I installed the cyclonic separator on my VW TDI as a trial before replacing the Provent on the CRD. After approximately 1000 highway miles it has collected about a teaspoon of water plus some oily residue.

the normal oil separation of the provent in my case is 2 to 3 fl oz after 1000 miles. where about 75% of the miles are freeway miles at 68 miles (2000 rpm). My cyclonic separator is under test right now, but if it doesn't at least meet the oil separation of the provent it will be coming off.

How's the test going? Which one is better in you opinion?

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05 liberty Sport Black CRD,GDE trans tune, Stant 13519 thermostat , Samco Hoses, Weathertech mats, segr, K &N filter ,2nd gen fuel head, 2.5 inches lift, JBA A-arms, Roof rack,
99 Camaro Silver LS1 heads, loud mouth, fast as hell and just as fun!!!
It was stock when I got it but now It's mine!!
You only love it if you change it!!

Ok. after 1000 miles on the cyclonic air/oil separator I have decided to remove it. It only catches about 1.2 fl oz on that mile stretch while the Provent 200 was catching about2.5 fl oz. Now I am going to try sort of an EHM but going back to the air filter box as it is on some European Landrovers and I will report back on another 1000 miles.

Do you mean something like this?

viewtopic.php?f=98&t=56084

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2005 Jeep Liberty Limited CRD, JBA coilovers-4.5 Arms, 5xMoab's with 265-75-16 Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ, Safari snorkel, Suncoast T/C, GDE Hot tune, Mandrel bent CAC Tubes, EHM to airbox, Mopar skid's, Fumoto Drain Valve, 3% Tint, ARB front bumper, Full set of Miller tools (9599) to loan within my immediate vicinity.

Yep, like that but I did use a wet 90° fitting from home depot and attach it to the front by the side of the air inlet, I am on 300 hundred miles of testing but all looking good so far. any way, if this mood does not work as good or better that the Provent I will be going back to it.

Is the provent alowing more moisture to be condensed which adds to the total volume collected? I believe the Provent is basically the same except it has an inner filter element. Also, watching mine for the past 13K miles it may be catching more now than it did in the beginning-not sure why. I may have to look into adding a filter element to mine to see if I collect any more from it.

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2005 Mercedes E320 CDI, 2002 VW Jetta TDI

Hey, just ordered one of these guys and was looking for the best/easiest location for installation... Any ideas or pics of those who have installed it?

The reason your provent is catching more oil now is that it takes a couple of thousand miles for the filter/separator to saturate. Once it is saturated you can start to see the real catch the provent can do.

I my opinion the best place to put any of the two (provent or cyclonic) is in the space between the battery and the brake fluid reservoir. that is where I install them both (not at the same time), you will have to make your own bracket though.

On a side note I would like to mention that I had just adapt the inside filter of the provent to the inside of the airbox (pre-filter) and now I am running a combination of provent and prefilter air/oil separation. so far, its working awesome. I am waiting to complete 3k miles to report results and pictures on it.

Just a heads up for Provent owners. My Provent froze this winter and I blew the rear seal in the engine. The good news is I'm changing the TC in preparation for the GDE tune so the repair cost is not an issue. I had no problems with the Provent when I lived in Calgary....colder and dryer, but here in BC the increased humidity caused the problem. (My theory).

I'll run the provent until next fall then maybe EHM?

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2005 Dark Khaki CRD Limited
235/70/16 Revos/Yokohama Geolander I/Ts
Magnaflow 12226
OME springs and shocks
GDE Hot tune and Trans. tune

I installed mine last week. IMO, the best place for it is right on the outboard end of the coolant bottle. This keeps it warm in the winter to reduce the likelihood of freezing, and results in shorter, more direct hose runs from the CCV to the intake elbow. In 75 miles mine has a few drops down in the bottom of the drain hose already.

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05CRD: GDE Hot ECU & TCM tunes, Provent, Cat filter, Facet lift pump, TransGo kit, Florida TC, Samcos, stainless brake lines, HDS thermostat, Renegade light bar,
Bilstein adjustables, Al's Gen 4.5 Arms, 235/85-16 Duratracs, DTT rear, Elocker front, EVIC+TPMS, Turbo timer, McNally pillar gauges, Weeks Stage II kit.

when I did the EHM for mine, I ran the hose 'uphill' for the first foot or so, and the evidence suggests that oil vapor condenses in the EHM hose and runs back towards the puck. Don't know where it goes from there but would assume it went back into the CC.

