Catchtank Sludge!?!

[merlin's S4]

I've had my catchtank fitted for a few weeks now. I went to empty it today and it's full of sludge (oil and water). Now I checked all the original breather system when I removed it and there was no sign of anything unusual so I'm wondering whether it's condensation or something. I've checked for sludge elsewhere and I can't find anything. What do you reckon? Should I be worried??

[merlin's S4]

And more sludge...

[iain1067]

Bear in mind with the original setup the oil fumes get recirculated into the engine and then burnt off, what you are seeing is the oil mist collecting in the tank with condensation overnight i would say.


Iain

[MidnightBlueS2]

Bear in mind with the original setup the oil fumes get recirculated into the engine and then burnt off, what you are seeing is the oil mist collecting in the tank with condensation overnight i would say.


Iain

And what about the people who connected their catch tank to the sump with a Fumoto valve ? Would they be unloading sludge into their sump without even knowing it ?

[iain1067]

More than likely

[MidnightBlueS2]

Sounds like some people are going to get MAD !
I thought it was the sensible thing to connect your catch tank to the sump

[Azman]

HMmmmmmmm, Don't look or sound good does it!.

[iain1067]

Not wishing to rain on anyone's parade here but why change the system that audi designed and works, a thoroughly clean crank case vent system works fine but you gotta do it all even taking off the dome from the blaock and cleaning that and the hole that goes down into the crankcase, just my 2ps worth.


iain

[Corey]

Not wishing to rain on anyone's parade here but why change the system that audi designed and works, a thoroughly clean crank case vent system works fine but you gotta do it all even taking off the dome from the blaock and cleaning that and the hole that goes down into the crankcase, just my 2ps worth.


iain

Because on a performance engine you don't want your intake air being polluted by a hot oily mist, Audi designed their system for emissions.

[4WheelDrifter]

I've seen this sort of sludge in engines anyway. Normally when the car is used on short journeys. It's ok if the engine has a chance to get hot enough, the moisture will evaporate.
I guess the catch tank could exaggerate the problem, as the alloy could be a colder surface for the moisture to condensate on.
It shows what sort of gunk normally runs through your breather pipes, turbo, boost hoses, intercooler, and so on…
I wasn't planning on routing my catch tank back to the sump anyway. The oil and fumes that normally pass out of the breather normally get lost anyway.