I was cleaning my flame trap and the nipple on the PCV cup broke off. How important is this and does it need to be replaced? The tubing coming from this nipple has rotted away and obviously this nipple has been open for some time with no obvious effect!

 

The PCV deal is to release pressure from the crank case but i'm not exactly sure how the mechanism works....in any case, i don't think its wise to just leave it open to the ellements.

http://www.vlvworld.com/indexframe.h...0_2_engine.htm

new ones aren't that expensive it would seem....my suggestion is to just replace it

 

You will be pushing crankcase fumes into the atmosphere. Although you may not have noticed an effect on the performance there will be something different.

With kit like this my motto is "The manufacturer put it there for a reason so it is necessary", and, as cbevis says, they aren't too expensive to replace, nor is it a difficult job.

 

Thanks for the replies . I'm still not a whole lot wiser but no doubt the volvo engineers put the thing in for a reason and if I didn't have faith in them I wouldn't be driving their cars (now ford engineers that's different!). Anyway, purchased the kit and will try to fit it without breaking it. Thanks!