Oil-Air Separator

ebbnflow · **Posted:** Thu Dec 29, 2011 9:50 pm

I think I'm going to order one of these. I have always liked the idea of the Provent, but I never liked the price of it. This device is reasonably priced and seems like it will do the trick. Thanks for showing us a Provent alternative.

rebar · **Posted:** Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:30 pm

Anyone have pictures of how they installed this? Or maybe a list of hose sizes and materials? Subscribed

nickademus · **Joined:** Mon May 09, 2011 2:15 pm **Posts:** 54

its metric, the 3/4 inch hoses up top are just a little big.
1/2 or so at the bottom.

i went and talked to the tech's at bmw the other day, as my mother in law works for one.
This is the CCV for the bmw X5. up here in edmonton(@$#% cold land) it has a tendancy to freeze up and blow up the crank case seal from back pressure.

so, when that happens what they do is re-route the hoses and ccv between the intake and the firewall to keep it warm, so that it can do its job without freezing up.
something to think about while we wonder about placement.

Stevereed · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 12:03 am

I installed the cyclonic separator this weekend. I made a mount out of 1" steel strap and attached it to a heat shield bolt on the side of the turbo in front of coolant tank.

3/4" heater hose was all I could find locally, so I used some tie wraps to snug things up a little. For the drain, I used clear 1/2" vinyl tubing just to see if the thing was really working. I ran the tube down near the oil drain and put a ball valve on the end to drain it at oil changes. If this works, I'll update the hoses and figure out some type of permanent catch can with a drain.

I drove around about an hour today and checked to see if it was working. In that short time, there was a small amount of oil dripping down the tube.

Cowpie1 · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:31 am

benzer wrote:

I wonder if this would be more resistant to freezing up
because of the smaller size and higher velocity. The fear
of freezing up is the only reason I have not done the EHM/Provent.
Here in Illinois, it gets pretty cold!!!!!

John

I live in Iowa and have did the EHM almost immediately after buying my CRD in '06. Never have had a freeze up. But maybe that is because I have also always used a Fia winter front cover during the cold times. Not quite sure about the freezing up thing in general. I have had several, including my current '06 Cummins ISX, that have had the crankcase hose vented to the ground. I have never experienced a freeze up of that hose, even in Alaska. And there is a lot more of the hose on a semi truck exposed to cold wind than there ever could be in our CRD's. But I guess there is a first time for everything. Just haven't had it happen to me yet.

racertracer · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:43 pm

Steve I like the way you set up the transmission dipstick tie down.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2012 12:32 pm

That is a very nice tranny dipstick tie down glad racer noticed. I've got some nice velcro wire ties that with a clamp will do the trick just fine and a lot simpler than what I had been considering.

Stevereed · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2012 11:08 pm

papaindigo wrote:

That is a very nice tranny dipstick tie down glad racer noticed. I've got some nice velcro wire ties that with a clamp will do the trick just fine and a lot simpler than what I had been considering.

Thanks, the darn thing kept riding up with the cover on.

Patrick Henry · **Posted:** Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:51 pm

Quote:

Is there any reason why it shouldn't be tapped into the turbo oil return hose?

Sometimes when I drain my Provent drain line I get a slug of water before it turns to oil.

CATCRD · **Posted:** Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:04 pm

Stevereed wrote:

I installed the cyclonic separator this weekend. I made a mount out of 1" steel strap and attached it to a heat shield bolt on the side of the turbo in front of coolant tank.

3/4" heater hose was all I could find locally, so I used some tie wraps to snug things up a little. For the drain, I used clear 1/2" vinyl tubing just to see if the thing was really working. I ran the tube down near the oil drain and put a ball valve on the end to drain it at oil changes. If this works, I'll update the hoses and figure out some type of permanent catch can with a drain.

I drove around about an hour today and checked to see if it was working. In that short time, there was a small amount of oil dripping down the tube.

Looks good, where did you get the ball valve? I've been looking for a small one for my Provent.

Stevereed · **Posted:** Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:15 pm

[quoteLooks good, where did you get the ball valve? I've been looking for a small one for my Provent.[/quote]

Home Depot had one around the air compressor parts.

josh8loop · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:22 pm

DynoPax wrote:

Could be this one:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=325015

And the cyclone oil separator:

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/11151705237/ES19562/

Hi fellas!

I'm the guy who started the whole cyclonic air/oil separator from the BMW used on the TDI engines. My wife and I are looking for a replacement vehicle for her, and the liberty CRD has become an option. I was online looking up service intervals for the liberty CRD and ran across this Thread. How funny! It's interesting just how far information posted online can go

I'm glad you all have benefitted from the information. My separator is working very well with a little more than 1 oz per 10K miles collected so far. If you all have any questions, fire away!

joelukex4 · **Joined:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:54 pm **Posts:** 386

Stevereed wrote:

I installed the cyclonic separator this weekend. I made a mount out of 1" steel strap and attached it to a heat shield bolt on the side of the turbo in front of coolant tank.

