[335dwagon]

Hello everybody. I installed my catch can last August on my 2007 335d Wagon for over 3,000 Kilometers with great results as shown in the pictures below. I must say this was a challenging task since there isn´t an actual oil catch can kit available for our diesel cars in Europe or USA, only the gas powered ones. My driving consists of mainly Autobahn, with various speeds anywhere from 30 mph average to 160 mph maximum speed "for 3 minutes maximum". Since I do have the Wagner Tuning Intercooler installed on my car, and I am actually the person the was the 3D test car and the first one to have it installed on our diesels, I knew that I wanted to do something about all of the excess oil being put through the Turbos, Hot Side Intercooler Piping, Intercooler, Cold Side Charge Piping and into the intake manifold and valves. I never measured the amount of oil that originally gathered in these components before installing the Catch Can Kit. My car has 102,545 Kilometers on it currently and had 62,000 on it when I bought it in 2010. The pictures below will explain a lot more. The components that I used to make up this kit are as follows and cost me over $800, but was well worth it.

-Burger Motorsports Catch Can with welded on Wiggins fittings for a clean and leak free installation. The can that I used is for the N54 application which allowed me to mount the can on the driver´s side strut tower brace which works well for emptying and cleaning.

-Polyester Braided -10 hose that is used in NASCAR application and is resistant to oil and is meant for breather and vent lines, with a working temperature from -67 F to 257 F. Used Adel clamps to keep the hoses very tidy and neat.

-Wiggins fittings and clamps for a leak free attachment and is somewhat pleasing to my eyes. I have used these fittings before and have worked with them in Aviation since they do come from the Aviation Industry.

-I also used 90 degree and 45 degree fittings to attach the hoses to the Wiggins fittings as used for NASCAR.

-On the vent pipe that attaches to the top of the valve cover shown here Number 11 on realoem.com http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...49&hg=11&fg=15 I attached the factory rubber hose on the European 335d that goes from this pipe directly to the intake pipe with no sensors Number 5 http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...91&hg=13&fg=20 to the hose connected to the In side of the Burger Motorsports catch can. Sorry USA guys that you have a sensored hose. This hose I cut and installed a custom fitting with a Wiggins flange to allow the hose to hook up, and to do so I used special clamps called Herbie Clamps that are plastic and also come from Aviation. These clamps can hold a lot of pressure! They were expensive , but I am very happy with the results and can use them on other projects instead of metal hose clamps. You can find more information about them here http://www.hcl-clamping.com/Herbie-C...Double-Grip-P1

-The Filtered inlet pipe Number 3 http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...91&hg=13&fg=20
I bought a new one for the custom modification to allow me to fit the Wiggins fitting union on a standard pipe into the vent tube just below and to the left of Number 18 in the link above. This allowed me to to route the hose from the catch can outlet back to the inlet of the vent before the turbocharger.

When I took the pictures today is when I checked the oil in the catch can and actually drained it for the first time. It was almost half full of oil after 3,000 kilometers! The bottom was mainly sludge build up as shown in the pictures after I drained the oil out. The sludge is from the condensation that builds up in the top of the valve cover area with all of the hot oil. If anyone pulls off Number 8 http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...49&hg=11&fg=15 you will see oil burnt more then likely with condensation that will cause sludge since water is heavier then oil it will build up at the bottom of the catch can causing sludge.

If anyone has any questions or concerns let me know. I don't always come on here and most of the time don´t have enough time to.

[GreekboyD]

Holy shit Doc. Top notch right there.

[Jase 320d]

It will rub that rubber (coolant?) hose away eventually....

Plus why are the hoses so long?
Couldn't you locate it somewhere closer?

[335dwagon]

Thanks GreekboyD.

Jase 320d- Please elaborate which coolant hose you mean?
No this was the best spot for it since my stock air box is on the passenger side, along with the tight space to hang the catch can where the turbos are on the strut brace is not possible.

[JDG]

I like it, I need to find some nicer fittings like yours. Your setup is very clean. Luckily for you, you don't have those 2 pesky sensors to deal with.

You also have a very expensive setup but it shows. When mines complete including the N54 Catch can, I should be around 250. I wont have all the special fittings you have or custom hoses that you do. Looks like I was right, the catch can is more a requirement than a want. That's a lot of gunk not going into the intake.

[FormerRotor]

Wow, Doc, that is beyond top notch work. The fact that the collection shown is from only 3k km is going to push me into installing this ASAP.

Thanks for the post!

[Jase 320d]

Originally Posted by 335dwagon

Thanks GreekboyD.

