PCV Valve Change Help (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Threads
5
Messages
21
Hello. Last week I posted about oil consumption and after several replies and making some phone calls, I decided to change the PCV Valve. First of all, I'm not very mechanically inclined (changing the oil is about where I stop on anything other than a diesel mercedes motor).

I ran into a problem changint the PCV Valve. When I took out the valve, the gromet was so brittle that most of it broke off and fell inside. The guy who sold me the part at the dealership said this might happen. He said it happened twice to him changing these over the years and eventually it will break up and find it's way down to the bottom of the oil pan. Is this true or do I have a problem on my hands now.

Appreciate any input!

Brian
 
Get some thin and long needle nose pliers and get as much of the big pieces out manually as you can.

I then used a shop vac to get out the small stuff left in there.

Worked fine and got everything.
 
Thanks Beno. The shop vac is a good idea. I got as much as I could out with some needle nose pliers but a couple pieces got knocked in to the point that I can't get to them.

Ultimately, will this do any damage to the engine? Or is it not a big deal as the guy at the dealership mentioned? Obviously, the preferred method is to do it right the first time, but that''s just not my style!
 
The same thing happend to me 20k ago and the fragments just worked their way out. I worried about it way too long. We learn as we go. Goodluck :)
 
Why not pull the valve cover off to get the bits out??

Curtis


the bits are in a chamber in the top of the valve cover, you would have to remove the valve cover then strip a glued in baffle out.
 
They are little brittle bits..they will get chewed up and work out. No worries.
 
How often do you recommend changing these? After this happened yesterday I figured changing every 15k would be a good idea. Any other thoughts?
 
I had pieces of the grommet fall in there and had to use needlenose pliers to get them out. My thought is after you pull the valve, put duct tape around the inside of the grommet. When you start to pull the grommet the duct tape should hold all of the brittle pieces of the old grommet together. I didn't try it myself, hindsight being 20/20. I thought it might help others out when changing their PCV and grommet.
 
When I changed mine I used a small knife to make three cuts in the grommet and removed it in segments. Here is a crude drawing of the cuts I made. I made the two cuts at the bottom first, removed that piece, then made the third cut and twisted the remaining two pieces out. My grommet was also very brittle, and I still had a small amount of breakage, but it seemed to work pretty well.

Nak
untitled.JPG
 
I replaced mine recently and it came out in almost 1 piece. I felt bad based on the common posts of "it fell apart - how do I get the pieces out", so I broke it into a bunch of small pieces and poured it in there. I put the new PCV valve in and I lived happily ever after.
 
Good tip Nak. I'll have to try that next time. Although I'm hoping that if I change it more often it won't be as brittle and will come out without a problem. Did you cut all the way down, or just at the portion which is on top?
 
Good tip Nak.


X2

good drawing Nak.


I would think cut all the way down to the end of the grommet inside, woudl need a small knife that woudl fit in the hole, the way the 2 parallel cuts are done the small "keystone" part at the bottom will come right out, after that it leaves clearance for the other two to come together and then out,

I am going to have to try that next time,
 
Did you cut all the way down, or just at the portion which is on top?


All the way down. I used one of those breakaway snap blade utility knifes. It was small enough to fit in the hole for the valve, and very sharp so it cut the grommet fairly eaisily.

Like this:
17014.jpg
 
My plan was to try this tonight...but the gromet split in two when I pulled the PCV valve out.

I used a "monkeys paw" to get 3 pieces out and didn't leave anything behind.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom