I was a bit apprehensive when I bought my Stilo, so far its served me well. Cheap to run & reliable so far.

However, I did have a scare today, as the car sounded like something was scraping on the floor & it was giving out coarse engine noises. I carried on driving home anyway. I got home and what I noticed, at the front of the car, on the underside a box connected to a hose had dropped and was touching the floor. Not knowing what it was, I just call the AA in these circumstances.

The AA man identifed the box as an oil catcher box, unfortanately, as I had been driving a bit with it hanging off, it now has a hole in it. So the AA guy removed it & replaced it with a Coke bootle. I will swap it for something more permanant like this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150688671561?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Only £20, so I'm happy again :slayer:

Anybody know if this ebay oil catcher tank is the way to go? My standard stilo tank only has one hole. I guess I can just blank one off.

Its got to be better than a plastic bottle secured with cable ties.

Right we need to establish a few facts here. No Stilo (as standard) has an oil catch tank. So the thing that fell off is much more likely to be part of the air filter box. It's called a resonator and is designed to muffle induction roar from the engine.

If that's what it is, and you have noticed no extra noise from the engine, then you can quite simply use some strong tape to blank off the hole left where the so-called 'catcher box' was.

And no, I would not buy a cheap catch tank off eBay. It will most likley have nothing by way of filtering inside it, so vapours will go in one hole and straight back out the other. In other words...useless.

Well, here is the box that fell off. It does have a lining of a black 'oil' like substance in it.

And this is what the AA man substituted for the box. So to confirm you think this box just muffles the engine?

For some reason ePER isn't working so I can't confirm, but I cannot see that being an oil trap...because with nowhere for the oil to go and no way of emptying it, what would happen when it was full? No, much more likley this is a resonator and the oily film you've found is just that - oily deposits from carbnkcase beathing vapours.

Looks like your AA man did quite a good job - why not leave it as it is?

P.S. You need to get yourself a replacement engine undertray to stop this sort of thing happening again.

OK thanks, I think I will just leave it as is & see how long it lasts.

i had a similar problem with that box on my car, it was connected but was really loose.
so i used some duck tape over the joint seal and plenty of it and it was as good as gold. plus a few cable ties to hold it up.

what does that thing do anyway?????

Yellow Peril said:

... It's called a resonator and is designed to muffle induction roar from the engine...

Click to expand...

edit:-
im assuming its a diesel if so
http://eper.fiatforum.com/eper/navi...INT_MODE=0&EPER_CAT=SP&GUI_LANG=3&WINDOW_ID=1
it looks like the bottle has been put at the bottom of the pipe labelled '10'
and the bit that fell off is the box portion underneath the airbox (labelled '1')

i could be wrong though

Yeah it's hard to tell isn't it Richy? From ePER I agree it does look more like a catch tank, but I still ask...what happens when it's full? There's now way in or out

Mike S said:

Well, here is the box that fell off. It does have a lining of a black 'oil' like substance in it.

And this is what the AA man substituted for the box. So to confirm you think [/IMG]

Click to expand...

Guys the diesel Stilo`s are fitted with an oil catch tank, it sits underneath the airbox.
I had to do numerous ongoing maintenance jobs to my old JTD, very problematic beast (RIP) and when I did some major checks from underneath the car, I was advised by Forum members to check my oil catch tank and see if it was full and if so, empty it. Here is a pic of mine on my old JTD with the pipe disconnected:

Thanks BLKC, that's pretty clear. So removing and cleaning this tank should be a service item...but I'll bet money it isn't.

No probs, you were right in what you said Peril, there is nowhere for the oil to go and it simply stores up in this unit. If and when these boxes do became full, they wont cause any harm but it is an indication that the there is oil leaking through the breather pipes and some is getting in to the turbo and the rest is dripping off down in to the oil trap box, and that was just one of the issues with my old car, one of the many issues.....

BLKC99 said:

Click to expand...

that looks to me like an 'offical' way to drain the catch tank.

if you were feeling frisky i guess you could drill the catch tank and put a shrader valve or small drain tap or even just a bolt with an o-ring in it!

Mike S said:

I dont know why it has 2 holes, but I suppose I can blank one off.

Click to expand...

Noooo don't do that! The idea is that vapours go through the catch tank, then out (free of oil) and back into the induction side of the engine.

I personally wouldn't buy a cheap eBay tank as it will have no intertnal filtering and the vapours will go in one hole and back out the other.

why not repair ur original box and refit? last time i looked small fiberglass kits were cheaper than £20

• clean out the inside
• prep the outside
• get a big balloon and blow it up INSIDE the catch tank
• smear the small portion of the balloon visible, with vaseline
• lay the fiberglass on it
• let it go off
• deflate the balloon and remove
• refit catch tank and pipework to it!

And for his next trick, the Amazin' Richy will do things involving a FIAT Stilo and a baloon that will defy the imagination..!