Odd PCV valve setup on my Ranger

[01rangerxl]

I decided to change the PCV valve on my truck today since it is about to turn 60K. I never really looked at the thing before. I got a new one at Advance, just your typical PCV valve design. No adapters needed or anything.

The strange part came when I opened the hood to actually look at the setup. For some reason, a smaller diameter heater hose comes off of one of the main heater hoses back to the PCV valve where a metal elbow wraps around the valve, then goes back to rubber hose, which goes back to the main heater hose again. The metal elbow makes direct contact with the metal PCV valve and is held snugly in place with a clip that is an absolute [censored] to remove.

So, what is the purpose of this setup? I changed many PCV valves back when I worked at Jiffy Lube and never saw anything quite like this.

 

[oilyriser]

sounds like a heated pcv valve. Is it in a place that might get cold air blasted on it, in winter?

 

[Gary Allan]

I don't have a clue about the setup that you've encountered, but my impression from Fords that I've worked on leads me to believe that they really enjoy complex plumbing. They frequently use "bump tubing" (bigger at one end than the other) for vacuum routing ..and manage the most complex bypass circuits that I've ever seen. On my daughter's 91 3.0 Vulcan Taurus, the bypass flow splits through some oddball fixture ..then goes to two pipes ..then around the engine bay ..one pipe converts to a hose for the heater core ..the other pipe converts to a hose for the coolant temp sensor near the thermostat. There are even offshoots or tributaries in there.

I often wonder if this is how the engineers provide "service" after the sale. It's all about "getting serviced".

 

[wavinwayne]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
...Fords that I've worked on leads me to believe that they really enjoy complex plumbing. They frequently use "bump tubing" (bigger at one end than the other) for vacuum routing ...

...I often wonder if this is how the engineers provide "service" after the sale. It's all about "getting serviced".


My VW is the same way. I've had a CEL for quite some time due to a secondary air injection fault. I have the part that [probably] needs to be replaced, but the vacuum hose attached to it is a different size on either end. VW will not sell that hose to me. To get it, I have to purchase a complete vacuum hose kit, to the tune of $150. No thanks.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: oilyriser
sounds like a heated pcv valve. Is it in a place that might get cold air blasted on it, in winter?


It is on the rear of the driver's side valve cover. The engine is fairly small, so there is a lot of open area in the engine compartment, but it doesn't appear to be in a spot where it would take long to warm up.

This truck does have a complex PCV system. There is a tube that comes off the passenger side valve cover and goes directly to the air intake tube after the air filter. There are also a bunch of parts that make up the tube that goes to the PCV valve I replaced. I might take some pics tomorrow.

 

[hemitom]

you have a heated p.v.c valve. I have a 2002 ranger edge 3.0 litre. check the rubber adaptor that connects the p.v.c valve to the vaccum line its about two inchs long,they crack and cause a vaccum leak.

 

[01rangerxl]

Can that part be purchased by itself, or does it come as part of an assembly? I didn't really take that close of a look at it, but I will tomorrow.

 

[hemitom]

i went to the dealer,as this is a dealer only part or it was when i was looking to replace mine they won,t sell you the rubber adapter they well on sell you the whole kit. which was 175 dollars at the time. so i made my own hose for about two bucks. If you look at yours you will see on top of the p.v.c valve a another rubber elbow which connects to part of the intake ir you pull this elbow off you will be able to pull out a long tube covered in oil, anyways Ford will only sell you all this [censored] to replace a two dollar hose.

 

[01rangerxl]

Yeah, I saw the long tube covered in oil. It made a nice mess.

My Explorer taught me how to ghetto engineer all kinds of new vacuum lines, so I'm sure I could rig up a replacement if/when it needs it.

 

[oilyriser]

There was a TSB for some old subarus that mentioned a gearbox vent that could get plugged with frost, and as the gearbox warmed up in winter, pressure would build and force the oil out the seals. I guess little passages can get frozen shut under certain conditions.

 

[01rangerxl]

Here is a pic of the heated PCV valve. The tube coming off of it goes to the back of the intake manifold.

There is also some kind of breather tube on the other valve cover. It goes from near the oil filler to the air intake tube behind the MAF sensor / before the intake manifold.

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

Ugh. Why has Ford gotten so complicated with their engines? The old Vulcan 3.0L and Cologne 4.0L were a snap to work on.

I've got a Duratec 3.0L in my "new to me" 2000 Taurus wagon. The PCV is...ready?

Located in between the valve covers and under a wire harness. The correct procedure (I believe) is to remove the UIM and LIM to get to it. To make matters worse, the heat from this engine disentegrates the rubber tubing connected to it over time. With 90K on my Taurus, I only have about 10K (at best) to fix the problem.