93 Honda Civic VX horrible fuel economy

[benfrogg]

Here's a link to the PCV from advance.
Purolator
Beck-Arnley

[imzjustplayin]

Considering the age of these vehicles, I strongly recommend replacing all the vacuum hoses going to and from the PCV valve, the grommet, and at the very least, cleaning all of the connectors in between such as the elbows. The PCV valve should cost like $5 and while I do like cleaning stuff versus replacing, it's really a good idea to just replace the valve because you don't necessarily know how well these valves should flow compared to when they're new. I thought the valve in my civic was good cause it did make a little click when shaken and I could blow through it, however when I bought the PCV valve from napa, it truly rattled and I could blow air through it a lot better than the old one.

I've read somewhere that these valves should be clean and basically last the life of the car IF the car has frequent oil changes and is maintained well and or had lots of highway driving. I believe this because my civic averaged 16K miles per year before I bought it and the valve technically didn't go bad until the car wasn't being driven for over a year.

[benfrogg]

I don't disagree. For the price of the parts, assuming the new aftermarket part fits as well as the old and seals well, it's worth replacing. However, the part itself is super simple. Yes, it's hard to clean it internally, but not that hard. I got mine squeeky clean and flowing well. Maybe buying a new one just to compare flow would be worth it.

As with any old vacuum lines, it goes without saying that it's best to replace them. That's why I spray everything with cleaner to see if there are leaks. Small cracks can go unnoticed and cause problems.

Me being a tightwad, (and increasingly for enviro reasons) I like to try and get as much life out of everything I own that I can. I'm not a consumer. I hate that word and the implications that go along with it.
I recommend people replace these parts, whereas I'd try and re-use them if I could. Do as I say, not as I do!

Good suggestions *************
B

[add|ct]

Unfortunately, I have only so much experience with cars until now. I can't recall which ones are, but some of the hoses are like melted onto the metal parts of the intake manifold. Any tips to loosen them up if/when I replace them?

I may replace the PCV valve and be done with it, though I will report the condition it's in once I remove it tomorrow.

[imzjustplayin]

Originally Posted by add|ct

Unfortunately, I have only so much experience with cars until now. I can't recall which ones are, but some of the hoses are like melted onto the metal parts of the intake manifold. Any tips to loosen them up if/when I replace them?

I may replace the PCV valve and be done with it, though I will report the condition it's in once I remove it tomorrow.

Well it's a good idea to buy a few feet of vacuum and water hoses and just go to town replacing each one, individually, one at a time. As for the difficulty removing the vacuum hose for the PCV valve, I agree, it's hard to remove. In fact, as a test, I installed the new PCV valve with a new vacuum hose, then tried removing it and found it was just as difficult to remove as when I first removed the hose to replace the valve. It might have to do with the fact that the PCV valve is a one way valve and it's creating suction, making removal difficult. I used the flat edge of a screw driver and lightly pried the hose away from the manifold which was enough for me to twist and wiggle the hose off the manifold with my fingers. I don't recommend cutting the hoses because you'll need them intact when you go to replace them and are sizing up the new vacuum hose that you're going to cut out. Since I bought two feet of vacuum hoses, I ended up replacing the PCV valve hose and one hose going from the manifold to the evap solenoid.

[add|ct]

Okay, well I just checked on the vehicle and followed the hose under the 'elbow' location down to a big metal black housing of some sort. I didn't feel the valve outside of the black housing, no clamp or anything.

Does this mean I have to remove the bolt of the housing and pull the housing away to access the PCV valve itself or do I not have a PCV valve like Ben does?, which would be crazy because I have the same year vehicle.

[add|ct]

Okay, here is what blows my mind, the online service manual treats the 'elbow' as the PCV valve:

http://www.redpepperracing.com/techn...2995-2/afj.png

There is no mention of what Ben found.

[GasSavers_WD40]

I just checked mine and it is there .. removed it easily and it was very clean and functioning properly.
Thanks for the heads up on locating it.

[imzjustplayin]

Originally Posted by add|ct

Okay, well I just checked on the vehicle and followed the hose under the 'elbow' location down to a big metal black housing of some sort. I didn't feel the valve outside of the black housing, no clamp or anything.

The part where the hose connects to that black housing... THAT is what needs to be removed...

[benfrogg]

Yes, the part is located at the end of the vacuum hose. Almost all of it is inserted into the breather box. You dont have to remove the breather to get to it. There may not be a clamp if the previous owner didn't put it back on. Pull on the hose towards the drivers side of the car. You can look down the top of IM and see it coming out. I spun the hose over towards the altenator so it would be easier to get the pcv valve out.

Use the majestic honda diagram; it's part #2 in the picture.
B