doing the PCV valve in 3.4L v6 (/94 Lumina)

[sad-lumina-owner]

Okay I didn't take pics the first time, so this is a reenactment only not as exciting.

Here is the area under the hood we are working in:



When I bought the PVC valve from Parts Source, I couldn't find it, and the guy came out to look and he couldn't find it either! He thought it must be under the plastic cover over the fuel injectors. Actually thats not so.

[sad-lumina-owner]

As it turns out, its nearly invisible even in broad daylight, being about 4 inches down into a dark crevase alongside the Automatic Transmission Fluid Dipstick/refill pipe:

Here I am pulling off a tube (one of many) that has nothing to do with the PCV valve, but which is simply in the way and when pulled off and bent aside makes spotting the PCV valve a little easier:

[sad-lumina-owner]

Here is the actual hose that connects to the top end of the valve. Its only about 6-8 inches long. The small end of the valve is the top, which fits in the other end of this hose. The bottom of the valve fits into a bigger hose which is just floating loosely in the dark down there:

[sad-lumina-owner]

Here is a pic of the elusive PCV valve still connected in place. Yours will be dirtier and harder to see than this shiney new one:



Once you have the upper end of the hose off, you can hold it and gently twist and pull it to remove the valve from the lower hose. You may have to hold down the lower hose to pull out the valve.

The valve is held in the lower hose only by a kind of tight pressure fit. There was no clamp on that hose on my car anyway.

You may find the many other little hoses come off easily. They must all be carefully put back the way they were before you started.

If you find any hoses (such as the thinner vacuum hose and "T-connector" disconnected, replace them properly and make sure there are no leaks.

[sad-lumina-owner]

Recap:

The old PCV valve is removed from the upper hose after both have been taken out.

The new PCV valve is installed in the upper hose, (with clamp) and is then ready for re-insertion into the lower hose.

The clamp for the intake manifold should be slid back from the end of the hose while you work the upper hose off and on, and then squeezed and replaced in its right position.

The upper hose/PCV assembly can be held and inserted as a unit into the lower hose, which is near-invisible and hard to reach, but not impossible to find and hold.

Make sure you firmly twist the PCV valve into the lower hose. The only thing holding it from coming out again will be the tight fight into the rubber hose.

Here is another glance at nearby hoses which may or may not have to temporarily come off while you work in this area:

[sad-lumina-owner]

My old PVC valve (rightside up) stored in the packaging for the new one.

Apparently in a pinch these can be cleaned and re-used, but the part was only $7 so I opted to simply put a new one in.