I went to change the pcv valve in my 97 4Runner and it was very hard to remove. I thought for sure it was going to break off before I could wiggle it free from the grommet. This is by far the most difficult pcv valve to remove Ive ever seen. I thought maybe it might be the grommet was just old and brittle and that the owner before me never changed the valve so it just got frozen in there but I bought a brand new grommet and put a new valve in and it was just as hard putting it in as it was taking it out. Is this normal. Seems to be a flaw in the design to me. I thought I was going to break the new one trying to get it to seat in the right place. Once it was in, I couldnt make it rotate without fear of snapping it off. Anyone experience this? Im thinking the hole in the metal where the grommet fits in needs to be slightly larger in diameter so the grommet can expand a little so the pcv valve will fit in easier. Mine is so tight I think it might be squishing the sides of the valve in some.

 

Thanks for posting this. Glad I'm not the only one. I tried to take my PCV out of the gromet today and it was a biatch. The gromet was loose in the metal valve cover, but the PCV valve seems to be stuck in the gromet. Okay, I'll go back out and try again. Maybe I should replace the gromet too.