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Working with an 03 Suburban
5.3L Return fuel, DBW electronic throttle.
Did these engines come with a legit PCV VALVE, or are these the ones with fixed orifice drivers side to manifold vacuum ?
What's best way to add a filter to Pass side cover ?
Can I insert a 2 port 'closed' catch can in middle of driver's side vac line ?
Are haveing trouble with crankcase ventilation on the stock engine?
Vacuum hose from passenger valve cover to throttle body. No reason to change this if it's a stock engine but you could cap the TB and valve cover off and install a breather on the oil fill cap.
I want to say the intake manifold has a built in PCV valve as I see nothing on the line to indicate otherwise. I suppose there could be a PCV valve on the driver side valve cover, I've just never pulled mine off to see. You could run a sealed catch can between the driver valve cover and the intake manifold or cap the intake port off and run another breather on the driver side valve cover also.
I am planning to fabricate a TWO port, sealed Catch Can, insert between rear port in driver valve cover and Intake Manifold.
Built my last catch can from a stainless steel 750 ml Vodka 'bottle' KRU brand.
Mounted upside down, drain about an ounce of mily oil out every six months or so at oil changes.
Curious tho: Weather the older 5.3 gen III uses fixed orifice, or an actual spring loaded PCV valve. ?
.
Also, any reason NOT to add an extra filtered breather on passenger side, say TEE into the throttle body vacuum port to rocker cover ?
I am planning to fabricate a TWO port, sealed Catch Can, insert between rear port in driver valve cover and Intake Manifold.
Built my last catch can from a stainless steel 750 ml Vodka 'bottle' KRU brand.
Mounted upside down, drain about an ounce of mily oil out every six months or so at oil changes.
Curious tho: Weather the older 5.3 gen III uses fixed orifice, or an actual spring loaded PCV valve. ?
.
Also, any reason NOT to add an extra filtered breather on passenger side, say TEE into the throttle body vacuum port to rocker cover ?
If I understand your extra filtered breather question, no. It will cause unmetered air into your engine because it did not go through your MAF.
My 2002 5.3 truck had a simple orifice PCV valve in the driver's side valve cover. I put an Corvette valley cover, put a second passenger side valve cover on the driver's side, then tee-ed them together. So have two clean inlets into the engine. The Corvette cover does a good job because it sucks up the dirty air from a place that has less oil mist. Only thing that I had to mess with is I turned the inlet into the top of the intake 180 degrees so that it pointed to the port on the valve cover.
Hope that helps.
If I understand your extra filtered breather question, no. It will cause unmetered air into your engine because it did not go through your MAF.
My 2002 5.3 truck had a simple orifice PCV valve in the driver's side valve cover. I put an Corvette valley cover, put a second passenger side valve cover on the driver's side, then tee-ed them together. So have two clean inlets into the engine. The Corvette cover does a good job because it sucks up the dirty air from a place that has less oil mist. Only thing that I had to mess with is I turned the inlet into the top of the intake 180 degrees so that it pointed to the port on the valve cover.
Hope that helps.
How can you pull in unmetered air from the breathers when you cap off the ports for the throttle body and the intake manifold while running breathers on the valve covers? The only metered air will be what is coming in through the MAF and throttle body into the intake manifold at this point. The only thing I see happening is a slightly leaner condition because the factory tune compensates for the affects of PCV or blowby going back into the engine via the intake and throttle body. If the engine is to be worked hard or is boosted then venting the crankcase to atmosphere is the best solution IMO.
How can you pull in unmetered air from the breathers when you cap off the ports for the throttle body and the intake manifold while running breathers on the valve covers? The only metered air will be what is coming in through the MAF and throttle body into the intake manifold at this point. The only thing I see happening is a slightly leaner condition because the factory tune compensates for the affects of PCV or blowby going back into the engine via the intake and throttle body. If the engine is to be worked hard or is boosted then venting the crankcase to atmosphere is the best solution IMO.
Hello 01CamaroSSTx,
Yes that is true if you cap off the PCV vacuum ports, no unmetered air.
Full power asked....."Also, any reason NOT to add an extra filtered breather on passenger side, say TEE into the throttle body vacuum port to rocker cover ?"
So what I understood is that he was planning to use a vacuum port with a extra breather inline, in which I said no.
All so sounds like he wants to use one or more "catch cans".
If he added an external vacuum source with the capped off ports, then he would have the best system with higher crank case vacuum . Less air-oil friction for the rotating parts.
I hope that clears up my thinking on this. I am ever learning, thanks for your post.
Last edited by Metalchipper; Aug 16, 2022 at 06:04 PM.
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Crankcase VENTILATION 5.3 Gen III ? 
nope 
Yup 
