injection.

The 2.5L uses conventional port fuel injection, so no need for one.
I did some looking since I wasn't 100% 2.5L on the 2.5L and after numerous web pages later no particularly useful I finally some documentation that the 2.5L does indeed use port injection so that is my bad I thought it was a direct injection engine.

The 2.0L is direct injection. I've read a bunch on the subject and the info falls into 2 major categories, 1 is people attributing a problem to early ecoboost engines as never fixed and 2 people pushing the vehicles to the edge or beyond the factory stated performance limits.

So back to my original question is a catch can really needed under normal usage conditions if it already has an oil separator? Yes or no and why?
 

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2517X

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I did some looking since I wasn't 100% 2.5L on the 2.5L and after numerous web pages later no particularly useful I finally some documentation that the 2.5L does indeed use port injection so that is my bad I thought it was a direct injection engine.

The 2.0L is direct injection. I've read a bunch on the subject and the info falls into 2 major categories, 1 is people attributing a problem to early ecoboost engines as never fixed and 2 people pushing the vehicles to the edge or beyond the factory stated performance limits.

So back to my original question is a catch can really needed under normal usage conditions if it already has an oil separator? Yes or no and why?
I would say no. If it was really needed Ford would have put it on. Shoot, when I was a kid and regularly changing/fixing transmissions in my 63 Chevy, I only used 3 of the mounting bolts, instead of the 4 that Chevrolet used. So OEMs are inclined to be safe and add stuff when it might not be needed. So if was needed Ford would have added it.
 
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Maverick2022XL

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I spoke earlier today with a Ford Tech at the dealer about the oil seperator going bad and catch cans. This is what they had to say. If the seperator sludges up and causes excess buildup in the intercooler or any other component, if it is under warranty at minimum they do replace the oil seperator and will also take off and flush the intercooler and that is also covered under the warranty though you may have to go to Ford directly to get them to cover the intercooler removal / flush and reinstall. If you also put on the catch can on when you do this it will depend not so much on the Tech but higher up the food chain. If it is vented they will probably give you a hard time, if it isn't then it will depend if they understand how it works and if they are a dealer that just looks for any reason to weasel out of warranty coverage. An intercooler removal / flush / reinstall he says runs somewhere in the $800 range give or take if the warranty doesn't cover the work.

With that said the best course of action hereis to keep the original hose and put it back on and remove the catch can first before bringing it into the dealer if it goes in for any build up issues that maybe related to the oil seperator.

So a case for is as redundancy and as an early warning if the oil seperator isn't functioning correctly regardless of driving usage.

That still begs the original question redundancy or not is it really necessary or not under normal usage conditions?
 
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Maverick2022XL

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One thing I forgot to mention when I talked with the Ford Tech. if you plan to install an oil catch can and get warranty service on the vehicle it is probably not a good idea to put in a vented one. Reason being the computer timings for the engine are designed in mind with specific air / gas ratios in a closed system. The second you add a vacumm leak which is what the vent will do it will throw off that ratio. Any issues that may arise the dealer has solid standing in invalidating the warranty because you knowingly changed the air to gas ratio in a closed system. They can and probably will make that case for any part or issue that is indirectly affected by that change.

Still the original question remains unanswered....
 
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VRausch

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My experience with the Ecoboost (2.3L in the RS), using a radian setup, was that the can DID catch some oil but collected about the same or more moisture. The valve guides and the backs of the intake valves still had a very healthy amount of carbon/buildup and likely would have required a cleaning in only 20k miles.

Did the catch can setup help? Yes, most likely from what came out during services.

Did it correct the main issue of keeping the valves and guides clean? Nope. Some kind of port injection is really needed to actually keep things clean.
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