How to remove your PCV.
02-09-2006, 11:04 PM
#1
How to remove your PCV. Well a few people have asked me this so i guess i'll just post it up for everyone to read.
There are a few reasons why you would want to remove your PCV. First and fore most for me was to stop getting the intake and intake runners covered in oil. Second to let the crankcase breath better while at high rpm driving. third to clean up some of the under hood clutter. fourth performance, the only thing i want going into my combustioon chambers is air-fuel and spark.
This is how I removed my PCV system on my car. Its actually failrly simple.
First you remove all the tubes assosiated with the PCV. there is a rubber hose going from the TB to the front of the pass side valve cover. There is the PCV valve that is on the pass side of the intake neck, which is connected to a tube that runs along the pass side valve cover to the back. this then goes into a rubber Y. one end goes to the driverside valve cover and the other goes to the rear of the pass side valve cover.
Take all that crap off.
Then you get little rubber caps to block off the nipples you will no longer be using.
TB nipple
Intake neck nipple
Front pass side valve cover nipple.
Some people worry about using just one breather on the pass side va;lve cover and the driver side not being vented so.....you can take two of the tubes that went into the rubber Y (the two going to the rear of each valve cover) and replace the Y with a piece of the hose you took off the (TB nipple-pass side valve cover) PCV system. therefore connecting the two valve covers.
Finally you replace the oil cap with a "Metco" breather.(http://www.thunderracing.com/catalog...vid=3&pcid=276 bottom of the page).
This is adequate for most of the people out there. But if you want even MORE ventiallation you could swap out the driver side valve cover for another pass side cover and install another "metco" breather. this means you would cap off ALL the nipples coming out of the valve covers.
Me personally, i couldn't see my self spending $50 on a breather so i just welded a 1 3/8" tube on each valve cover and bought two $12 clamp on valve cover breathers from Jegs(see attached picture). But i work at a metal fab shop so that was easy for me.
Now is there any side effects?
Yes and no.
No this will not throw any codes.
No this will not hurt your motor, it will actually run better. Some members that have done this noticed that some knock retard or pinging that they were experiencing went away. probably due to no longer having oil and what not mixing with the air fuel mixture.
Yes you will have a disctinct oil smell that is pretty strong at first but then it fades away. i think after the filters get a good coat of oil in them it holds the smell in.
Yes you will get a slight oil film around the breather, but thias also becomes less after the filters get a good coat of oil in them.
Yes you are taking off an emmission conrtol devise off your car so it "could" prevent your car from passing inspection but i HIGHLY doubt it. They never look that close.
this is the ONLY way to get ABSOLUTELY no oil in your intake and runners. If you've ever pulled an intake off of an LS1 you know how NASTY that build up can be.
Catch can?: Some people run them and are happy with the results. But you still will get SOME oil in your intake. How much depends on your catch can set up and motor. I personally had a small air/water seperator (the ones that go on air compressors, i would NEVER spend the big $$$ spome people are spending on the high dollar catch cans
) that worked GREAT on one of my motors. But when i swapped motors it was not enuff to keep up with the crankcase pressure of the second motor and it blew out both my front and rear main seals. which is what caused me to run the dual breather set up. Now my motor is SUPER clean and have NO oil leaks anywhere.
I've attached a few pics of my set up but will get better ones tomorrow when its day light out.
There are a few reasons why you would want to remove your PCV. First and fore most for me was to stop getting the intake and intake runners covered in oil. Second to let the crankcase breath better while at high rpm driving. third to clean up some of the under hood clutter. fourth performance, the only thing i want going into my combustioon chambers is air-fuel and spark.
This is how I removed my PCV system on my car. Its actually failrly simple.
First you remove all the tubes assosiated with the PCV. there is a rubber hose going from the TB to the front of the pass side valve cover. There is the PCV valve that is on the pass side of the intake neck, which is connected to a tube that runs along the pass side valve cover to the back. this then goes into a rubber Y. one end goes to the driverside valve cover and the other goes to the rear of the pass side valve cover.
Take all that crap off.
Then you get little rubber caps to block off the nipples you will no longer be using.
TB nipple
Intake neck nipple
Front pass side valve cover nipple.
Some people worry about using just one breather on the pass side va;lve cover and the driver side not being vented so.....you can take two of the tubes that went into the rubber Y (the two going to the rear of each valve cover) and replace the Y with a piece of the hose you took off the (TB nipple-pass side valve cover) PCV system. therefore connecting the two valve covers.
Finally you replace the oil cap with a "Metco" breather.(http://www.thunderracing.com/catalog...vid=3&pcid=276 bottom of the page).
