PCV valve, Sea-Foam and Tune-Up for 1999 Explorer 302 AWD V8 302 8 cylinder

[dalsox2235]

Hi all,
Dont know exactly how old these posts are, I just scan the forum from time to time for help. I've been wanting to change my PCV valve for some time and didnt know where to look. Well after reading thru this thread, I determined it was near the back of the engine (i'm not very mechanically inclined, btw). Anyways, my first instinct was to feel around in the only place my hand would fit, which was just to the left of the top bolt, squeezing thru the wiring harness (which I shoulda just un-bolted and moved outta the way). I felt a hose just underneath another small wiring harness and gave a slight tug. Pop, came right out, first reaction was "s**t. what was that?" Then I figured I would pull it up just to have a look. There it was, just staring at me A PCV valve! I couldnt believe it. So I pulled the old one off, which was straight, and put the new one on, which had a 90' bend. Needless to say, uneasy fit. Put the old one back on and called Ford, they said they have one for $11 (I paid 3 for mine) that has a removable elbow, which got me to thinking. So I looked at my new one, and sure enough, off came the elbow. Went back out and in 2 minutes had a new Pcv installed.
I'm just a little uncomfortable with how easy they can pop out of the engine, is that normal? Almost seems like it just sits in the hole, with just the smallest amount of tension.

One more thing, Ive seen the seafoam treatment on here, Does the seafoam go in the hose the PCV came off of, or the hole it goes into?
And after the treatment, do you have to drive around, or can you just let the car run in your driveway? Sorry about the book guys!


BTW, I have a '99 Mounty 5.0, 91,000 miles

 

[philo]

my best recollection is you put it in the tube, not the hole (see earlier post where i put it in the hole, and not the tube).

i took a drive. i believe the posted advice was a "spirited drive," so i did just that.

nice work.
have fun.

philo

 

[Cali' Explorer]

Well, I think there are 2 suggestions where it should go, but if you are doing it through the PCV, it should definitely be on the Hose. The other end just goes into the block/oil pan.

Also, with the tension, that is how they are designed. When I rebuilt my 5.0, I bought a new seal and PCV just in case, and they fit just as loosely as my 90k one. As it is, they aren't really taking much pressure, just whatever blow-by if recollection serves.

Also, I have a write-up on how to change this out, including the part numbers for the PCV valves I got. They fit just right without needing a removable elbow. You can see it here: http://www.steven-west.com/explorer/explorer_pcv.htm

Good luck.

 

[celly]

Hi all,
Dont know exactly how old these posts are, I just scan the forum from time to time for help. I've been wanting to change my PCV valve for some time and didnt know where to look. Well after reading thru this thread, I determined it was near the back of the engine (i'm not very mechanically inclined, btw). Anyways, my first instinct was to feel around in the only place my hand would fit, which was just to the left of the top bolt, squeezing thru the wiring harness (which I shoulda just un-bolted and moved outta the way). I felt a hose just underneath another small wiring harness and gave a slight tug. Pop, came right out, first reaction was "s**t. what was that?" Then I figured I would pull it up just to have a look. There it was, just staring at me A PCV valve! I couldnt believe it. So I pulled the old one off, which was straight, and put the new one on, which had a 90' bend. Needless to say, uneasy fit. Put the old one back on and called Ford, they said they have one for $11 (I paid 3 for mine) that has a removable elbow, which got me to thinking. So I looked at my new one, and sure enough, off came the elbow. Went back out and in 2 minutes had a new Pcv installed.
I'm just a little uncomfortable with how easy they can pop out of the engine, is that normal? Almost seems like it just sits in the hole, with just the smallest amount of tension.

Damn, now you have me thinking I should take another stab at it. Not only to replace the PCV, but to Seafoam as well. I tried in vain many times several months ago. It was discouraging.

