oil on air filter

[The Guzzer]

hey peeps..
took my car to meineke for oil change, and when changing the air filter (stock), the guy noticed oil on the filter.. the guy right away said that it might be coming from something called "PCV Valve" and it needs replacing
now i have a 99 explorer, limited.. and when the guy looked in his computer for the location of that valve, no where to be found
went to the ford place and they wanna charge me $75 just to inspect it.. heck no..
but anyways... the guy at Meineke said that valve costs like 6 or 7 bux to change..

does anyone know where that thing is on a limited, so i can get back to him and let him change for me..

and is it true that the problem i am having is coming from the pcv valve, or is it worse?

thanx

 

[jimbo74]

should be around the valve cover area in a tube that comes off...... some oil residue in the intake tract is normal as the cranckcase vents into the intake

 

[The Guzzer]

so i would have to remove the whole valve cover to locate it there?

thanx

 

[jimbo74]

no, its on top... its like a little plastic pipe with a ball in it... not exactly sure where it is, but its on a tube that comes out of the valve cover

 

[The Guzzer]

cool. thanx.. will take it tomorrow back to the guy...

 

[jimbo74]

it is a cheap aprt, mine was $3

 

[The Guzzer]

one last question..
this is for the limited edition right?

coz i think the mechanic said that different models have different locations for the pcv valve...

thanx

 

[jimbo74]

some might, im not 100% sure where yours is, but they are all in the general same location.....

 

[SteveVB]

isnt the PCV tube upstream of the MAF ? Seems odd that the Airfilter would have oil on it from the PCV system. It would be a good idea to change it- dealer does it for free up to some amount of miles I thought- emmissions control warranty. May want to ask.

If your filter has oil on it may want to check the MAF unit also.

 

[Bottomlesspit]

Forgive me for not knowing which engine you have........the PCV valve locations are definitely different.
In the 4.0L engines it is located in the valve cover, somewhere near the brake booster.
It is a plastic valve, pushed into a rubber grommet in the valve cover. The valve will have a rubber hose attached to it.
All you have to do is find the valve, pull it straight out of the rubber grommet, push the new one in.
Sometimes you will have to remount a plastic elbow to the valve that connects the rubber hose. Once you find the valve, it should take no more than a couple seconds to replace. Most auto parts stores have a replacement, but with PCV valves I have found the Ford motorcraft replacement ones to be much better. Worth the few extra bucks and the dealer will stock them.
The valve should rattle when out and shaken. If the valve is getting clogged, you might also want to check and clean the rubber tube it connects to. All of it can get pretty clogged up with sludge.
The 5.0 PCV valve is in the rear on the lower intake manifold...definitely hard to get to. It is crammed in the manifold, not too far in front of the firewall, and right about in the middle of the engine.
Oil in the air filter does not sound real good. I would think things are pretty clogged to get oil that far back down the intake tract. I agree with SteveVB, you probably should check out the MAF too.
Anyway, just some more info for you. Let us know how it is going.......
Ken

 

[Opera House]

When the PCV valve is blocked

The blowby vapors come out of the fresh air intake tube of the block. This hose connection is usually very close to the air filter and the MAF. Seems rather new for this problem but stuff happens. A working system should pull a little vacuum on this hose to the engine. Block off the port on the air tube when you test it to keep air ratio correct. It would be possible for a quick fill place to pump oil into this tube when doing an oil change. Was the oil on the filter dirty? I would investigate further before replacing anything. Had this problem with my 89 Jeep. It just soaked the air filter with oil from a swolen gromet.