What Does A PCV Valve Do? Best Answer

PCV is the Positive Crankcase Ventilation, a device used in early vehicles. By the time the valve starts malfunctioning that you feel the need to replace it. Keeping an eye on the ignition system can be a quick way if something is wrong with the valve. However, there are other signs too and today we are going to describe you the same along with factors like ‘what does a PCV valve do’ and the replacement process.

What Does A PCV Valve Do? Know Here

PCV, the overall functioning of the valve is to turn the gases to an ideal route. The valve makes the gases travel into the exhaust system. The catalytic converter there turns these gases into much less toxic fumes that later get released to the air.

The valve also keeps the oil from getting moisture, and hence, you feel less need to change the vehicle oil. The engine cools down, and the oil substance form water droplets due to the condensation process. This water, as a result, gets mixed into oil and affects its efficiency and overall life cycle of oil.

what does a PCV valve do- the answer is here
The valve makes the gases travel into the exhaust system (Photo Source: wikimedia)

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Replacing The PCV Valve

Now that you have an idea about ‘what does a PCV valve do’, let’s talk about the replacement part.

PCV like any other tool or component needs to be maintained timely and get repaired if there is a need. The reasons for malfunctioning can be many and regular usage is one of the causes that make you get a new valve because the old one does not simply work fine.

Well before you spend any money, you should always ensure if the issue you are encountering with your automobile is because of PCV. Knowing the replacement signs can be a great help, let’s see what these replacement signs are:

When a vehicle with PCV tends to feel an increased pressure in the internal engine , it is a sign. Also, if you see any oil seals failure, it is a sign too. Sometimes, engine oil leaks because of malfunctioning PCV or if there is black smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe.

If you notice any of these things, you can go straight and check the PCV valve. A PCV serves around 80,000 miles, so after covering that much amount of duration, one can have a professional PCV check.

Locating a PCV can be tricky in some automobiles. But if you are someone who has done enough DIY with the vehicle, it won’t be an issue to you. You can always read the manual that comes with your automobile and locate the PCV. Read out more Maintenance Tips here.

Once you have located the valve, you can find the exit hose where you need to twist it a bit. The twist breaks it out, and you can pull out the valve. In the next step, you can easily replace it. In some automobiles, you may need to quarter turn the valve to break out for the replacement. Analyze accordingly by having a look at your manual.

what does a PCV valve do- the things that you need to know now
The twist breaks it out, and you can pull out the valve (Photo Source: hotcars)

Conclusion

Replacing a valve or PCV is not a troublesome process. One can have it the DIY way or take your car to a professional. While ending the write-up here, we hope you now know ‘what does a PCV valve do’ and how to identify the symptoms that the PCV is problematic. Observe the symptoms and have a replacement for the same.