Howdy

[Colonel]

G'day all.
I've been a member for a while, but have not really had the need to post so far, as all of my questions have been answered by reading the various threads. A big thanks to all of those who contribute accurate and honest info and opinions, it's been a very valuable resource to me.
Story so far: 2010 D40 Thai build yd25 auto tray, I've had it 8 years and she's coming up to 300k. Been very happy with it and she does a lot of work as we travel with a Northstar slip on camper on the back (about 1 tonne) and we head outback yearly lockdowns notwithstanding.
Other than heavy suspension and some driving lights I hadn't needed to touch it until recently.
In the last 8 months I've had to learn a lot about the inner workings though!
First it went into limp mode, and a bit of googling and trying different things I ended up blanking the egr pipe at the inlet manifold end which solved the problem. Then 6 months later while towing the boat I had a high pitched scream coming from the turbo side. To be safe I pulled the turbo vacc hose off and drive home slow. More googling etc and I found the turbo to manifold bolts loose. Easy and cheap fix. But.. 2 months later they came loose again and while fixing I discovered a crack in the exhaust manifold. Even a second hand one was pretty expensive.
2 months later, wouldn't idle. Google again disclosed the ****** modification Nissan did by downgrading the timing chain and sprockets, so I got my hands dirty and upgraded chains, sprockets, oil pump and balancer. While at it I removed EGR pipe with kit. Just came back from a 4400km trip to outback Qld and ute ran ok, but was a bit sluggish and thirsty. Wondering if the intercooler may be a bit blocked due to the large amount of oil I noticed in high pressure pipes while doing up the timing chains? So, after reading a heap of old threads here, I'm planning on installing a catch can.
So here are my questions : as most of the posts are a bit old I'm looking for anyone to let me know how they went with the various brands of catch can? They range from 120 to 600 bucks, so I'm thinking of middle of the road like Saas?? Any thoughts?
Also, cleaning the oil out of the intercooler, wash with kero or deisel or degreaser or petrol?
Any and all ideas welcome. Cheers
Colonel.

 

[Old.Tony]

Well, cleaning that intercooler is really tricky ... actually no, it's a piece of cake! There's only one thing to watch out for and that's the expansion of the petrol as it moves through the intercooler. Let me explain how I do it.

Remove the intercooler and have a large tray/bucket and a few litres of ordinary unleaded petrol handy. We use petrol because it dries fairly quickly, is a wonderful solvent for oil and if a small (tiny) amount remains in the thing and makes its way to the engine it's not going to kill it (it won't go through the fuel pump which is the biggest concern).

Now it's easy. Put one hand over one of the intercooler's openings and have the intercooler sit above (so your hand is at the bottom). Pour a small amount (100ml should be enough) of petrol into the other opening.

Now, place your hand over the upper opening and turn the intercooler upside down, releasing the hand that is now at the top (you'll feel it pressurising anyway). Repeat this a few times, then pour the petrol into the container. It should come out quite black.

Repeat the previous paragraph until the fuel starts to come out with some colour. At this point you've gotten the majority of the oil out, there will be a small amount still in there but it shouldn't trouble the car at all. Sit the intercooler down for about an hour or so (in the sunshine helps).

Reinstall and enjoy.

As for the catch can ... almost all of them will do a reasonable job. Putting some stainless steel mesh (like those dishwashing scourers) in the bottom will help it grab the oil (oil will condense on a surface more readily).

 

[Colonel]

Thanks Old.
I'll clean it out after fitting a catch can. Which can have you used?

 

[Old.Tony]

I had a Calibre (Supercheap Auto) catch can until the sight glass tube broke. Disassembled? Shattered? Disintegrated? The glass is bloody not there, and oil went pissing out into my engine bay so I removed it. Not the glass, the whole darn thing.

I haven't been arsed enough to reinstall it. She's due for an intercooler clean though. I might get some silicon hose and do something about the sight glass that's gone ... one day!