 

[rizzjc]

Hi all,
Dont know exactly how old these posts are, I just scan the forum from time to time for help. I've been wanting to change my PCV valve for some time and didnt know where to look. Well after reading thru this thread, I determined it was near the back of the engine (i'm not very mechanically inclined, btw). Anyways, my first instinct was to feel around in the only place my hand would fit, which was just to the left of the top bolt, squeezing thru the wiring harness (which I shoulda just un-bolted and moved outta the way). I felt a hose just underneath another small wiring harness and gave a slight tug. Pop, came right out, first reaction was "s**t. what was that?" Then I figured I would pull it up just to have a look. There it was, just staring at me A PCV valve! I couldnt believe it. So I pulled the old one off, which was straight, and put the new one on, which had a 90' bend. Needless to say, uneasy fit. Put the old one back on and called Ford, they said they have one for $11 (I paid 3 for mine) that has a removable elbow, which got me to thinking. So I looked at my new one, and sure enough, off came the elbow. Went back out and in 2 minutes had a new Pcv installed.
I'm just a little uncomfortable with how easy they can pop out of the engine, is that normal? Almost seems like it just sits in the hole, with just the smallest amount of tension.

One more thing, Ive seen the seafoam treatment on here, Does the seafoam go in the hose the PCV came off of, or the hole it goes into?
And after the treatment, do you have to drive around, or can you just let the car run in your driveway? Sorry about the book guys!


BTW, I have a '99 Mounty 5.0, 91,000 miles

2 PCV valves, and the entire valve and tubes, later, I discovered the elbow came off.

 

[rizzjc]

Damn, now you have me thinking I should take another stab at it. Not only to replace the PCV, but to Seafoam as well. I tried in vain many times several months ago. It was discouraging.

Come one! You can do it! It's there. I promise!

 

[rizzjc]

Oh, BTW, since it comes right out of the hole easily after all of those miles, I also yanked the grommet out, and replaced that (well, the entire piece I got came with the tubes, grommet, and PCV). A little trickier, since the new one is a tight fit, but I have a 2 foot screwdriver I was able to get down there to push the sides down all the way.

 

[bluexplorer1]

hey guys, let me run this by you... when i did the seafoam on my 5.0 eddie bauer this weekend, the directions on this site basically said to let the vehicle stall out when finished adding the seafoam. i put in about 3/4 of a can then i let it stall by taking my thumb off the pcv hose (that i poured the seafoam into) and i heard a knocking noise. not a pinging noise... a loud knocking noise! i immediately recovered the pcv hose and had my wife turn the vehicle off. the noise lasted about 5-10 seconds. i let the truck sit for 15-20 minutes and the vehicle started up fine. no check engine lights and it gave a hell of a smoke show. then i took it on a "spirited" drive. everything seemed fine.

now my question...could i have messed something up in my engine (like pistons, valves, connecting rods, etc.) and not know it? i did not hear any abnormal noises from the engine when i test drove it after all this, but it was raining very hard so it is hard to tell.

should i be worried at all?

thanks guys

 

[Cali' Explorer]

I wouldn't be too worried about it. Most likely the knocking you heard was from the seafoam not igniting (and pushing fuel out of the way) and the ECM trying to compensate for it to keep things running. If you had killed something, you would most likely it know it on the next startup (IE: It would continue to make the knocking noise or you would hear some squealing from metal on metal, etc...).

Personally, I would say on an ECM controlled vehicle you are better off not stalling the motor out as the directions say, and just shutting it off as you put in the last bit of SeaFoam, but that's just my .02.

 

[Zero Signal]

Personally, I would say on an ECM controlled vehicle you are better off not stalling the motor out as the directions say, and just shutting it off as you put in the last bit of SeaFoam, but that's just my .02.

That is how I performed my SeaFoam application. I just killed the motor after adding the last bit of SeaFoam... I never let it stall out completely.

 

[bluexplorer1]

is it normal to have any of the infamous valve tap sound? i hear a slight ticking noise (like a baseball card in the spokes of a bicycle wheel). i can only hear this noise when the hood is up and i have to listen close to hear it.

 

[Zoey710]

Hunt for the elusive PCV Valve.

Well, I called my brother over to help get to the pcv. We thought the plenum was going to HAVE to come off, and weren't too happy about all this work for a $5 part.

After a little more exploration, and the great pictures somebody posted of the 5.0 engine out of truck. Here's how I finally got to my PCV. Nice new one installed on 5.0 with 178k miles. The one I took out was pretty fugly.

AFTER DISCONNECTING BATTERY, I unhooked all the main engine harness and pushed it out of the way. Even with my "lady" hands, it was a tight fit without pulling the plenum off. There's no way I would have been able to reach back there without moving the wire harness! I tried a step stool and chair, then finally said *#($ it.

