Should it really be this hard to remove a PCV valve?

[Epic Ed]

1996 Tacoma - 2.7L engine. I have the hose off the top of the valve and have been trying to pull the PCV valve out of the crankcase with no success. The housing has a death grip on this thing like a fat chick on an ice cream cone. I've tried popping it free by trying to pry it out with a screw driver. I've grabbed the top of the valve with a pair of pliers and tried to pull it out -- no success, and I'm not a little guy.

Am I doing it wrong? It's in there so solid I thought it may be threaded, but looking at the new PCV valve clearly it's not. Any suggestions?

 

[Epic Ed]

I finally got this out but the level of force needed was pretty ridiculous. I was initially gripping the top of the valve with a pair of pliers and trying to pull upward while positioned at the front of the engine. I eventually had to get some padding to cover the battery, radiator, and air intake so I could position myself more directly above the valve and apply greater force. I am no small guy -- 5'10" and a muscular 200lbs -- and it took a gorilla effort to yank that damn thing out.

Anyhow...I hope I'm not the only one who has had that much fun today.

 

[SteveH]

Always do this with a hot engine - this makes the grommet more flexible. FZJ80 has the same problem. Still very hard to remove.