I don't know if anyone's reading this at this time, but if so, I was wondering if anyone knows if it's ok to substitute hosing for the PCV valve. This was on my other car, a 99 Mitsubishi Eclipse, but you guys normally respond more thoroughly than other forums. Anyway, the valve hadn't been changed in a while and when I went to pull it off, part of the hose came with it.

All of the auto parts stores are closed and I was wondering if anyone knew if I could find the right type of hose at Walmart or do I need to make a run to the auto parts store early in the morning?

Thanks!

 

Walmart usually doesn't carry hose like that.(Atleast the one by me)

I would just wait till the morning and hit the parts store.

 

Good evening 99VolvoV70,

>I don't know if anyone's reading this at this time,
Yep, since I live in Japan at the moment, I canact as a night-shift person. So, this forum is pretty much 24/7/365 assistance kind of deal, like no other forums. When it's the night time in the West, it's usually the opposite in the East.

Anyway, the rubber hose is nothing more than, well, rubber hose so you can substitute with another rubber hose. However, I personally wouldn't get one from Walmart, as they mostly sell stuff that are made in xxxxx and I am not sure about the quality.If you are not in a terrible hurry, I would bring the hose to a local auto parts store or hardware store for size (diameter & length) comparison and look for some heat-resistant hose. It does not have to be red-hot resistant, but as you know the engine compartment gets pretty hot so you want to make sure that the engine does not catch on fire. If the hose is long enough, you can cut the broke-away end but I assume the entire hose is about to get dry-rotted so putting a new hose may be the best alternative.

Also, be sure to replace the PCV valve, preferably with OEM valve. As an emergency, you can drive the car with the hose detached, but don't drive it any more than 2 days or so. And expect a bit of drivability problem (may not be noticeable) and CEL might turn on.

I hope this gets you started.

Good night,


JPN

 

Thanks tech and JPN!

Actually as I was writing that I was thinking that if anybody would be online it'd be you, JPN. Anyway, I'm just waiting until morning. I was hoping to get a bunch of things done tonight, but since I'm going to get dirty again tomorrow, I'm just putting it off until tomorrow.

Since you mentioned it, the reason the hose is broken is because I was changing the PCV valve - they hose was pretty much melted onto the valve! So - here's a lesson for anyone who happens to read this: proper maintenance really is a good idea. Somewhere along the way, I started treating my Eclipse very poorly. I bought it brand new in Oct '99 and let the dealer do all of the prescribed maintenance for about the two years (they offered discounts and free oil changes for life when I bought the car). Anyway, after 2 years I moved away from my small town in CT to a DC suburban apartment. I didn't have my own garage and car mechanics weren't cheap. From that point on almost all of the maintenance was performed when I would make drives up to visit my family back in CT so I could use my dad's garage (and tools). As you can imagine, that was somewhat rare. I did manage to change my timing belt, brakes and some other obvious maintenance jobs, but started neglecting the car because of my busy lifestyle and expensive mechanics. Oil changes went from every 3K miles to about 6-10K miles. I got a leaky valve cover gasket, bought the new gasket and related supplies, but never had time to do it. So I still have the parts now (about 50K miles later).

So, now I'm up to 150K miles, I've moved to Alabama whereI can afford a house with a garageand I decided I'd better start taking care of maintaining the car since I want to drive it until it completely dies. Tonight I planned to change the oil, air filter, fuel filter, PCV valve, flush the coolant, rotate the tires, flush the coolant and change the leaky gasket. Anyway, the engine is disgusting - it is so gunked up, I don't know how it's running. The oil and coolant was very murky. Hopefully, over the next few weeks, I'll get some major clean-up done and the car will run for a few more years. I've got to say, this speaks very well for the 2.0L DOHC Chrysler engine that's in the car. I'm impressed with how well it's kept up over the (6) years of abuse.

Hope you enjoyed the story of my poor vehicle treatment. Now that I have a garage of my own, I promise never to let it happen again!

 

Glad you are seeing the Maintance problems. We all do some of it from time to time.

But we all see the light at some time and get back to treating the cars right.

 

Glad your Three-Diamond is getting back to shape.

I personally think that PCV system, coolant & brake fluids are the most neglected items among drivers in the U.S.

Anyway, I won't worry about you as you now know what to do.

Tech'll be your daytime assistant, while I'll be your late-night assistant.

Have a good weekend,


JPN

 

Thanks guys. I think most of my problems occur in the late-night realm, because I tend to do the work after my son goes to sleep (unless it's a big job that is going to take the better part of a day). But I can't get parts until the daytime, so I'm sure I'll continue to appreciate the help you both provide.

Anyway, I was able get the right hose at Autozone for just $1 and it fit on there perfectly. I had to put off the valve cover gasket until the next free day, because there are a bunch of things we have to do to get ready for a long drive to CT (our son's first birthday). It's about 1000 miles each way, we're taking the Volvo and we'll be hauling a trailer back with a motorcycle, workbench and possibly a riding lawn mower (the mower only for the last 300 miles). So, when I get back from that I'm going to tackle the gasket replacement and while I'm at new spark plugs, fuel filter and whatever else I decide to check off my long list of jobs.

Hope you have a nice weekend as well.

P.S. I'd add clutch (transmission) fluid to that list of neglected items. I let that go completelyempty about 3 years ago and all of a sudden it was very difficult to shift gears (manual transmission). Fill it back up and all of a sudden, I'm shifting smooth as silk.

 

Good evening 99V70,

I too, find that problems (cars, health, etc...) often arise during night time when thereis limited access to shops, hospitals, etc.

I'm glad you've found the right hose for your Mitsu. Valve cover gasket won't be a problem for you. I think most Japanese makes use NGK plugs (Platinum or Iridium). Not sure who makes OEM fuel filters for Mitsu.

You probably know by now, that hydro-clutch becomes hard to shift if the fluid goes too low, as the clutch is not releasing from the flywheel completely.

Here's a maintenance tip thread in which I have 2 very long posts. They are for 850, but can also be used for other makes as a reference.

https://volvoforums.com/m_48928/tm.htm

Have a safe trip, and happy birthday for your son.

Good night,


JPN