So don't give up guys, there is hope

 

[bphodgesus]

Seafoam OMG

Yesterday I replaced my PCV and infused a can of Seafoam. I had read all of the posted accounts about the billows of smoke produced, but I (nor the people in a 2 square mile area around my home) were quite ready for this. I didn't notice the smoke as I was infusing the Seafoam due to a slight breeze at my back, but when I went to kill the motor I saw a huge white cloud floating over my garage and my neighbors driveway and garage. When I started it up after letting the ex sit for about an hour the constant stream of voluminous white fog all but obliterated my rear view of the street as I drove out of my street and on to a larger artery. When looking behind me cars were switching on their headlights, with several just pulling over to the side of the road to sit it out. This went on for some time as I drove about a 8 mile circuit around town. The glares I was getting from people for driving such an obnoxious beast single handedly increasing the earths temperature by a few degrees celsius. And all of this on the holiest of days 07/07/07 thats right Al Gore Concert Day! Damn how insensitive of me. Well It took a while to clear, I still have a bit of hesitation and will probably run a can through my gas tank to clean the injectors and re-inspect my plugs. But hey there was 125k worth of carbonaceous crap and varnish to clean up. In a couple of weeks I will probably run some through the crank case and change my oil so that to paraphrase the short lady in poltergeist "...this engine is clean".

 

[eddie mischief]

I've been hearing about this "seafoam", and my explorer runs great like the day bought it with 50k. I do have 130k now, wouldn't doing this completely destroy my engine... In other words I'm skeptic as ####!

 

[aldive]

I do have 130k now, wouldn't doing this completely destroy my engine...

No

 

[ChriszTruck]

Yesterday I replaced my PCV and infused a can of Seafoam. I had read all of the posted accounts about the billows of smoke produced, but I (nor the people in a 2 square mile area around my home) were quite ready for this. I didn't notice the smoke as I was infusing the Seafoam due to a slight breeze at my back, but when I went to kill the motor I saw a huge white cloud floating over my garage and my neighbors driveway and garage. When I started it up after letting the ex sit for about an hour the constant stream of voluminous white fog all but obliterated my rear view of the street as I drove out of my street and on to a larger artery. When looking behind me cars were switching on their headlights, with several just pulling over to the side of the road to sit it out. This went on for some time as I drove about a 8 mile circuit around town. The glares I was getting from people for driving such an obnoxious beast single handedly increasing the earths temperature by a few degrees celsius. And all of this on the holiest of days 07/07/07 thats right Al Gore Concert Day! Damn how insensitive of me. Well It took a while to clear, I still have a bit of hesitation and will probably run a can through my gas tank to clean the injectors and re-inspect my plugs. But hey there was 125k worth of carbonaceous crap and varnish to clean up. In a couple of weeks I will probably run some through the crank case and change my oil so that to paraphrase the short lady in poltergeist "...this engine is clean".

That's freakin funny, thanks for the laugh.

 

[0mn1p0tent]

1996 Explorer XLT V8 PCV Valve Location FOUND!

After an hour of searching in the locations denoted in my Haynes manual and various web sites I still could not find the PCV valve or hoses. Bottom line on my particualr Explorer you cannot see it in the engine compartment. It is WELL hidden so don't even bother looking even with a flashlight. You have to feel around and find it.

Allow vehicle to completely cool:

1. Stand on the passenger side and reach down between the transmission
dipstick and the intake manifold.

2. Feel your way on the passenger side towards the center of the engine. You will find a hose that wiggles fairly easily. Trace it to the PCV valve. Once you find it pull straight up. (I'm a short italian guy so I had to use a step stool to get the angle and reach in elbow deep to grasp the hose)

3. The hose is just long enough to bend upwards so you can see the PCV valve. Remove the valve from the hose and hook the hose on something so you will be sure to find it again.

[My vehicle did not require the L shaped stem attached to the replacement PCV as the hose has a 90 degree bend to it. If necessary work the plastic stem from the PCV valve and discard.]

4. Attach the PCV Valve to the hose.

5. Again you cannot see the grommet where the PCV will insert so let the hose return to it's natural position to get you into the area of the grommet.

6. Push the PCV valve back down until it seats securely in the grommet.

 

[Cali' Explorer]

Glad you were able to find it on your own. Since I have posted this once or twice before, and it has helped others in the past, here it goes again:

http://www.steven-west.com/explorer/explorer_pcv.htm

 

[MountaineerGreen]

That link is extremely helpful, I can't believe it's still up.

 

[Cali' Explorer]

I keep it up just for you guys