I had high fuel dilution on an oil analysis and the PCV valve was mentioned as a possible contributor to it. I went to change it and inspected the hoses. During a quick inspection of the PCV hoses, I found that the driver's side hose was torn at the valve cover.



Upon further inspection I found that the PCV hoses and piping were damaged further...FOUR seperate open sections instead of one, closed system.



Basically, the old hosing created an open atmosphere setup with the PCV just sucking air. Hey, at least there wasn't any oil being sucked into my throttle body gunking it all up.

Not only was the hose torn at the driver's side valve cover connection, but it was also torn at the "Y" connection.



The plastic piping between the "Y" and the PCV valve boot was also broken.



I went and ghetto rigged a new PCV system utilizing beefier 3/8" air hose. The hose is pretty heat resistant too. I basically relocated the PCV valve back towards the firewall. If you look at the following pictures, you will see that one hose runs from the driver's side valve cover to a "T". Another hose runs from the passenger's side valve cover to the same "T". The PCV valve boot is then attached to the "T".





Lastly, a section of hose runs from the PCV valve to the throttle body. I set it up so that a catchcan could easily be incorporated.



The junction back by the firewall is supported by two hose supports that were used to hold the old PCV hoses...you know, those plastic "C" shaped things.

After I did this repair, I went and changed the sparkplugs too since they were also suspected as a source of high fuel dilution. The person who designed the engine bay on these cars should be hunted down and tortured. THREE hours to get the F'ing passenger side rear plug!!! Argh.... I started throwing stuff and cussing really badly in front of my visiting in-laws. Then I took my four foot long cheater bar and started beating the ground with it. I was real close to giving the same treatment to my car. Anyway, that's for some other thread some other day...

 

Damn...You got a lot of miles on your car?

 

How so many breaks get in there?

 

102,000 miles showing on the odometer....3 breaks total in the PCV system.

 

how do u change the pcv valve where is it i dunno wut im looking for all i see is hoses

 

Still strange that it broke one time let alone three times regardless how many miles on there. I can see the top pic happening, but those other breaks do not look like they happened on there own IMO, specially the plastic piece that looks like it was sliced most of the way threw then broke the rest. I know you have it all fixed now but you sure someone didn't work on your car before and mess that up?

Dan

 

If you're referring to the 4th pic down, the pipe was broken from fatigue it looks like. Due to it's proximity to the PCV valve, it's also possible that someone could have broken it when they changed the PCV valve at some point. However, the PCV valve was all wrapped up in foam padding and tape that looked factory original. The angle at which I took the picture kind of makes it look like it was sliced partway through. If you look at it super close, it's a definite break.

It's very possible that someone worked on the car before me and messed this and other things up. Everytime I do maintenance on this car, I find stuff that the previous owners did. According to CARFAX, I'm the 8th owner. I wonder what I'll find next... At least all of the free mods were done to it when I got it.

 

The PCV valve is inside a "boot". Just follow the hose from the nipple on the lower part of the intake inlet until you come to a bulge on the line. It could be wrapped up in foam and tape if no one has ever changed it. The line you're looking for is the blue highlighted line in the picture. You can kind of see the "boot" in the picture...it's under the oranged highlighted vent tube. Once you get it all unwrapped, you'll see how it's attached inline. Simply disconnect the lines on both sides of the "boot", remove and replace the PCV valve inside the "boot", and reconnect everything. I think the "boot" is actually called a PCV valve grommet but I can't find one at the parts store...so, I'm not sure what to really call it.

 

thanks same here im like a pcv valve parts guy said doesnt show anything

 

Here's some pics with a catchcan installed...





The "catchcan" is a campbell hausfeld water seperator that's used to filter compressed air. I got the idea from another thread so don't give me credit for thinking of this.



It seems to be working decently...after 20 miles of driving there's already a drop or two of oil in it. I don't think it filters out 100% of the oil, but as long as it prevents some of it from going into the intake I'm happy. I always ran open atmosphere PCV setups on my other cars. That's probably the only way to keep 100% of the oil from entering the intake manifold and throttle body. The downside is that your oil gets dirty alot quicker. If you're one of those 3k mile oil change people then it's a moot point...go for the open atmosphere setup if you want a super clean intake tract.

