I’ve spent the entire summer working on my 1990 Honda Civic (1.5L, 2-port fuel injected) to try and fix it, and now the only thing standing in my way is a PCV valve that won’t properly seat into its port in the crankcase breathing chamber. Each time I try to push it in (I even used a screwdriver against the top of the hose clamp as a prybar), the rubber hose connected to it pops it back out just ever so slightly such that it sits very loosely in the port at a slight angle. I don’t want to say this is natural because when I tried to test-drive my car the day before, the old PCV hose (which was already an incredibly loose fit) kinda burst on me up on the intake manifold end and sprayed what looked to me like dirty oil all over the top of the engine (this happened alongside another burst hose (that had apparently rotted) from the heater core). I was able to replace both hoses, but the PCV one required two different sizes of hose connected by a 3/8"-1/2" adapter. Part of this issue is that the PCV hose takes on the shape of a bass clef as it rises from the crankcase breathing chamber (the PCV valve down there requires a 3/8" hose), up between the Cylinder 1 and 2 intake manifold pipes, and then loops around to connect to the other valve whose name I don’t know (and that requires a 1/2" hose for some contorted reason O_o). The section where the hose has to be straight at the bottom is being a problem because the hose does NOT want to bend that way, and neither does the 1/2" hose at the top want to bend so drastically to loop over into the lower section.
Am I missing some sort of special gasket or connector for this or is that loosely fitting PCV valve natural? Or am I going to have to completely take apart that hose assembly and replace it with different lengths of 1/2" and 3/8" hose?
Update: I went to O’Reiley’s here in town to double-check on the PCV valve, and as it turns out, the one that AutoZone gave me was the wrong type of valve!! FAAAAIL!!! EPIC FAAAAIL!!
The correct one for my car supposedly has threads on one end and a hose fitting on the other. I went out to probe the inside of the hole. No threads that I could feel. Just a rubber grommet. The other valve at the other end (up on the intake manifold) however has threads at one end. I am so confused about this that I don’t know what to do. I’m really tempted to take a bunch of photos and talk to the family mechanic about it.
Thanks for posting. Contrary to popular belief, incorrect parts are not unheard of.
Well I don’t even know what kind of valve my car uses now. O’Reiley’s says one thing, AutoZone says another, the crankcase breather chamber’s hole FOR the valve doesn’t tell me squat about what kind of valve to get.
So I’ve run into a situation where incorrect parts are abound and no one can really tell me what is what.
AAP shows the threaded one on the end as a Purolator 1047. O’Reilly shows the same one as a PCV347. O’Reilly website also shows a different right angled plastic PCV, #PCV 380. I hope I didn’t mix up the two numbers, but you can see a good picture of them at the O’Reilly website. Put in your exact car info into the O’Reilly website and compare the two pictures to the old one. Which is it? I would think that the two styles of PCV are different enough for you to tell by these pictures. the second one appears plastic and has no threads. You should be able to see these in person at an O’Reilly store if needed. Post back if needed for more clarification.
Update: Just went to the Honda dealer today. Apparently, my car needs only one PCV valve, and it’s up at the top end on the intake manifold. Down below is a PCV valve grommet and a breather chamber joint. So now that I’ve ordered the right parts, my car oughta work like it should.
“Just went to the Honda dealer today.”
That would have been my first stop for these kinds of parts. Ditto for ignition parts, excepting spark plugs.
Update number three:
Well I tried pulling the grommet out of the breather chamber and the rim of the grommet started tearing off from the rest of the grommet. So I had to resort to having to pull off the breather chamber.
Just one problem: I pried and pried and pried at the chamber with a crowbar and it just won’t pop off even though the exploded diagram that Honda gave me has the chamber held on by just a bolt and the O-ring between it and the crankcase. I removed that one bolt and the chamber flexes a bit when I pry at it, but it’s not budging in the slightest. Any help here? I can’t easily grip the chamber because it’s absolutely caked over with gunk and grease and it’s blocked by a bunch of engine stuff, which kinda means twisting is out of the question.
Anyone who’s had to replace breather chambers before, if you’ve got any tips on how to pop it off, I would love to hear. It seems to be my only option because I can’t get that grommet out in its current location.