J&L Oil Separator 3.0 Passenger Side (2021-2023 Ford Bronco 2.7L EcoBoost) – Installation Guide & Review

The J&L Oil Separator “Catch Can” has been known to be incredibly effective at trapping blow-by oil vapors and preventing them from recycling back through the engine intake manifold system. Over time, this helps to reduce carbon buildup on engine components caused by blow-by oil/vapors, especially for direct injection engines like the Ford Bronco.

The main selling point of a catch can is to prevent blow-by oil vapors from accumulating in the Bronco’s intake manifold system, which can reduce the risk of engine issues and increase the overall longevity of the vehicle. Catch cans are not a replacement for regular maintenance, such as oil changes and engine inspections, however, they can complement regular maintenance and potentially extend the life of your engine’s performance.

From J&L Oil Separator Co directly:

During the process of venting crankcase pressure back through your intake track, large amounts of oil, in the form of vapors can gather/accumulate in your intake tube, intake manifold runners, and even dilute your gas, lowering its octane level. This happens on all engines and is even worse with forced inducted vehicles (supercharged and turbocharged) as crankcase pressures are increased. 

In order to prevent these oils, and vapors from cycling back through the intake system, J&L Oil Separator Co has designed a “catch can” that catches and traps oil droplets and contaminants.

The J&L catch can is a solid billet aluminum canister that features a knurled tank base with an inlet and outlet, in addition to a fine mesh stainless steel filter that traps the oil droplets and contaminants. The catch can is positioned in the engine’s PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) system, between the crankcase and the intake manifold, and the installation is incredibly easy.

Find it online:

• J&L Oil Separator 3.0 Passenger Side (2021-2023 Ford Bronco 2.7L): Check Price
• Canister Extension: Check Price

Tools and Materials

• 10mm socket
• Phillips Screwdriver

Package Contents

The oil catch kit features:

• Solid billet aluminum canister with a knurled tank base
• Fine mesh stainless steel filter
• Mounting bracket
• 10mm bolt
• Two Phillips screws
• High-quality inlet and outlet hose
• High-quality push clips

The whole kit is plug-and-play and takes about 10min to fully install.

Fine Mesh Stainless Steel Filter 

Here is a closer look at the stainless filter.

Easy Install Push Clips

The push clips look and feel like OEM quality and are easier to work with than the ones that come factory on the Bronco.

Step 1. Attach Bracket

Get started by installing the bracket provided. You want the letters of the J&L logo on the bracket facing the same direction as the logo on the canister. Use the two provided screws and screw them down into place using a Phillips head screwdriver.

Step 2. Remove PCV Hose

Pop your hood and remove the factory PCV hose at both connection points. Save your hose incase you ever decide to remove the J&L catch can.

Step 3. Attach Catch Can Bracket

Using the 10mm provided bolt, attach the catch can to the pre-existing threaded hole pictured above.

Step 4. Connect PCV Hose 1

Connect the first hose by pushing the clip straight onto the clear fitting.

Step 5. Connect PCV Hose 1

Now connect the second hose to the orange fitting.

Step 6. Check Hose Fitment

Now check the fitment of your hoses. You can twist the hose fittings so that you have your preferred layout.

6000K-Mile Follow-Up Reference

For reference, I decided to pull my J&L catch can off my 5th Gen 4Runner at the time of this installation and this is how much oil it has collected. This is after about 6000K-Mile. You can see my YouTube installation and overview video here.

Dispose of Oil

You can see here that we collected about 2.5oz of oil after 6000K miles.

Final Thoughts

What’s interesting is how much sludge that is being caught at the bottom of the canister. This is clearly not just oil from vapors and oil being caught. If you want to see photos of sludge building up in a crankcase, just Google “crankcase sludge” and go view all the images on Google images.

This is a canister from a 5th-Gen 4Runner 1GR-FE V6 engine that uses port injection. Port injection washes off the oil and reduces debris build-up, however, the system is not perfect. While port injection is typically cleaner than direct injection, a port injection engine can still clearly benefit from using a catch can.

The Ford Bronco 2.7L Ecoboost uses both port injection and direct injection, however, it utilizes direct injection for the majority of its operating temperatures.

“Port injection will be used for cold starts and low loads whereas the direct injection system will take over once the engine has reached operating temperature or is under high load.” – American Trucks

Because the Bronco utilizes direct injection, I would argue that our engine can benefit even more from a catch can. Direction injection shoots fuel directly into the cylinder and because of this, there is no buffer or filter to prevent the debris from getting in and creating a build-up.

I will follow up on this post in the future with an update/review once we reach the 3000K-mile or more mark.

Regardless, I am glad that I am now running a catch can on the Bronco as it’s clearly a benefit for direct injection engines.