 

Ford makes big bucks on their F 150 trucks that come in with soot and oil covered intake tracts due to the EGR and PVC system. They come in with a crappy running engine and leave a $1,000.00 lighter in the pocket. Thing is Ford puts the EGR and PVC systems back to stock so they start to clog up the intake all over again as the customer drives out of the service bay. Pretty smart! I bleed them both to the atmosphere. I will have to say I'm impressed by the tree huggers who run their PVC and EGR back into their intake. Nothing worse for an intake than a nice coating of soot mixed with oil spray.

 

hey, i saw your post about the homade catch can, but can you tell me what size fittings and hoses i need for it?

thanks!

Spencer

 

I had the exact same problem on my 2000 Z28. Same breaks, in the same spots. I never was able to figure out what caused it. Cost me a fortune to get OE parts from the dealership to replace the stupid thing. I wish I had been smart / tallented like you.

Nice fix.

 

Thanks for the kudo's CaptUSA, but the catchcan idea was actually another member's idea...I just expanded on it a bit.

SpaZMaN, you'll need 3/8" hose for this setup along with 3/8" fittings. The "T" fitting is a 3/8" "T" with some of the barbs cutoff to make the holes on the T's bigger for better flow. The barb fittings for the "catchcan" are 3/8" barb fittings with 1/4" MPT threads. I found them for $.50 at a hardware store. The hose is 3/8" air hose I got at Home Depot. You can find 3/8" hose cheaply at any parts store or home place. I'd recommend 3/8" fuel hose though since it's a little more flexible than the air hose...I only used the air hose because I had it laying around my garage from another car project. You'll find that there's regular fuel hose and fuel injection hose at the parts store. The fuel injection hose is more expensive because it's made to handle high pressures found in fuel injection systems. The regular fuel hose is cheaper and will do just fine since the pressures in the PCV system aren't that high.

 

Im running the CH oil seperator and it works fairly well in conjunction with the LS6 PVC mod.

 

makes me think that i should go home and check mine, i have 107k on mine.

 

I cant believe it took you 3 hours to change the pass rear plug, did you try from under neath. I did mine from the bottom in 5 minutes.

Did you notice and drive ablility issues with the open pcv system, and how does it drive now?

Since I got a new crate motor 2 years ago with the updated pistons and rings my car does not use a drop of oil anymore. I may try to put a catch can on mine and see what it catches, but if you are not using/loosing oil then there really is no need for a catch can.

 

I tried getting at the frickin' plug at all angles using all sorts of extensions and swivel joint combo's and it still took me forever. I'm not new to working on cars either so it's not like I was some rookie touching a car for the first time. The GM engineers definitely didn't design these cars with maintenance accessibility in mind. My hands and fingers are pretty big too so that doesn't help.

As far as driveability with the open PCV system, I didn't notice any issues. I haven't noticed a difference in driveability with the system fixed either. I HAVE noticed that my intake is staying nice and clean though.

If you're not using/losing oil then that doesn't mean you don't have a need for a catchcan. I think you're missing what a catchcan is really for. I've had a few cars that didn't use a drop of oil between oil changes, even after I rebuilt the motors, but the catchcans I had on them still caught oil. Even if you don't have blowby due to nice, tight rings, your PCV system will still be sucking air laden with oil vapor because of where the PCV system connects to...the valve covers. It's an easy, cheap mod to try out even if you don't think you need it. You might be suprised at what it catches. My car has never used a drop of oil between oil changes but I decided to use a catchcan anyway. So far, my intake has stayed nice and clean and I haven't used any oil either.

 

hey guys, completed the catchcan mod, and i already have oil in it, i'd guess about 250-350 miles to fill it completely at this current rate. ill post some pics later

 

It's a small forearm vs. large forearm thing. The samller / skinnier you are, the easier time you'll have of it. I don't stand a chance.