3/4" heater hose was all I could find locally, so I used some tie wraps to snug things up a little. For the drain, I used clear 1/2" vinyl tubing just to see if the thing was really working. I ran the tube down near the oil drain and put a ball valve on the end to drain it at oil changes. If this works, I'll update the hoses and figure out some type of permanent catch can with a drain.

I drove around about an hour today and checked to see if it was working. In that short time, there was a small amount of oil dripping down the tube.

Stevereed, did you cut your original CCV hose? I have not done mine yet but am looking for cheaper option than Provent. I want to keep mine near stock as it is an 05 with only 40K miles that I picked up and the warranty is still in place until Sept 2012.

rebar · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 6:20 pm

Stevereed wrote:

I installed the cyclonic separator this weekend. I made a mount out of 1" steel strap and attached it to a heat shield bolt on the side of the turbo in front of coolant tank.

3/4" heater hose was all I could find locally, so I used some tie wraps to snug things up a little. For the drain, I used clear 1/2" vinyl tubing just to see if the thing was really working. I ran the tube down near the oil drain and put a ball valve on the end to drain it at oil changes. If this works, I'll update the hoses and figure out some type of permanent catch can with a drain.

I drove around about an hour today and checked to see if it was working. In that short time, there was a small amount of oil dripping down the tube.

Thanks for the pictures Stevereed. Im starting to feel comfortable installing this.

CATCRD · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 7:11 pm

josh8loop wrote:

Hi fellas!

I'm the guy who started the whole cyclonic air/oil separator from the BMW used on the TDI engines. My wife and I are looking for a replacement vehicle for her, and the liberty CRD has become an option. I was online looking up service intervals for the liberty CRD and ran across this Thread. How funny! It's interesting just how far information posted online can go

I'm glad you all have benefitted from the information. My separator is working very well with a little more than 1 oz per 10K miles collected so far. If you all have any questions, fire away!

Welcome, and thanks for doing the leg work on the separator. I have one on the table for my wife's CRD, although the Provent on mine probably collects an ounce in 1000 mi! Hopefully this cheaper alternative will work as well.

Stevereed · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 7:17 pm

Quote:

did you cut your original CCV hose? I have not done mine yet but am looking for cheaper option than Provent. I want to keep mine near stock as it is an 05 with only 40K miles that I picked up and the warranty is still in place until Sept 2012.

No I kept the original in tact.

Stevereed · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 7:20 pm

josh8loop wrote:

Hi fellas!

I'm the guy who started the whole cyclonic air/oil separator from the BMW used on the TDI engines. My wife and I are looking for a replacement vehicle for her, and the liberty CRD has become an option. I was online looking up service intervals for the liberty CRD and ran across this Thread. How funny! It's interesting just how far information posted online can go

I'm glad you all have benefitted from the information. My separator is working very well with a little more than 1 oz per 10K miles collected so far. If you all have any questions, fire away!

Thanks for leading the way.

josh8loop · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 8:32 pm

Thanks fellas for the welcome

I never wanted to go through a run-away engine scenario, and wanted to help keep some oil vapor from mixing with the EGR oil and creating goo in my intake tract. It also makes it easy to get a general feel for turbo health and engine blow by health by watching a establishing a norm for volume collected. Lets just hope it acts as a cheap warning device so we can mitigate mishaps. I'm glad to see you all taking it and running with it!

I'm still learning about the Liberty CRD platform, and have a long way to go. Forgive and correct me if I get off track with the application of this to the liberty CRD. One thing for sure is that since mine is a 1.9L engine, and yours is a 2.8 L engine, I would certainly expect that it would work much better on yours than mine due to the increased 2.8L crankcase flow. The cyclonic separator depends on air flow to allow it to operate efficiently, and the more the better to a point. The question is whether or not it becomes a bit restrictive at high RPM on the CRD and allows the crankcase to become slightly more pressurized than it should. You guys who have this installed would have a better feel about this aspect.

As far as icing up in cold weather conditions, this can be mitigated by proper placement of the inlet/outlet lines as mentioned earlier. Shorter lines that are more direct, and closer to engine heat radiating component are better. Just don't place it close to exhaust components :wink:

Also insulation properly placed on the cyclonic separator components(like the older BMW's used) has been shown to help keep icing up from happening as well. Overall, it looks like you guys have found a nice application for this and will perfectly tailor it to your engines and come up with creative ways to adapt it to meet your needs.

camo · **Posted:** Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:41 pm

ok guys, I just order mine!!! I am going to remove my provent and try this one. I post pics and posts when I get it all done.

camo · **Posted:** Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:11 am

awesome. I got mine install and it is 100% non-invasive. I will report on its performance at the 500 miles mark. (I'll try to post pics)

Oil-Air Separator

Who is online