Jase 320d- Please elaborate which coolant hose you mean?
No this was the best spot for it since my stock air box is on the passenger side, along with the tight space to hang the catch can where the turbos are on the strut brace is not possible.

I don't know what hose it is but this is my best attempt on my phone

[335dwagon]

That rubber hose is the breather hose that leads to the inlet of the catch can. There is absolutely no movement of the hoses when the engine is running. The plastic acoustic cover installs over the engine and separates the two hoses.

[JDG]

I think he is concerned because braided hoses tend to be abrasive. I know stainless hose will cut stuff up, not sure how bad nylon is. There will always be vibration from the engine and his concern is that it will eventually eat away at the soft rubber tube there. a small piece of plastic tubing cover would protect it.

[335dwagon]

It all depends on the install. The hoses don´t touch at all when the cover is on over the engine and there isn't any movement whatsoever when the engine is running or being revved up under a load. The nylon is very soft and would take awhile to rub through if vibration ever was the case.

[Jase 320d]

You will always get some vibration

Just keep an eye on it

[335dwagon]

Now I am starting to get a little annoyed by the comments about vibration. There isn't any and therefore no need to comment on it.

[Jase 320d]

Just trying to save you any possible problems in the future

You posted a picture of your install so surely you can expect positive and negative comments back (not that my comments are in anyway negative) . Its a good idea a catch can but imo the set up could be improved which isn't a bad thing

I've had problems in the past with hoses rubbing through, even 2 rubber hoses of the same material run side by side or touching under engine running will chaff / rub

[DnA Diesel]

Doc, like GreekboyD said, nice, clean install!

[adriang]

I understand what the OP is saying, those two don't touch when the plastic engine cover is on

[ssbourbon1]

Your timing is great on this. It looks awesome and it's great that you have had such good luck with it. I had purchased my 2009 about 2 months ago, the code threw when the night I got the car and had the dealer put in writing that they would take care of any issues with it. I am waiting on a new intake and this will be my first mod on the car to keep the new intake system nice and clean. Thanks for taking the time to post this, you are saving us all many future headaches.

[135i_vs_]

Originally Posted by 335dwagon

...

Wow, thanks for posting the results. Looks like this is essential to prevent buildup in the intake, cylinder head, valves etc.

Your install looks clean and professional.
I noticed you are in Germany, do you have any comments about the droplets freezing up? Looks like the catch can is quite far from the intake return.

Thanks!

[TorqueAddict]

Thats's a neat job! A very useful preventive maintenance upgrade.

[sergiy'd]

this is probably one of the most helpful threads until its time

very slick and helpful mod, comes from a guy that runs catch cans on everything that he has owned

*now i guess is time to get one installed on my ride

[Timujin]

Great mod and very needed. I have to agree with it being tight under the hood and I love those fittings.

[TDIwyse]

This is a clean looking install. Nice job.

I'd suggestion some caution for those of us in really cold climates (we'll be hitting -20F tomorrow) due to the length of the tubing runs and the placement of the tubes. Having just taken some underhood temp data on my car for the location near the front/radiator path in your setup, even with all the radiator grill openings completely blocked, the temp is within ~5 F degrees of ambient.

An example of a frozen CCV on a turbo diesel can be found here: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=128872

If the CCV path gets frozen and the crankcase can't vent adequately, bad things happen to seals and oil leaks can occur. The link above talks of one tdiclub guy getting his warranty canceled for his CCV catch can mod...

Not being negative on your nice/clean install, but just trying to give some cautionary perspective from others who have learned some tough lessons with this type of mod.

[BB_cuda]

Doc, this is some damn fine work you have done. Kudos to your project.

One of Doc's pictures show clearly how the engine cover holds the two lines apart. I don't have a concern about cool temps (though schools and JSC/NASA closed tomorrow for freezing rain).

I'm still going to try the N55 method and hold the hose length to a shorter run. I agree with JDG that if airbox is left OEM it won't fit there. I did search for the airbox mod but came up empty. This mod will let us have an each way run of hose more like 12". Seems like we have a compromise to achieve though. If too close to turbos, the gases coming from crank case won't cool off enough to condense the oil out of the venting gases. If too far, you get back to TDI's observation. Perhaps a custom airbox can wall off the turbo's heat. Perhaps it doesn't matter as long as car has decent airflow while driving and would only be a standing still in traffic potential issue.

Once again, class act there, Doc.

Does anybody know the BMS OCC diameter and length please (i'm fine with inches or mm)? I looked at the Provent 200 link TDI provided. It is pretty big at over 4" in diameter