Time for another episode of "Name That Part" (or...."WTF did I break??")

[femmeDSM]

So I was randomly poking at things under my hood today, and I dropped a wrench on the intake plenum, and something flew off....
It was just a little brittle plastic/rubber piece, but it left this exposed (see pic), and got me curious as to what it is.....
The little plastic cap must have been old, because it broke into several pieces when the wrench hit it....
I checked my Chilton, and the DSM Shop Manual, but to no avail. W-T-F is this? I am now dying of curiosity.....

(p.s. pay no attention to the leaves and acorns under my hood.....haha. kthanks.)

 

[MattyD]

I know we are not adived to guess what the answer might be.....But i think it might be the bung where the PCV valve recirculates into the intake.

`Matty D

 

[Strm Trpr]

Isn't that in the bottom left hand corner the PCV valve?

 

[oldman]

I know we are not adived to guess what the answer might be.....But i think it might be the bung where the PCV valve recirculates into the intake.

`Matty D

That would be correct, I'm guessing the pcv valve has been re-routed and what came off was a fitting/nipple cap. Do not turn on the car until you plug it up, getting a missing cap for the BISS screw might not be a bad idea as well.

 

[femmeDSM]

Thanks all
I bought the car in non-running condition, and am in the process of fixing it up -- every time i open the hood, i notice something else that will need to be replaced. haha.

As for the BISS cap -- the entire screw is missing. yeah.

haha.
thanks again for the responses....
I guess I didn't need that PCV valve anyway, eh? haha.

 

[marcmsj]

Thanks all
I bought the car in non-running condition, and am in the process of fixing it up -- every time i open the hood, i notice something else that will need to be replaced. haha.

Why would the PCV valve be re-routed, though?
ugh.

there is no reason at all to reroute the pcv valve... and looking from your picture, the hose is kinked coming off your pcv valve which is not a good thing. if i were you, i would just hook it up back to the stock location. find a short piece of hose (fuel line works great) around 7 inches long and reroute it back to it's original location.

 

[femmeDSM]

there is no reason at all to reroute the pcv valve... and looking from your picture, the hose is kinked coming off your pcv valve which is not a good thing. if i were you, i would just hook it up back to the stock location. find a short piece of hose (fuel line works great) around 7 inches long and reroute it back to it's original location.

That's what I was thinking. I know its main purpose is emissions-related, but I'd rather have the car as close to stock as possible before I start tearing into it....It's sitting dead right now, due to ECU issues and lack of funding, but I was planning on getting everything back in order in the next few days, so that will top my list of Things to Do.

Thanks

 

[oldman]

every time i open the hood, i notice something else that will need to be replaced. haha.

So don't open it anymore.

Why would the PCV valve be re-routed, though?

PCV = Positive Crankcase Ventilation
PCV valves are mostly rerouted to vent to atmosphere in order to avoid dirtying up the intake manifold with blow by and leaking boost pressure into the crankcase via a defective valve, mostly. First follow the hose coming off the valve cover in the lower left corner of your pic and tell us where it ends up. After verifying that it's VTA, I strongly suggest making sure that the PCV valve is either hollowed out or replaced with a straight fitting, looks like you still have the stock PCV valve from the picture shown.

 

[marcmsj]

That's what I was thinking. I know its main purpose is emissions-related, but I'd rather have the car as close to stock as possible before I start tearing into it....It's sitting dead right now, due to ECU issues and lack of funding, but I was planning on getting everything back in order in the next few days, so that will top my list of Things to Do.

Thanks

pcv valve is not emissions related... it's there for crankcase ventilation.

 

[femmeDSM]

pcv valve is not emissions related... it's there for crankcase ventilation.

Yeah, I thought about that after I posted....I was having a blonde moment. haha.

