Take a look at the pic below. I was working on my 3.0 V6 and saw it on the back of the intake manifold with the other coolant sensors. There was one line coming off of it, but when I pulled on it it broke off. It looks like the bottom nipple has been broken off for a while. Does anyone know what this sensor is? Should I find another one or should I just put it back in and plug the valc lines?

 

Broke mine when I was doing the head gasket too its called the "bimetal switching vacuum valve." Not exactly sure what it does but I would replace it if I was you.

Found this that Mudhippy posted

"BVSV(Bimetallic Vacuum Switching Valve).
Is it connected to the hose that goes to the charcoal canister(EVAP) and the other hose going to the throttle body? If so, it regulates the flow of the vapors collected in the canister to the intake. It opens allowing flow when the engine is running warm enough to handle the enrichment. And closes when the engine cools, at which point the charcoal canister absorbs the excess vapors from the fuel tank for later use."

 

*Edit - just re-read the post above.

 

IIRC it costs about $170 at the dealer. I had to buy one for my old 3.0 and ended up breaking the new one while installing it. If you can find both nipples just superglue it, that's what I resorted to.

 

Id just head to a wrecking yard or look on craigslist. Should be about $10 probably

 

Do I really need it to run correctly? It seems like I could just plug the side that goes to the intake and call it good. What do you guys think?

 

Should just be for emissions. Mine ran fine without it but the guys at emissions station noticed the hose dangling from the charcoal canister and wouldn't pass me until it was repaired. If you replace it, try junkyards first like drmix said, I just didn't have any luck with mine.

 

$50 at http://www.toyotapartszone.com (part number 90925-05047). I paid $65 at my local dealer about 4 years ago. Like many others on this site, I too, tried gluing it back together at first. The problem is that the plastic had become crumbly over time exposed to the heat at the back of the engine, and there really wasn't anything to glue to. So that didn't work for me. (But gluing a new one that was just broken probably would work ....)

Good luck with that. The reason that so many of us have the same problem is that the part doesn't age well (though 23 years is nothing to sneeze at!) For the extra $40, this is one part worth buying new.

The part empties the excess fuel vapors trapped in the charcoal canister. While the truck will run okay without it (if plugged), you'll quickly fill the canister. On a warm day your truck will always smell like it has a fuel leak (and if you really have a fuel leak, you won't be able to tell).

Plus you'll be filling the air all of us breath with raw gasoline.

 

I wonder how it would run if I just connected the intake to the canister and bypassed the sensor? Do you think it would idle rough until it warmed up? Has anyone tried that?