This is adequate for most of the people out there. But if you want even MORE ventiallation you could swap out the driver side valve cover for another pass side cover and install another "metco" breather. this means you would cap off ALL the nipples coming out of the valve covers.
Me personally, i couldn't see my self spending $50 on a breather so i just welded a 1 3/8" tube on each valve cover and bought two $12 clamp on valve cover breathers from Jegs(see attached picture). But i work at a metal fab shop so that was easy for me.
Now is there any side effects?
Yes and no.
No this will not throw any codes.
No this will not hurt your motor, it will actually run better. Some members that have done this noticed that some knock retard or pinging that they were experiencing went away. probably due to no longer having oil and what not mixing with the air fuel mixture.
Yes you will have a disctinct oil smell that is pretty strong at first but then it fades away. i think after the filters get a good coat of oil in them it holds the smell in.
Yes you will get a slight oil film around the breather, but thias also becomes less after the filters get a good coat of oil in them.
Yes you are taking off an emmission conrtol devise off your car so it "could" prevent your car from passing inspection but i HIGHLY doubt it. They never look that close.
this is the ONLY way to get ABSOLUTELY no oil in your intake and runners. If you've ever pulled an intake off of an LS1 you know how NASTY that build up can be.
Catch can?: Some people run them and are happy with the results. But you still will get SOME oil in your intake. How much depends on your catch can set up and motor. I personally had a small air/water seperator (the ones that go on air compressors, i would NEVER spend the big $$$ spome people are spending on the high dollar catch cans
) that worked GREAT on one of my motors. But when i swapped motors it was not enuff to keep up with the crankcase pressure of the second motor and it blew out both my front and rear main seals. which is what caused me to run the dual breather set up. Now my motor is SUPER clean and have NO oil leaks anywhere.I've attached a few pics of my set up but will get better ones tomorrow when its day light out.
02-10-2006, 08:16 AM
#4
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With all the oil consumption issues guys are having with these engines, why is everybody not trashing their PCV system? There must be more of a downside than you list.
I don't have any real issues with mine, other than I just spent $1100 on a FAST Intake/NW TB setup and I don't want any oil in it whatsoever.
You make this sound like the biggest "No brainer" mod for these LSx engines - I'm interested to hear the other side's opinion.
I don't have any real issues with mine, other than I just spent $1100 on a FAST Intake/NW TB setup and I don't want any oil in it whatsoever.
You make this sound like the biggest "No brainer" mod for these LSx engines - I'm interested to hear the other side's opinion.
02-10-2006, 01:21 PM
#7
Originally Posted by konryod215
do u have any idle issues?
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02-10-2006, 01:47 PM
#8
is there a way to vent the system without having a huge breather stick up from the valve cover? i ask this because i have a feeling that the breather will interfere with the corvette plastic valve cover(cosmetic pieces that say corvette)?
02-10-2006, 03:22 PM
#11
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So are there any downsides to doing this mod?? I'm very interested in doing this, because like you, I dont wanna run a catch can and I dont want oil in the intake and intake runners. What are the possible problems with removing the pcv system??
02-10-2006, 05:11 PM
#12
Good write up. Looks like you spent some time typing, lol. The only thing I see that should be mentioned is you really don't need a second breather. One single Metco type breather on the passenger side will do just fine IMO. You can use GM part number 12568011 to plug the grommet on the drivers side. It cost me about $7 from my local dealer.
02-10-2006, 05:58 PM
#15
Originally Posted by BackinBlack02SS
Good write up. Looks like you spent some time typing, lol. The only thing I see that should be mentioned is you really don't need a second breather. One single Metco type breather on the passenger side will do just fine IMO. You can use GM part number 12568011 to plug the grommet on the drivers side. It cost me about $7 from my local dealer.
True the second breather isn't needed for 99% of the guys out there, BUT i drive my car 90+ miles a day mostly highway at 3,000-3,500 rpms the whole time(no overdrive and 4.10's). So the pressure my motor builds up is just a bit more than average and i just wanted to be on the safe side.
Also some people worry about condensation build up on the drivers side if you completely cap that side up. i don't think its a problem but having a second breather would let them sleep better at night.
02-10-2006, 06:34 PM
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I may have to try that. I haven't cleaned my intake yet, so I can't really tell if my compressor air/water separator filter is stopping it all. But the car is still sucking a good bit of oil into the filter. The truck pcv valve didn't help at all.
02-10-2006, 06:53 PM
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What about when I hear that your oil will turn into sludge and have a lot of water in it? Also I hear that the pcv helps sell the piston rings? I have a catch can and still get oil into the intake and have pinging and kr so I would love to stop this.
