LAFireboyd

iTrader: (3)

Ok, this should be pretty simple... one would think. I just got this '89 TBI a little over a month ago. It's engine has supposedly been rebuilt(it does run very well), but I don't have any idea what was done to it. But so far, two different smog techs have said its pcv routing has been modified. It sure looks normal to me. And other people I've shown it to have also said it's right.

One tech described how it's supposed to be set-up, but I haven't found any cars set-up like he's said. I did, however, find a schematic diagram of the TBI's pcv set-up, and it does appear to route like the tech told me. But no cars I've found actually look like that. They've all looked like mine.

I've looked at A LOT of engine pix, but few are stock, or it's simply too hard to get a good look at the pcv set-ups, so those haven't helped. I've looked at TBIs in junkyards, but most have been dismantled to some extent, if not completely removed or destroyed, so that hasn't helped either.

So I'm hoping that some of you who still have stock engines will help me out here by taking and posting a good, clear pic of your stock pcv connections. I've attached some pix of mine, too, so maybe someone can tell me what's missing.

Thanks to anyone who can offer their assistance.

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

I wouldnt worry alot about how its actually hooked up. The only thing you need is to have the actual PCV valve hooked to the throttle body and have the opposite line coming out of the vavle cover hooked to the filter in the air cleaner. The idea is that the fresh air is drawn in thru the small filter in the air cleaner and thru the crank case. Then, the blowby and other gasses are pulled in thru the PCV valve in the valve cover and into the TBI to be burned in the engine. The purpose of the PCV itself is to limit how much the engine can pull in from the crank case to prevent stalls at idle or excessive idle speed. IIRC, the large molded rubber line in the pass. side valve cover should go to the breather/filter in the air cleaner and the molded rubber/plastic line in the drivers side valve cover should go to the large vacuum port in the front of the TBI unit on stock setups.

racer J

So what would cause oil to be drug up through the tube into the small filter housed in the air cleaner and collect down in the air cleaner's base. Wouldn't that mean the system is working in reverse?

LAFireboyd

iTrader: (3)

But that's the thing... I do have to worry about is how it's actually hooked up. I know how it and the system works, and it all does work, but that's not good enough here in CA. It has to be hooked up correctly, or it won't(and didn't) pass the visual portion of the smog test.

Supposedly, the hose comes off the valve and connects to a narrower diameter plastic tube, that tube connects to a 90* elbow, similar to a spark plug boot(the tech even said I could use a spark plug boot for this part), and the elbow connects to the throttle body. But mine has(was set-up with when I got it) the hose only, and that won't pass. And I've found nothing different and definitely nothing like what I just described. So that's why I'm hoping someone can post a pic of a 'proper' connection.

Apparently, it's the plastic tube that's the 'important' part. Being of smaller diameter than the hose, its size imposes the proper 'restriction' on what's drawn from the crankcase... or so he said(if I understood him correctly).

Thanks.

ResurrectingZ

He sounds a little **** retentive to me on how it looks. Mine is just a rubber hose, no bends other than the hose itself. I have had to use spark plug boots to get by a few times on my cousin's car, great reducers for getting in there. I would have to say to just do it to make him happy and "fix" it when its over with. IMO.

icarus402001

My PCV valve has the 90 built in It just connects to the hose to the throttle body.

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

He's completly FOS... Another formality designed to give you a hard time.

The thing that imposes the restriction is the PCV valve. If the car isnt idling at 2000 RPM, the internals of the valve move freely, and its hooked up properly, then the PCV system is working. The only potential issue with just a hose is that it can collapse after years of exposure to oil. Thats why they have that hard nylon line. FWIW, you can buy that type of line from an autoparts store and bend it to make a new PCV line.

LAFireboyd

iTrader: (3)

I'd completely agree that he's FOS, if a completely different tech hadn't also failed it for the same reason. But just because either or both of them might be "FOS," that, alone, won't get me a pass, lol. So I was hoping to get some pix of other's stock set-ups to use as evidence.

I'll just keep checking-out junkyard cars. Maybe I'll get lucky and find one that's somewhat intact. But thanks for your input.

I'd still like to see some pix, though, if anyone feels compelled enough to post some.

thomas1976

LAFireboyd,
all the hoses on your pics are stock and at the stock place. I can e-mail you some pics but have a air box with plugged thermac (port S).

Problem must be somewere else post more pics of the intake + and inside air cleaner box.

LAFireboyd

iTrader: (3)

As I said in my original post and a few of you confirmed, my connection is correct, and I have my physical proof.

Knowing my local dealer wouldn't be able to get any of the parts I supposedly lacked, I'd ruled-out going there. But this afternoon I realized the guy I regularly buy parts from could, at least, printout an exploded view of the '89 TBI engine for me, and he did. So here's what I cropped-out to attach: grommet, valve, hose, clamp... period!

And even though the hose I have on it IS of the correct type, since it was only a buck a foot for a new piece, I got a new one and a new Delco valve, too. So now it'll be obvious that it's all new.

The full-version of this exploded pic(that show's in the margin that it's from GM) will be going with me when I re-visit the testing place to prove it's correct, too. So problem solved!

Thanks, guys, for your input.

Edit: on second thought, I'm gonna leave it as is and take it back with my proof and say, "SEE?!"