I have a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country, 76,000 miles and I want to change the PCV valve. I can reach in and touch it, but can’t get pliers, channel locks, vice grips etc on it. It seems to be a pretty simple replacement, but I cannot get the factory clamp off.
I’ve seen my shop use a similar tool, but they also know what they are doing, I am a weekend mechanic.
Any body have any thoughts on this or another way to replace the PCV valve? Thanks much
I bought one of those at Autozone for about $35 but haven’t used it yet. I bought it to remove the factory wire hose clamps on radiator and heater hoses that are hard to get at. The thing tends to stick though when you try to release it so not sure how its going to work. As far as PCV, I dunno. You have to pull the valve out of the grommet and push it back in again. Usually you swap the hose after you pull the valve out so not sure if this would help much. Might be better to just get one of those very long (like 12") needle nose pliers for about $10 instead.
I bought one, and I forget where. I returned it because it was basically junk and didn’t work all that well and wasn’t even all that easy to to use. Getting into tight spaces and arranging the end isn’t as easy as one would think it should be and then you couldn’t even adjust it well enough to compress the clamp enough to make it work anyway.
I’m sure that what I bought was of similar quality to the “Autocraft” one. Perhaps Snap-on or Mac or someone makes better ones that do work well.
Thanks, I was afraid the lower cost tool might be low quality too. I will try to pull the valve out with the hose attached and put a new hose on with a new valve
I’m sure that I ended up getting by with the extended, super-long needlenose. They come straight and with 90s or 45s on the noses or handles. The needlenose tip isn’t always ideal for the spring clams but it generally gets the job done.
Long ago when the pinch to release hose clamps first showed up and caused me a great deal if frustratiom attempting to deal with them I modified a cheap plier similar to this
by cutting grooves at various angles in the flat gripping area and it worked acceptably well. When the special tools were later offered I bought several but was disappointed and finally junked all the high priced trick tool in favor of the cheap plier.
I almost never re-install the spring clamps, though. I don’t really trust them much.
When I first bought a similar tool it cost me over $100. I don’t remember the brand, for some reason Mayhew comes to mind but it certainly came off the SnapOn/Matco/Mac tool truck. There are certain applications where you absolutely must have this tool or one like it or spend an hour wasting time trying to remove the clamp. For a DIYer though I don’t think you need one as high grade as that. For the $25 in your link I’d buy that one and give it a try.
Contrary to Rod Knox above, I almost always reuse spring clamps. I trust them far more than the worm drive clamps commonly used to replace them.
If they are easy to access I often stay with the spring clamps. If not, I go to worm gears - just because I hate wrestling with the hard-to-reach springs.
The PCV should just pop out of of the valve cover or wherever allowing you to move it to a place that provides easy access to remove the hose. It’s important to clean the entire system, the hose and its vacuum port can get clogged up too…
It may be that the PCV is hosed on both sides. It is on my 2000, though obviously it may have changed. And it is a major annoyance to get to, crammed as it is up under the intake. And the hoses, of course, get nice and stiff over time. I replaced all of it, and where things fit tightly enough I didn’t even use any clamps.
I have one identical to the one in the 2nd URL. Although I own 5 or 6 different hose clamp tools, this one I use 95% of the time. Handy as can be IMO. If you buy it you may never have to buy another hose clamp tool. Just my 2 cents.