You’ve probably heard people talk about a Provent 200 (Also known as a Catch-Can or Crankcase Breather), and the need to install this on your common rail engine. But what exactly is it and why should you put one on your vehicle.

What is a Provent 200 Crankcase Ventilation System?

In any engine, there is a process whereby unwanted gases sometimes referred to ask “blow-by gas”, escape from the combustion chamber past the piston rings. This gas can contain a high amount of oil vapour leftover from the combustion process and it is this oil vapour that the crankcase ventilation system is designed to remove.

In older generation engines, this blow-by gas would have been vented to the atmosphere as a pollutant and causes that familiar oil smell from cars of the 60’s and 70s. In the 80’s car manufacturers from the US and EU started to recirculate the gas back into the air intake system via a PCV valve and sometimes the addition of a breather.

The unfortunate issue with the recirculation of this gas back in the intake system was an oil build up over time in the air intake. This oil build-up or “Black Sludge” greatly reduces fuel economy and also lead to failures if the issue was left for too long. Air intakes that use to be 3 inches were sometimes restricted down to less than an inch, putting undue pressure on the engine to work harder to suck through the smaller openings.

To compound the issue, modern common rail engines have a lot more blow-by gas than older engines meaning that the buildup happens a lot quicker. Luckily the Mann Provent 200 has an efficiency (Over 90%) at separating out oil vapour and condensate from the blow-by gases and each filter lasts 40,000km. Installing one on your common rail engine will save you time and money.

How do I set up a Provent 200 on my car?

Now that you know why you should put a Provent 200 on your car, let’s discuss how to set one up. As mentioned above in all modern common rail engines the crankcase gas is recirculated into the air intake system near the turbocharger, so the first step is to figure out the size of this hose. It is important to measure both ends of the hose as the hose can reduce down in some circumstances. In the below picture you can see highlighted in red the crankcase hose from a 2016 Ford Ranger 3.2L engine.

The second factor that will need to be considered it the mounting area. Most modern engine bays don’t have a lot of room available, especially if you have a second battery or other accessories mounted under your hood. Below you can find the technical drawing for the Provent 200, you can use this to ensure you have enough room to place and mount the housing.

In most circumstances you won’t be able to mount the housing directly to your car, so you will have to make your own steel or stainless steel bracket to mount to the chosen location and the Provent 200 housing bracket. This is perhaps the hardest part of the whole process and that is why Directions Plus have created a range of Provent Kits to suit most popular 4X4 applications, Check them out at the bottom of the page.

Now that you have figured out all the important information you can select the products from the Provent 200 Buyers Guide below

Provent 200 Buyers Guide

As you can see from the above chart, there is more than just the Provent 200 in the Mann Crankcase range that covers a wide horsepower range but the Provent 200 will suit most engines and is also the most affordable as it is mass-produced in comparison to the other units. If your horsepower rating exceeds 335HP (250kW) then please contact us for fitment suggestions. The entire range can be viewed here

Step 1 – The Provent 200 Unit

LC5001X Spare Filter
Provent 200 Housing
(Comes with a Filter)

Step 2 – The Reducers and Joiners

If your car’s crankcase hose is the same size on both ends you can buy a reducer kit

13mm Reducer Kit 16mm Reducer Kit 19mm Reducer Kit

If your car has different sizes or you want some 90 Degree hose joiners, see below

13mm Reducer 16mm Reducer 19mm Reducer 13mm Straight Joiner 16mm Straight Joiner 19mm Straight Joiner 13mm 90 Degree Joiner 16mm 90 Degree Joiner 19mm 90 Degree Joiner

If you need clamps you can find them here

Step 3 – The Hose

13mm Oil Resistant Hose 16mm Oil Resistant Hose 19mm Oil Resistant Hose

Step 4 – The Drain Kit

1m Clear Hose Drain Kit

Direction Plus Fuel Manager and Provent Kits

As mentioned earlier in the article, Directions Plus do a range of Provent and Fuel manager Kits to suit most popular 4X4 applications. Their kits come with everything you need to install a Provent or Fuel Manager on your car.

Check out their range of kits here