With 190,000km on the clock, and little to no service history, I wanted to replace the PCV Valve as preventative maintenance, as this is the cause of a few issues others have had.
The main issues people seem to have with them as they age is that they can get stuck, causing oil consumption, or more commonly, a rough idle.
As far as I am aware, my car uses no oil, doesn’t smoke and my idle is about as smooth as you expect for a boxer with uprated engine mounts, but it was cheap enough to buy a new one with my last shipment from Japan.
The little guy lives here, tucked down behind the inlet manifold
There is a bracket with a hose on it just above it that blocks access. Remove the 10mm and move that out of the way
Much easier to see now, and slightly easier to access. I had heard the hose can get a bit hard and brittle as it ages, so I grabbed a new one of those too. It has no clamps on either end, and is just a press fit. On the manifold end, remove the little beauty cover, and then it’s the hose without the clamp
Pull the hose off the inlet manifold and then the valve. It’ll be on there tight. Worst case, cut it off, since we’re replacing it anyway.
You’ll need a deep socket, 19mm IIRC, a wobbly joint and an extension. Even then access is super tight
Once removed, it was obvious the old one hadn’t been touched in a while, so it was probably original. When shaken the original one did click, but it was sticky compared to the replacement which rattled freely (there is a little valve inside it that moves freely when shaken, hence the rattling). I probably could’ve cleaned the original one, and it would’ve gone again, but for the cost, it was easier to replace it
I screwed the new one in with some sealant on the threads and tightened until snug
The new hose slipped on nicely
Plug the new hose into the manifold, refit the hose and bracket moved earlier, refit the beauty cover, and that’s a job done.
No real obvious changes, maybe the idle is a little smoother, but I’m happy knowing it’s been done.
Parts Used
11810AA131 – PCV Valve
99081AA321 – Hose
Please note these parts are specific to my car and may vary. Please check before ordering.