krytellan

When I started this ridiculously unnerving experience a couple of weeks ago I wished there had been some info on it somewhere. So now that I have conquered the task without removing the entire air intake system, I will impart my knowledge to anyone who may find this in a search in the future.

The PCV valve for the aforementioned vehicle is on the passenger side valve cover on the section closer to the firewall. Yes, it's that little innocent looking piece of hell sticking out of the cover (about 4 inches in and under the intake chamber that reads 3.0 in taunting red letters) that has a hose connecting it to a metal tube that runs into the intake. The process as I unveiled it is as follows:

1. Unless you know when this was last done and have no reason to worry, BUY A REPLACEMENT GROMMET (and also very important, get a large pair of needle-nose pliers, preferably with an angled tip) from your local dealership before you even think about starting. You may notice later that this cute piece of rubber looks very little like the several small pieces of plastic you end up pulling, individually and with very long pliers, out of the inside of the valve cover later. Don't be fooled, that plastic actually was rubber 16 years and 220,000 miles ago. Got the new grommet? Good. You may move on. Additional, you may also want to take a chance on 14 inches of hose that fits snugly on your valve, read on for why.

2. You may have noticed that not only is the PCV ridiculous to reach, but it also has a flat-head hose clamp secured over the tip. Get to work. It won't unscrew itself. Come back in a couple hours when that's done. If you're feeling froggy, removing all aspects of the EGR system will make the overall task easier.

3. Remove hose from valve with a show of extreme force. If you're very lucky the hose seems intact. If you're me, the entire end of the hose under the clamp has rotted away and cannot be re-used. Which is quite fantastic because if you were to cut off this rotted part to give it a fresh surface, as I may or may not have done, you will find that by removing the rubber end you have made it unusable as there is a metal "kink-free" insert inside the hose that DOES NOT fit over the valve. You may at this point need to run to your parts store for the appropriate 14 inches of hose if you have not done so.

4. Again, if you're lucky, you can get a hold of the valve with your long pliers, give it a good yank, and it comes out. But, also again, if you're me, you need a large flat head screwdriver, a hammer, and about 30 minutes of anger and patience to chip away the rim of the now plasticized rubber holding the valve in. Either way, the valve is now free and there may or may not be several small pieces of grommet in and around the valve cover that are the remains of the bottom portion of the plasticized grommet.

5. Insert new grommet into hole. This requires some patience and a large flat head screwdriver. TIP: Seat from the back and work forward so you can pry the last millimeter of rubber in at the front with the screwdriver (or reasonable facsimile thereof).

6. Put hose over end of the new valve and secure the hose clamp if needed (or desired). Oil the PCV valve and the grommet up like a stuck pig. No need to be stingy here. The more this part of the process resembles a greasy orgy, the easier it will be. Using your angled pliers, grab hold of the hose that fits over the valve so that the angled tip runs parallel with the hose to the point that the hose ends (angle pointing to the floor). Get it down near the hole and spend the next few hours wiggling it around the hole like a virgin at a brothel. This is where the near angelic amounts of patience is needed. There is no trick here. If you can't find the hole you shoulda stayed home!

7. Plug other end of (new) hose to the intake chamber. If this is a replacement hose, you may notice I suggested 14" so as to prevent a kink from occuring. Replace EGR system as needed and enjoy!

At this point, you can now never say that you were not intimate with your Toyota. And not only should you not be ashamed, but you should be grinning ear-to-ear at a job well done.

Carpenter1

Absolutely brilliant! Ever consider a career as a professional writer? The info was extremely helpful, but the way it was expressed was priceless. Thanks again for the encouragement after a long day didling with what I proclaimed would be a quick fix at about 8 am, its now 9 pm.

MB4runner

Good writeup, just did this on my 99... Even at 11 years old the grommet was plastic and fell into the intake. My god what a pain

xjfiles

This was a great post. The long angled needle nosed pliers did the trick. now if I could only get the new one back in. I think maybe I got the wrong parts.

jason191918

I replaced the PCV one year, then replaced the valve cover gaskets the following year (which requires the removal of the upper intake).

In my opinion it is easier to just remove the upper. It sucked like no other to replace the PCV w/ the upper in place.

DannySea

Wish I read this before i tried to do mine. I ended up taking off the intake and it was hell of a lot easier from there. Good post take it to heart to those who are about to do this repair.

1991YotaDog

The dealership wants $30 for a new PCV hose. What did you get at the parts store to avoid kinking the hose with that bend?

gobbler87

Excellent and hilarious post! I replaced mine yesterday following these directions exactly. All I ended up using was long needle nose pliers and one long screwdriver. Getting the old grommet out was the hardest part; took about 20 minutes. Overall, it took about an hour to get the old valve out and the new one back in. I was intimidated by some of the stories I had read, but glad I went ahead and tried it. Patience is definitely the key!

90YotaPU

Just wanted to share my experience with this. It is true that it can be done without removing the intake manifold. My suggestions / what worked for me:
- instead of using a paid of 45 or 90 degree pliers to pull out the old one, reach in and give it a good pull with your hand or use regular pliers.
- since it is so tight under there and Toyota should have really used a 90 degree pcv valve, I went to Pep Boys and bought a replacement hose to run between the valve and the manifold. The replacement hose has a 90 degree elbow in it. It is made by Dorman and says it's made for a Ford. To make it a little easier, I trimmed a section of the hose that goes over the valve (probably about a 1/4").
- I tried all different ways to get the new one back in. I tried putting the grommet in and then the valve with the hose already on it, I tried assembling everything including the grommet and then putting it all in together, and I tried doing each piece individually. The only way it worked was to put each piece in separately.
For me, it took about an hour to do it. It was very cold out and I had to keep running over to the fire to warm up.

akmom75

So eloquently put! The long needle nose angled pliers were the ticket. It took a few hours to get the old one out but the new one went in pretty quick. Grommet first, hose attached to new valve (oiled up) and used the long pliers to hold in the hole, tapped the end of the pliers with a hammer and it went right in. Runs great! Thank you, thank you!!


89 Toyota Extended Cab Pickup, EFI 3.0, V6 246,000 miles