I own a 2000 Honda Civic Si. I've had some problems with the idle fluctuating somewhat. I was suggested that the PCV valve could be the source of my problem. What I want to know is where the PCV valve is located at. From what I have found it's by the intake manifold. Can anyone give me a more specific location and is it easy to replace? Thanks in advance...

 

I don't have the same car, but here's a couple possibilities... On my Accord, there's 2 hoses coming from the valve cover. One goes to the intake manifold (downstream of the throttle). It's got a plastic elbow right on the valve cover. That elbow is the PCV valve.

On my Integra the valve looks the same but it located on top of a breather box which is attached to the back of the block, under the intake manifold. Not the easiest thing to reach, but its possible.

 

its the ne in the middle of the valve cover that connects to the IM

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hybridvteceg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its the ne in the middle of the valve cover that connects to the IM</TD></TR></TABLE>Yup, It's very easy to change... Follow the line down from the top of the manifolds plenum... That factory hose is nice and follows the contour of the manifold.. It will probably make it easier if you pull your fuel rail... Then just pop the hose up... With a pair of plyers slide the the clamp up and pull out the PCV valve... Is you car puffing any oil out the back by chance??? This is one indication of a bad PCV valve... There are many other things that will make the idle fluctuate... i.e. TPS voltage, coolant, IAC, etc. Good Luck

 

I dont think your PCV should be bad already.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kataku2K3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is you car puffing any oil out the back by chance??? This is one indication of a bad PCV valve...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sounds easy enough to fix. My car at the current time isn't puffing oil out the back at idle... but when I have gone WOT my friends said I puff out a lot of blackish smoke.

I'll go over the symptoms and see what you guys think. I bought my Civic Si used in August. I can't really remember if the idle has always fluctuated since I bought it or it started afterwards. In any case it usually fluctuates between 300 and 900 rpms at idle. I have noticed something in particular though. If I turn on the a/c while at idle and the rpms are from 300 or 600, they'll go up to 700ish (which is what it should be at). Once I turn the a/c back off they drop down to what they were at.

Yesterday while I was driving I put the car in neutral as I was approaching a red light and my car stalled on its own. I turned it right back on and hasn't done that again, but that has motivated me to really want to get this problem fixed. My car is also about to reach 50,000 miles as well. So any suggestions???


Modified by Marcos at 5:05 PM 4/11/2003

 

Anyone else have any suggestions???

 

is it throwing check engine light??

 

I would check the timing. If your timing is off the computer will make the rpm's go up and down all day long.

 

check the IACV. Pull the harness off it when car is warmed up, if the rpm does not change, replace it or clean it out with carb cleaner.

 

Nope, no CEL.

 

Alright, Marcos, you're in luck... I just replaced the PCV valve in my '99 Si about an hour ago. It is easy, and it only costs a few bucks.
1) Look towards the rear of your engine. You will see a valve that has a right angle bend that is on the intake manifold right behind where it attaches to the head, inbetween the head and the fuel rail. It should be attached to a hose that runs underneath the throttle cable and terminates at a point on the intake manifold on the other side of the fuel rail.

2) The valve should pull out with just a little bit of force. You will probably have to disconnect a couple of the electrical harnesses around it and move the hose which attatches to the valve cover right above it. Once you get it disconnected completetly, give it a good shake. If it does not rattle freely or sounds muddled up at all, it is probably in need of replacement. If you're going to go through all of that trouble to get it free, you might as well have a new one to put on. In between that and the replacement of my fuel filter (which I did at the same time), I got a noticeably smoother idle and better running engine over all. Well, worth the three bucks and change I spent on the PCV valve. Good luck.

P.S. It is by no means necessary to pull out the fuel rail, as was eluded to in an earlier post. Also, my car has less than 70K miles on it and the valve was noticably glogged. I hope this fixes your problem.

 

Exactly what I was looking for! By the way where did you purchase your PCV valve? There isn't a Honda dealership in my town but I was thinking Auto Zone might have it.

 

Autozone is exactly where I got mine from

 

Would a bad PVC cause fluctuating idle?
I want to know before buying because Honda NZ charge $78 for the friggin valve.
Would be far cheaper to get it posted from the US