'00 cavalier, odd noise and oil in air intake/throttle body

[warik]

i have a 2000 cavalier and i noticed a couple of days ago that my car didn't quite have the get up and go that it had a couple of weeks ago. then yesterday it also started to make an odd noise somewhere between a vacuum sucking up a puddle of water and grinding. it sounded like it was coming from the intake so i took off the cover and noticed a small amount of oil. I'm not very mechanically inclined so i dared not take apart anything else for further investigation.
any help would be great.

[ricebike]

oil in air intake? check the pcv system or just the valve... clean w/ carb cleaner, shake, repeat, reinstall

[J-Ri]

PCV valve is a $3 part, just buy a new one, you'll spend just as much on throttle body cleaner (don't use carb cleaner unless it says "O2 sensor safe" on it!) as on a new one. Which engine you got in it? The 2.4 doesn't have a PCV valve, it has an oil separator.

[warik]

Originally Posted by J-Ri

PCV valve is a $3 part, just buy a new one, you'll spend just as much on throttle body cleaner (don't use carb cleaner unless it says "O2 sensor safe" on it!) as on a new one. Which engine you got in it? The 2.4 doesn't have a PCV valve, it has an oil separator.

i have the 2.2 thank you.
how much does a throttle body usually run?

[J-Ri]

The problem isn't the throttle body, just spray it out with intake cleaner and it'll be good to go.

The PCV valve limits the amount of airflow, and to an extent keeps oil from going into the vacuum hose (which goes into the throttle body). When the valve fails, it can allow too much airflow, which can allow oil to be sucked into the intake. While this may not be the drivability problem, is sure won't make the car run better. Pull the plugs and make sure they aren't oil fouled.