AFS Service

Today’s Appleton car care article focuses on PCV valve replacement. The PCV valve is a little, inexpensive part that does a big job for your midside sedan. PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation.

The crankcase is the bottom area of the engine that holds the oil. When the midside sedan engine’s running, fuel is burned to generate power. Most of the exhaust from combustion goes out through the exhaust system. But some exhaust blows by the pistons and goes into the lower engine, or crankcase.

These hot gases are about seventy percent unburned fuel. This can dilute and contaminate the oil, leading to damaging engine oil sludge. It can also cause engine corrosion in your midside sedan. At high speeds, the pressure can build up to the point that gaskets and seals start to leak.

Appleton car owners need to know that over time, the vented gases will gum up the PCV valve and it won’t work well. That can lead to all of the problems I’ve already described, oil leaks, excessive oil consumption and wasted gas.

Fortunately, it’s very easy to test the PCV valve and quick and inexpensive to replace it at AFS Service. Even so, it’s often overlooked because many Appleton drivers don’t know about it.

Check your midside sedan owner’s manual or ask your AFS Service advisor. If this is the first time you’ve heard of a PCV valve, you might be in line for a PCV valve replacement.

Please ask us about your PCV valve. For the price of a couple of burger combo meals, you can avoid some very expensive deep engine repairs.

At AFS Service in Hortonville WI (54944) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 920.779.4199. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

The WI push for fuel economy has the benefit of using less gas as well as fewer emissions in our local Hortonville environment. Cars and trucks run cleaner than ever.

Many people in the Hortonville area may not realize that the first federally mandated pollution control device was in 1960: the PCV valve.

‘PCV’ stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation. The crankcase is the lower part of the engine where the crankshaft is housed and where the engine oil lives. When fuel is burned in the engine some of the explosive gases from combustion squeeze past the pistons and down into the crankcase.

Now this gas is about 70 percent unburned fuel. If it were allowed to remain in the crankcase, it would contaminate the oil and quickly turn it to sludge. Sludge is like Vaseline and clogs passages in the engine leading to damage.

Also, the pressure build up would blow out seals and gaskets. In the old days, there was just a hose that vented the crankcase out into the air. Obviously, not good for the environment.

Enter the PCV valve. It’s a small, one-way valve that lets out the gases from the crankcase, and routes them back into the air intake system where can be re-burned in the engine.

As you might imagine, the valve gets gummed up over time. If you skip oil changes now and then, the PCV valve gets gummed up even faster. If the PCV valve is sticking you could have oil leaks. Fortunately, the PCV valve is very inexpensive to replace. Some can even be checked for function by your technician.

Manufacturer’s usually recommend they be changed somewhere between twenty and fifty thousand miles. Unfortunately, PCV valve replacement is left out of some owner’s manuals, so you may need to ask your service advisor.

Come down to AFS Service and have us take a look at the condition of your PCV valve to ensure you are running at top efficiency. Just come by our service station in Hortonville, WI 54944, or give us a call at 920.779.4199:

At AFS Service we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.