I know that this is an old topic. But I know that I need one mainly because of CAI and Stage3. The only one that I can find is almost $100. I am actually leaking oil from the charge pipe that connects the throttle body to the intercooler on the driver side. So I think that the oil has completely filled my intercooler. But I have always checked my oil level and I haven't lost that much oil. And is it necessary that I need 2 occ's or do I just need the one for the PCV side. And is that the one that mounts below the CAI. And is it possible that the oil that may be inside my intercooler...My boost gauge acts really crazy it jumps back and forth between 16 psi and 21 psi I mean jumps back and forth. I think that it may be because the oil in my intercooler is blocking the air flow. And I have noticed or maybe I am just paranoid...that while I am cruising at a constant that my gauge is closer to the boost side that it normally was...like where the Vac side used to be at 12 it is now at like 7 or so...and I also think that may be the block of air flow from the intercooler.

 

All your OCC questions are answered in the section above titled $20 Oil Catch Can Install Instructions. There would have to be several quarts of oil in the intercooler to cause that kind of problem and most of the oil from the PCV gets sucked straight into the engine while running, so that's not even a possibility. You can mount the OCC anywhere you like, but the main one needed is the one for the PCV to the intake manifold, it's the one that sees most of the oil blow by and is the one that gets oil into the intake, throttlebody and intercooler when there isn't an OCC. The other OCC goes on the other side between the valve cover and the CAI, but it doesn't see much oil so it's not needed like the other one is, but it is still better to have to keep the oil out of the intake. You should check all your hose clamps on the throttlebody, turbo and intercooler hoses, it sounds more like you have a boost leak. The oil on the hose from the throttlebody to the intercooler is common and is a result from the oil getting past the PCV valve, any SRT-4 driven for a few thousand miles without an OCC has this oil on the hose. The hose with the oil on it is also the most likely cause for your bouncy boost. How many miles is on your SRT-4? The higher your boost the more you'll need to watch and empty your OCC once you get it put on.

 

I wasn't sure how badly I needed the OCC until I replaced the throttle body and my car only had 3,000 miles on it. I had a decent amount of oil in the throttle body and bought the catch can the next day. The PCV side is the one you HAVE to get. You can just cap the breather connection on the CAI and hook a breather filter up to the Valve cover on that side.

I went for the bling effect under the hood and bought the AGP polished catch can from JSC Speed for $85. It looks great was easy to put on and is easy to drain. Of course you can make your own, I just decided to go the more expensive route because of the amount of money I'm putting in the car I don't want any part of it to look like it's anything other than stock or better.

I don't know how many people have tried JSC Speed but they are great. The shipping, customer service and quality of the parts are fantastic. Everything I've purchased from them I had in my hands within 2 days and usually the next day. Check the link out.

http://www.jscspeed.com/srt4/srt4_base.html

 

Ok I will be looking at all of these options on Friday...I will not be driving any except to a friends house on Friday to do the work. I will be ordering an OCC for the PCV side. And I will also be sure to check ALL connections for a possible boost leak. Mainly the hose that connects to the intercooler from the throttle body. I have almost 21K miles and I have had S3 since about 15K miles. So I think that I am way past due for an OCC. When the oil leaks down the pipe to the intercooler I would think that it would drain into the intercooler and not collect on the tube. But I am probably wrong. Should I take the intercooler out to make sure that there is not any oil inside of it. And I am boosting 21psi.

 

There is guaranteed oil in your intercooler as it will run down that hose into it when the car isn't running, but it just isn't enough to have any negative effects on it's performance. My Daytona Shelby Z was all original and was well over 200K miles and had an oil coating in it's intercooler and intake hoses as it never had an OCC, but it wasn't any amount to harm it or it's performance. Being completely coated it may hold heat a little more, but it wasn't enough to tell by feel and if your concerned enough about it you can take the intercooler off and clean it out to be sure.

 

you might be surprised when you do take all of that apart to clean it though. i went about 10,000 miles w/o a catch can on the pcv side and noticed the oil dripping from the hose where it met the intercooler. i took off the front fascia, took off the intercooler and the charge pipe expecting to see oil pouring out, and NOTHING. not a drop of oil in my IC. only a small streak of oil down the pipe and my throttle body was clear. i put on a catch can/overflow tank from fighters-garage and now 12,000 miles later, still not a drop. what a waste of time and money. the CC does look good though and maybe i'm just one of the lucky ones w/o this problem. and yes, all 22,000 miles were hard earned and i've only broken one axle(damn wheelhop).

your gauge might be bad, some of them do that. if your not noticing any boost problems that might be all it is.

 

Ok thanks guys. I will let overone know what I find tomorrow. I hope that its not that bad. But we shall see. I am going to order an OCC next week.

 

I took everything apart. And I didn't have any oil in the innercooler that i should be concerned about. I also took the cold pipe off of the intercooler that connects to the throttle body. And there was alot of oil in there. Also in the throttle body. And the hot side pipe that comes down right next to the oil filter I wiped the oil off and drove around for about 10 miles NO BOOSTING. Came back no oil on that pipe. But I drove around later and i boosted and what do you know OIL. Dang it I can't figure it out. Also the jumping around of the boost gage is significantly better. So I know that i fixed something. I tightened down some other hose fittings. Is it possible that I have a blown seal in the turbo. If I did would there be oil everywhere or not. Please help

 

Let me see if I have this right. One of these really technical people will correct me if I'm wrong.

You ONLY blow the oil past the PCV valve down to the throttle body when you are boosting. Again, you need the catch can. If you're blowing that much oil past the PCV you might check and see if the valve itself is any good.

I don't know if the designs are in any way similar but I had an 86 Buick Grand National and the turbo seal went out on that thing with 51,000 miles on it. You couldn't see behind me, nothing but clouds of smoke back there. I think if the turbo had gone bad you'd definitely notice something besides this PCV blow by oil.

 

you have a boost leak that's all. the reason that the boost isn't fluctuating as bad is because you probably sealed up at least one leak when you put back on the cold side pipe. just do a boost leak test and you'll be fine.

get a real catch can too, not the $20 thing. it's worth it in the long run as they don't leak, are easier to empty, and don't need to be dumped every 2 weeks. the new agp is really nice, as is the boomba. i would also suggest a check valve while you're at it. ptperformance makes one.