02-10-2006, 07:00 PM
#18
The BIG downside is that the PCV removes moisture and stuff from your oil as you drive, keeping it cleaner.
One thing I will argue with you on is the "increased crankcase ventilation" your breather provides. You can't tell me having your crankcase in a vacuum vs. having it vented to atmospheric pressure is better for power or ring seal. Its proven that vacuum helps power and ring seal. I have a stock PCV setup with no catch can or filter and don't use oil or see any smoke when I run. Sure, although I have not checked, I probably have oil in my intake, but its not hurting anything. If you're getting detonation because of the oil the pcv is sucking something is really wrong. It may be time to ease off the tune or fix the problem. Or you could just disconnect the pcv for track use, but I like having a vacuum in the crankcase.
The reason you could have idle issues is because the pcv is a controlled "vacuum leak" if you will, and the ecm is calibrated for it. You block it off and effectively decrease the amount of air the engine sees at idle. I have seen it happen.
For a race only motor, I say do it, and run a vacuum pump for more power and reliability. But for a street car a PCV is good, check the smell and color of your oil with and without pcv, theres a difference.
But good write up, for those in need of it its very informative.
One thing I will argue with you on is the "increased crankcase ventilation" your breather provides. You can't tell me having your crankcase in a vacuum vs. having it vented to atmospheric pressure is better for power or ring seal. Its proven that vacuum helps power and ring seal. I have a stock PCV setup with no catch can or filter and don't use oil or see any smoke when I run. Sure, although I have not checked, I probably have oil in my intake, but its not hurting anything. If you're getting detonation because of the oil the pcv is sucking something is really wrong. It may be time to ease off the tune or fix the problem. Or you could just disconnect the pcv for track use, but I like having a vacuum in the crankcase.
The reason you could have idle issues is because the pcv is a controlled "vacuum leak" if you will, and the ecm is calibrated for it. You block it off and effectively decrease the amount of air the engine sees at idle. I have seen it happen.
For a race only motor, I say do it, and run a vacuum pump for more power and reliability. But for a street car a PCV is good, check the smell and color of your oil with and without pcv, theres a difference.
But good write up, for those in need of it its very informative.
02-10-2006, 08:09 PM
#19
Originally Posted by TS6
The BIG downside is that the PCV removes moisture and stuff from your oil as you drive, keeping it cleaner.
One thing I will argue with you on is the "increased crankcase ventilation" your breather provides. You can't tell me having your crankcase in a vacuum vs. having it vented to atmospheric pressure is better for power or ring seal. Its proven that vacuum helps power and ring seal. I have a stock PCV setup with no catch can or filter and don't use oil or see any smoke when I run. Sure, although I have not checked, I probably have oil in my intake, but its not hurting anything. If you're getting detonation because of the oil the pcv is sucking something is really wrong. It may be time to ease off the tune or fix the problem. Or you could just disconnect the pcv for track use, but I like having a vacuum in the crankcase.
The reason you could have idle issues is because the pcv is a controlled "vacuum leak" if you will, and the ecm is calibrated for it. You block it off and effectively decrease the amount of air the engine sees at idle. I have seen it happen.
For a race only motor, I say do it, and run a vacuum pump for more power and reliability. But for a street car a PCV is good, check the smell and color of your oil with and without pcv, theres a difference.
But good write up, for those in need of it its very informative.
One thing I will argue with you on is the "increased crankcase ventilation" your breather provides. You can't tell me having your crankcase in a vacuum vs. having it vented to atmospheric pressure is better for power or ring seal. Its proven that vacuum helps power and ring seal. I have a stock PCV setup with no catch can or filter and don't use oil or see any smoke when I run. Sure, although I have not checked, I probably have oil in my intake, but its not hurting anything. If you're getting detonation because of the oil the pcv is sucking something is really wrong. It may be time to ease off the tune or fix the problem. Or you could just disconnect the pcv for track use, but I like having a vacuum in the crankcase.
The reason you could have idle issues is because the pcv is a controlled "vacuum leak" if you will, and the ecm is calibrated for it. You block it off and effectively decrease the amount of air the engine sees at idle. I have seen it happen.
For a race only motor, I say do it, and run a vacuum pump for more power and reliability. But for a street car a PCV is good, check the smell and color of your oil with and without pcv, theres a difference.
But good write up, for those in need of it its very informative.
And the PCV is not a "controlled vacum leak". I've heard quite a few people say this so maybe it is like this on some older motors but NOT on outr cars. The air that goes into the motor thru the intake nipple comes from the crankcase right? well the hose going from the pass side valve cover to the TB is called the "fresh air supply" and all that air has already been thru the MAF. If that hose went to before the MAF then you could say it was a "controlled vacum leak".