 

[femmeDSM]

PCV valves are mostly rerouted to vent to atmosphere in order to avoid dirtying up the intake manifold with blow by and leaking boost pressure into the crankcase via a defective valve, mostly. First follow the hose coming off the valve cover in the lower left corner of your pic and tell us where it ends up. After verifying that it's VTA, I strongly suggest making sure that the PCV valve is either hollowed out or replaced with a straight fitting, looks like you still have the stock PCV valve from the picture shown.

Thanks, that was greatly informative

I will take a look and report back what I find....
The previous owner(s) had some questionable mechanical skills...I am used to working on DSMs, but the ones I've owned have been in pretty decent shape to begin with....So this whole process of figuring out what the previous owners broke is relatively foreign to me. .

I will take a look, and possibly take some more pics...

 

[femmeDSM]

Well, the plot thickens.....

As promised, I was able to get a couple of pictures of the PCV situation...
Turns out, the PCV valve is not being recirculated at all -- it's been capped off by a rubber piece (the same type as the piece that was capping off the recirc valve in the intake plenum).

What gives?
First of all, I can't believe that I missed this in my initial inspections of the car...I guess my eyes must have been playing tricks on me, and I thought I saw a hose coming off the PCV when there wasn't one...But why would someone just cap off the PCV valve? Should I just put everything back to normal and call it a day, or is there some other reason that I might be missing here?

Forgive me if these questions sound incredibly naiive.....I'm not new to DSMs at all, but I just can't figure out what's going on here......? hmm....

Anyway, I took some pictures (sorry for the slight blurry quality....). The top one obviously shows the PCV valve in its rubber-capped state...The bottom picture is the cap that's on there (which is the same one that was on the empty bung in the intake plenum, which you can see in Pic 1, and the pic in my original post).

*whew*
anyway, thanks in advance for being patient with my strange issue. haha.

 

[oldman]

Amazing

Remove the pcv valve and apply pressure air through the nipple side and make sure it doesn't leak air, replace with an OEM one if need be. Re-connect the pcv, route it back to the manifold and call it a day. Make sure you check the breather valve on the passinger side, proper crankcase ventilation is crucial. Have you been blowing smoke? Dipstick popping out?

 

[tstkl]

it really doesnt matter what the previous owner did, you cant change the past...

just get a line and slap it on... then call it a day... you need that line there, and the simplest thing is to just replace it...

 

[TUI2I30]

found your BISS screw slowboy's website while I was there looking for other stuff. Figured I'd post them to help you out.

http://www.slowboyracing.com/more.php?id=3754& <-BISS kit
http://www.slowboyracing.com/more.php?id=2083& <-OEM PCV Valve

 

[femmeDSM]

Amazing

Remove the pcv valve and apply pressure air through the nipple side and make sure it doesn't leak air, replace with an OEM one if need be. Re-connect the pcv, route it back to the manifold and call it a day. Make sure you check the breather valve on the passinger side, proper crankcase ventilation is crucial. Have you been blowing smoke? Dipstick popping out?

Will do.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.

As for running condition....I wouldn't really know, as I just recently bought the car w/ a bad ECU (and, apparently, a bad PCV valve!)....I knew I was getting myself into a lot of problems, but I wanted a project car, and I guess I got what I asked for


After I get the ECU back from being rebuilt, I will start tackling all of these weird problems, and hopefully get her running again......

 

[femmeDSM]

found your BISS screw slowboy's website while I was there looking for other stuff. Figured I'd post them to help you out.

http://www.slowboyracing.com/more.php?id=3754& <-BISS kit
http://www.slowboyracing.com/more.php?id=2083& <-OEM PCV Valve

My, what a super helpful bunch we have tonight! You rock.

 

[TUI2I30]

As for running condition....I wouldn't really know, as I just recently bought the car w/ a bad ECU (and, apparently, a bad PCV valve!)....I knew I was getting myself into a lot of problems, but I wanted a project car, and I guess I got what I asked for

Me too! Do a compression test and leakdown test ASAP. Sure wish I would have. I am basically working though the other guys headaches trying to get my car going. it's now going... almost, but to my dismay.. blue smoke after car warms up... compression test 160-130-160-160 ... leakdown test... blown rings on #2. "Spare" block is now at the machine shop. Good luck with your project!!!

