how often change PCV valve?

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There is no schedule in replacing PCV. Check and clean if needed, if that didn't work then replace.

I bought a replacement for my then 14-15 years old PCV of my '94 LS400 (200+k miles then). The original PCV was in excellent shape without any sign of failing, but I already had a new one so I put it in.

My S2000 has original PCV after almost 9 years.
 
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It's kind of a toss up on when to replace them. I take mine out and clean it every other oil change. It's metal and the replacements are plastic, so I'm sticking with what I know works. AFAIK it's the original valve.

Newer ones are plastic and can be harder to clean, so I'd just replace it, maybe every 30 or 40k miles. I would pull it out and shake it to make sure it rattles at each oil change, tho. If it doesn't rattle of course replace it. And probably give the throttle body a little cleaning too.
 
Originally Posted By: cathy
I hear all kind of recommendations. I have toyota camry


On my 2000 Tundra I learned that paying attention to this little, inexpensive maintenance item is worth your time. You can clean it, or replace it. I just replace them every 30K miles now. I prefer OEM replacements. If it's a screw in type, it's easy. If it has a grommet, it's more of a PITA. The grommets tend to become hard and brittle. Changing the grommet every other PCV valve change is a good idea to avoid having it crumble and fall through the valve cover.
 
I bought a new PCV for my 1999 Mercury Villager. The valve is located behind the engine and involves removing a bunch of parts to replace...a real PITA. I haven't tackled it yet and my mechanic said it was an hour worth of labor for him to do it. My understanding is that if the oil was changed frequently the valve usually holds up a long time (previous owner changed the oil every 3,000 miles or less). I'm putting off replacing it for now.
 
Kinda of like spark plug wires or fuel filters - I read replace every 60k or 90k miles online and blindly did so. Now I'm just inspecting and testing and will replace wires and PCV valve when it actually needs it.
 
another clean & reinstall, 99% of the time they don't need replacement...
 
Mine is 13 years old and original. I was going to buy an OEM replacement just to get a fresh one in there, but there were some posts on Civic forums talking about them breaking on removal and causing a bigger headache. Plus it is also in the back of the motor and a bit of a pain to access.
 
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I had purchased a replacement PCV for my 99 Odyssey few years ago but never could figure out how to replace it. Couple weekends ago, I had to take the plenum off and finally I had access to the PCV. It was clogged but I used carburetor cleaner to clean it up and put it back. The replacement was an aftermarket plastic one bought at NAPA. I decided to stick with the original metal one after cleaning it.

Suggestion:- Either purchase a new one from the dealer or re-use the existing one after cleaning it.
 
If you keep your oil changed regularly it will never need replaced. I have a 1991 4runner I bought new and have never replaced it. Same with fuel filter.
 
I suspect if you don't burn oil during OCI's then you PCV should not plug up. My wife's bought new 2005 Explorer w/the 4.6 has over 125,000 miles on it and still has the original PCV valve. It uses no measurable amount of oil in it's 8,500 mile OCI's. I suspect if you burn oil then your PCV valve will clog up eventually and increase your oil usage.

Whimsey
 
"The function of a PCV valve is to control the flow of crankcase gases. Start your engine, then remove the oil filler cap (watch your clothes; you might get some oil splatters). Place your hand just above the opening. Feel the strong jet of air? That's "blowby", combustion gases that squirt past the piston rings into the crankcase below the pistons. Even new engines in good condition generate lots of blowby (but it's still a small
fraction of what passes through the throttle body).That jet of air has to be vented somewhere, otherwise it will quickly build up pressure inside the engine, and cause those aforementioned very bad things to happen. If the PCV valve gets plugged, blowby pressure has no proper place to go.

The primary reason for plugged PCV valves is neglected oil changes, which causes sludge. Secondarily, it also happens to engines that are primarily used for short trips, where moisture, fuel, and acids build up in the oil, emulsifying it into sludge, which is related to the neglect thing mentioned earlier. 3 months between changes might be too long depending on how you drive.
Also, an engine with worn compression rings will have massive amounts of blowby, which will overwhelm the PCV valve's ability to pass air and cause the excess vapors (and oil) to be pumped into the intake before the throttle plate.


Since the air inside the crankcase also contains contaminants like unburned fuel, water, acids and other things that your engine and its oil do not like, venting the excess pressure also helps to vent those contaminants out of the engine before they settle into the oil in the first place, so your oil stays a bit cleaner longer."

http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/pcv-replace/
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
There is no schedule in replacing PCV. Check and clean if needed, if that didn't work then replace.

That's why I did on my 2004 Sienna ... left it overnight on side filled with Pblaster. Drained, rinsed out with garden hose and reinstalled after drying.
 
Do you know anything about engine blowby? My engine on my camry or the tailpipe emits a bluish whitish smoke on startup and I heard it was due to blowby, but your analysis said my oil was fine and didn't see any contaminants like fuel or water or coolant, right? It doesn't smoke on startup every time, esp when I drive it, but when it sits for a few days, like 3 days or more or like a week, it will emit the smoke. Is this normal for a 12 year old engine with 158k miles, or is this something or great concern that I should have looked at ASAP by a mechanic? Thanks.
 
Originally Posted By: engineer20
Do you know anything about engine blowby? My engine on my camry or the tailpipe emits a bluish whitish smoke on startup and I heard it was due to blowby, but your analysis said my oil was fine and didn't see any contaminants like fuel or water or coolant, right? It doesn't smoke on startup every time, esp when I drive it, but when it sits for a few days, like 3 days or more or like a week, it will emit the smoke. Is this normal for a 12 year old engine with 158k miles, or is this something or great concern that I should have looked at ASAP by a mechanic? Thanks.


Granted that your PCV valve is functioning properly, then first puff of blue smoke 1st thing in the morning is valve stem seal/valve stem clearance related, and nothing to do with blowby.

I'd take the former more than the latter, for I've seen/dealt with valve stem seal issues on many cars as the mileage creeps up.

if yours don't consume much, might as well leave them alone. Camry, or many twin-cam DOHC 16valve (4cyl) or 24 valve (4valves/cyl) tends to take quite a bit of time to do valve steam seals.

Q.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
There is no schedule in replacing PCV. Check and clean if needed, if that didn't work then replace.

I bought a replacement for my then 14-15 years old PCV of my '94 LS400 (200+k miles then). The original PCV was in excellent shape without any sign of failing, but I already had a new one so I put it in.

My S2000 has original PCV after almost 9 years.
Hi, is it easy to change out the PCV valve ?
Can someone please guide to where is the PCV located in the Toyota Corolla 2009 and how to remove it ? Thanks!
 
Originally Posted By: oilmaven
I bought a new PCV for my 1999 Mercury Villager. The valve is located behind the engine and involves removing a bunch of parts to replace...a real PITA. I haven't tackled it yet and my mechanic said it was an hour worth of labor for him to do it. My understanding is that if the oil was changed frequently the valve usually holds up a long time (previous owner changed the oil every 3,000 miles or less). I'm putting off replacing it for now.


Some PCV's have a spring in them which weakens and breaks. 1999 is a long time for a PCV. I would change it along with the grommet.
 
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