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Grid power- the one true essential

2005 Liberty CRD- ARP studs, Fumoto, Hayden FC, inline Tstat, ETechno 7v GP, Platinum P1, in-tank lift pump.
1983 Volvo D24T
1981 Volvo D24
Dodge Cummins TD
Case 580B
Mitsubishi MT180 diesel
Kubota BX25 diesel

Looking at the internal provent construction I see that it actually uses a cyclonic separator coupled with a glass fiber based filtration insert to further reduce oil throughput. The provent cyclonic portion looks larger(slower air rotation) where the one from the BMW is smaller and rotates the air quicker which will help oil removal. Since the main difference(and the reason there is such a performance difference) between the two is the glass fiber filter I am trying to figure out a way to create a fiber filter to install inside my BMW cyclonic separator. Basically I would cut my cyclonic separator just below the top but not cut through the center stand pipe. Maybe this will help for a visual:



http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... m=1&itbs=1

I have access to some glass mat type material used for welding blanket that is made of silica fibers like this stuff:


http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... m=1&itbs=1

The way I picture it is to take some of this material and make a filter cone out of it. I can keep the edges from fraying by applying some UltraGrey RTV to the edges and working it in really well. Once the silica filter cone is made, I can use a stainless steel zip tie to secure it to the interior cyclonic separator stand pipe. I will smooth down the two halves of the cyclonic separator and figure out a way to join them so they can be disassembled in the future for cleaning/inspection. When the internal filter element saturates with oil it will simply drip down and exit the bottom through the oil outlet port and be collected. I have recently acquired a 2005 Mercedes E320 CDI that interesting enough uses a cyclonic separator that is fairly small to effectively remove oil vapor from the CCV. The main thing it lacks is of course the glass fiber filter material which can be externally added. If you guys come across any filter material that works well for oil separation that can be fit inside these small BMW cyclonic separators let me know, I would be very interested!

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2005 Mercedes E320 CDI, 2002 VW Jetta TDI

sounds good.
On the other hand I installed the provent filter only inside the air box and connected a fitting right to it with a catching can underneath. So far, it is working awesome, I'll try to take some pictures this week.

A quick update on the cyclonic separator.
I installed one on the wife's jeep 1000 mi ago and there is 1 3/4" deep of trapped oil at the bottom of the 1/2" dia drain hose. I'm pretty satisfied with it for ~$30.

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05CRD: GDE Hot ECU & TCM tunes, Provent, Cat filter, Facet lift pump, TransGo kit, Florida TC, Samcos, stainless brake lines, HDS thermostat, Renegade light bar,
Bilstein adjustables, Al's Gen 4.5 Arms, 235/85-16 Duratracs, DTT rear, Elocker front, EVIC+TPMS, Turbo timer, McNally pillar gauges, Weeks Stage II kit.

sounds about what it should be. an oz every 1000mi. I will be reporting with pictures when I complete the 5k with it.

Great find. Just ordered one on Ebay
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_f...i+4.6is+Alpina

I'm wondering if it could be mounted inside the air box with just one hose going through the air box from the puck. Have a hole in the bottom of the air box for the bottom half separator to stick out and a drain valve on a length of hose.
Keeps it out of sight and doing it's job.

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2002 KJ 2.5Lt CRD minor mods sofar.
My own design air/fuel filter setup.
2" spring lift, Snorkel, Rooftop camping setup.
And some mods of thermostat and fan shroud.
More to come as need arises.

ok, so I'm not fond of the EHM idea, and it seems like the provent is definitely a better filterration system in terms of getting the most oil our of the ccv... What do you guys think? Assuming money is not the issue, you just want the best long-term solution for the engine: What's the ultimate conclusion - ProVent or the BMW Cyclone separator?

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2005 2.8L CRD Turbo, B99, SEGR in the works

Assuming money is not the issue.
Put 2 Provents in one after the other. I would assume that would be better, finding the room might be the problem.

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2002 KJ 2.5Lt CRD minor mods sofar.
My own design air/fuel filter setup.
2" spring lift, Snorkel, Rooftop camping setup.
And some mods of thermostat and fan shroud.
More to come as need arises.

Yea, just wondering if maybe one of these would be better and cost less than the provent:

http://j.mp/JkOUzY ($86)
http://j.mp/JkONEH ($45)
http://j.mp/JkQwd6 ($75)
http://j.mp/JkOJEN ($110)

Certainly seems you could find room for two of the cyclone's in-line, though I don't think that would be very efficient. The filter medium is certainly a plus, and a couple of the ones have that. Another plus with the provent is the large inlet/outlet sizes (most of these have 1/2"). But a cyclone coupled with one of the catch cans above might be cheaper and more efficient. The $45 one looks to have a filter element pretty similar to the ProVent, but 3/8" inlet/outlet.

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2005 2.8L CRD Turbo, B99, SEGR in the works