PCV jar not working as expected

[Flatland2D]

Update: I opened up the PCV canister again today and again found no buildup of any kind. There was slightly more dust collected at the bottom, but no liquid or residue. This was after maybe 130 miles of driving. Everyone else that I've read about has noted a lot of sludge after a week's worth of driving. I don't have a single drop. Maybe the air in my crankcase is cleaner somehow. The car does burn oil somewhere inside the engine as I have to top off every-so-often. I really should do a compression test just to get a general idea of how my engine's running.

I'm about to go on a test drive to measure my mpg. I doubt I'll see any difference than without the PCV canister. I'm only going to drive for 2 to 3 gallons of gas, so it won't be incredibly accurate, but it should give me an idea. I'll be using the top-off method and measuring how much gas it takes to fill back up.

[Flatland2D]

Trip: 79.55 miles
Gas used: 2.295 gallons
Fuel economy: 34.7 mpg
Driving type: Highway
Target speed: 65 mph

Gas prices just dropped here so I decided to fill all the way up to test this. First off, I know 2.295 gallons is not a lot of gas to test with, but I think I got an accurate number. My measured mpg before the test was 35 mpg, so this somewhat verifies my result. I did not gain any mpg by adding my PCV canister. I wish I could say that it's at least keeping my engine cleaner by filtering out sludge but it doesn't look like it's doing that either. As of now I don't think it's serving any purpose on my car, but I will keep it on there. Other people with PCV canisters have reported a noticable increase in mpg, as well as sludge building up that needs to be emptied about every other tank.

Tire pressure was kind of low for this test. I didn't want to mess with them because then I'd be changing more than one variable at a time. I checked pressure a few days ago and the tires were around 30 psi or a little under that. I will fill them up to 40 psi and repeat the test. After that test I will try adding acetone.

[SVOboy]

Very interesting about the pcv can, hmm...

In any case, when you do tires and acetone make sure to post your results in the stuff in the experiments section. Right now I'm working on my tire test and then I'll be working on acetone.

[dfoxengr]

great thread on honda PCV systems.

http://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1199935

[Flatland2D]

Sorry to bring up this old thread, but I opened my PCV canister up a few days ago and wanted to give an update. After a little over two months of use, I had accumulated about one tablspoon of sludge. I don't know if the idea is really worth it on my car. I run Mobil 1 Sythetic which people say is harder to break down so it's more difficult to filter. I will continue to keep the canister on just for the heck of it, but as my first tests showed, it's not helping any in fuel economy. Maybe it's at least keeping my engine a tiny bit cleaner.

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by Flatland2D

Sorry to bring up this old thread, but I opened my PCV canister up a few days ago and wanted to give an update. After a little over two months of use, I had accumulated about one tablspoon of sludge. I don't know if the idea is really worth it on my car. I run Mobil 1 Sythetic which people say is harder to break down so it's more difficult to filter. I will continue to keep the canister on just for the heck of it, but as my first tests showed, it's not helping any in fuel economy. Maybe it's at least keeping my engine a tiny bit cleaner.

I actually bought all of the stuff to make the air filter PCV catch can a few months ago. I havn't installed it yet. I'm not even sure I know where it is. Perhaps I'll get to that soon so that I can get a mroe detailed "how to" section on this site. Even a tablespoon of sludge is better than nothing. At least you're saving your engine from that extra crap.

[SVOboy]

Indeed, I need to set this up too. I have a feeling my engine is more likely to need it that some others.

[rh77]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Indeed, I need to set this up too. I have a feeling my engine is more likely to need it that some others.

I just installed mine using the air compressor water collector (removed the filter) and I can see it working already. It was super easy to install - I just cut the PCV hose, installed the screw-in hose connectors for the ends, and plugged-in the hoses into the nipple ends (then I put hose clamps on each end for a good secure connection). I already have a visable amount of residue after a 25 mile trip. I can't believe this junk goes directly into the intake and basically burnt into the atmosphere -- and gunking up the works. This should be high on the list of things to do for mods. I have pics if anyone is interested...

RH77

[SVOboy]

Pics pics! I love pics. I'm going to go the route of the air compressor thingy that you just splice into the pcv line. It looks good, no assembly besides the hose stuff, and it's clear so you can see what's going on without any dissasembly.

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by rh77

I just installed mine using the air compressor water collector (removed the filter) and I can see it working already. It was super easy to install - I just cut the PCV hose, installed the screw-in hose connectors for the ends, and plugged-in the hoses into the nipple ends (then I put hose clamps on each end for a good secure connection). I already have a visable amount of residue after a 25 mile trip. I can't believe this junk goes directly into the intake and basically burnt into the atmosphere -- and gunking up the works. This should be high on the list of things to do for mods. I have pics if anyone is interested...

RH77

Care to do a write up?