My, what a super helpful bunch we have tonight! You rock.

As for being helpful... you're welcome! And here are some life-savers from good ole vfaqs!

http://www.dsmgrrrl.com/FAQs/compression.htm
http://www.dsmgrrrl.com/FAQs/leakdown.htm

 

[femmeDSM]

Me too! Do a compression test and leakdown test ASAP. Sure wish I would have. I am basically working though the other guys headaches trying to get my car going. it's now going... almost, but to my dismay.. blue smoke after car warms up... compression test 160-130-160-160 ... leakdown test... blown rings on #2. "Spare" block is now at the machine shop. Good luck with your project!!!

Wow, small world, huh?

I agree w/ the compression/leakdown testing....However, doesn't the car need to be at operating temp to get an accurate reading, or was I misinformed? I've always been told not to trust a compression test that wasn't performed after a good long run.... With my car getting no fuel or spark, it's hard to pin down any problem until I get the ECU back (and hopefully am able to start it, then go from there)....The engine was fully rebuilt by a previous owner (not the one I bought the car from) and has about 9K miles. ECU crapped out, along with a few other things... a few months later I get the car for dirt cheap because he is sick of trying to figure out what's wrong with her. haha.

Ah, these DSMs! Gotta love 'em....

 

[gridlyne]

I have some advice, coming from another person who bought a non-running DSM:

The previous owner most likely did a whole bunch of wierd stuff to the car before you got it. It sounds like me and you are in the same shoes. We both bought a non-running DSM to get into DSM by fixing them up. Instead of trying to redo everything the way you think the previous owner wanted, set everything back to the way it should be and then start from there. It will save you the headaches of trying to figure things out.

Good luck.

 

[TUI2I30]

However, doesn't the car need to be at operating temp to get an accurate reading, or was I misinformed?

You will get a better reading at normal operating temp if rings are the culprit. My car does not smoke until it gets warm, but the compression test from a cold motor still read lower on the #2. Hopefully you're ok since the motor was rebuilt 9k ago!

Did I mention that mine started out as a BAD ECU?? ECU is fixed and the JDM motor is history!

 

[femmeDSM]

Update, and another short Question....


OK, I replaced the PCV valve and got everything hooked up where it belongs...

One thing kind of bothered me, though -- when I removed the old PCV valve, it looked absolutely horrible. The piece that fits in the valve cover was covered in this thick sludge, and had lots of visible dirt and crap on it. The part had obviously never been changed any time recently -- but w t f ? I have never pulled out something so dirty from any part of an engine.

My plans include to drop the oil pan and see if I find the same sludge in there...I somehow doubt it though, since an oil change didn't show anything out of the ordinary...The dipstick is clean, and the oil that came out of the drain plug looked almost new when I changed it.
Obviously, over time a part like that will build up a lot of crap, but this seemed kind of excessive to me. Is there something else I should check here?

Sorry for bothering everyone w/ so many questions....haha.

Thanks in advance

 

[femmeDSM]

You will get a better reading at normal operating temp if rings are the culprit. My car does not smoke until it gets warm, but the compression test from a cold motor still read lower on the #2. Hopefully you're ok since the motor was rebuilt 9k ago!

Did I mention that mine started out as a BAD ECU?? ECU is fixed and the JDM motor is history!

Lol...These DSMs and their "Bad ECUs" eh?

Thanks for the info though....I seriously thought I was going to have to get the car running in order to do a compression test .... I guess I have no excuse not to try it now. haha. Thanks

 

[tstkl]

i think it would be easier to take the valve cover off and look for sludge there...

as for our ecus... mine went bad too.......

 

[liquidxshadowz]

i had a 93 gs back in the day..the ecu went out on that too, haha

i agree with putting it all back together as it should be first.
(gotta fix it before you mod it, right?)

somone pm me and explain to me how to do a compression test.