I bought a new PCV valve, a Duralast PCV1139DL, the one the AutoZone site says is correct for my vehicle ('87 toyota pickup carbureted 4-cylinder 2WD 5-speed manual). It was so tight I had to use so much force that I broke it. Fortunately the old one still works.
Has anyone had a similar experience and found a different make works better? It measured the same size to the mm.
I’ve had a lot of problems, including fitment problems, with Autozone parts. They carry a lot of junk. I won’t buy parts there anymore.
Yeah, maybe I better. Pep Boys has a metal PCV valve for cheaper.
Maybe the problem was that the hose or grommet that it’s plugged into has hardened with age and that is why the PCV broke.
The grommet is a replaceable part and mine is stiff. Should it be rubbery instead?
Yes, it should.
This is a joke, right?
Naughty boy! I had to apply so much force to insert the new PCV valve (the same model as the one it replaced, though probably updated in the last 15 years) that it broke. I noticed that the grommet had cracked too. I just bought a new grommet; it is flexible. And I bought a solid metal PCV valve.
AZ’s database may have been incorrect.
Years ago I bought some shocks at Sears for the front of my pickup. They had a good sale. I went home, removed the LF shock, and discovered upon pulling the new one from the box that it was wrong. Mine had bayonet mounts (see below). The ones in the box had bar mounts.
I put the old one old one back on (fortunately I hadn’t just cut the shank) and returned to Sears. They looked the part number up again and gave me replacements… with ring mounts. Having learned my lesson, I took one out of the box before leaving the store. The counter guy insisted that I was wrong and the ring mounts were correct. After I demanded to see the manager, they gave me a refund. Clearly their database was in error.
I picked up the correct shocks at V.I.P. on the way home.
That’s why no matter where I’m buying replacement parts from, I always bring the old part with me to compare before I leave the store. Our local Auto Zone actually recommends this to people when they call in to check for parts.
LOL, the old part was mounted on the vehicle I was driving!
Frankly, it didn’t occur to me to take the new one out of the box and check it. But since that day I always do.
That certainly would make that slightly more difficult…
Yeah, I’ve been lucky to always have another vehicle available before starting work so I can always bring the part in.
I had a tight fit problem with a replacement PCV valve one time. I put it in the freezer for a couple of hours, then it installed easily.
That reminded me one “wow!” experience I had with my first car.
I needed to replace front suspension bushings and they were priced ridiculously high, especially for fresh grad student with first low-paying job.
My “car guru” relative (and doctor by his primary occupation) say “no, worries, I will MAKE you one from that cheap bigger one you can buy for XYZ car”, which was really dirt-cheap.
What he did: he used liquid nitrogen to freeze bushing as hard as steel and simply made it smaller on lathe 
In industry we occasionally designed things intentionally with “interference fits” and put the inner parts in the fridge to assemble them.
and they dont always give you the right part either,sure their computer might say its the right part but that doesn`t always mean that it is.