After months of procrastination I finally replaced the PCV valve on my '09 JKUR, 42k on he clock. It uses about 1/2 qt in 3k miles, so there has been no rush. When I got the large rubber hose off the valve cover to reveal the PCV valve, I found that the upper part of metal element of the valve was actualy loose in the assembly. So, it appears engine vacuum was able to draw gases around the valve, rather than through it. Hoping the new one will eliminate the issues.

Getting it out was the usual PITA as reported, but I simply used some long Vise Grips and levered it off the top plastic hose part of valve cover casting. One has to be certain they have the valve fully seated when going back in. It will fool you, make sure the rubber outer part of the new PCV valve is driven in until it's about 2mm below the upper edge of the valve cover extension. See the first few photos in this thread.

 

Oh, and a follow up. After replacing the original PCV valve the oil consumption (about 1/2qt in 3k miles) stopped completely for the next 1000 miles. Then it inexplicably got worse than when the original PCV valve was in there. Well, it was pretty easy to tell where the problem was located, but why? I ran down to the dealer and got another one, thinking perhaps the online retailer I'd used previously was selling off old stock. Waited for a regular oil change to put the new one in.

When I got the coil off and lifted up the PCV hose I discovered oil pooled up all over the top of the PCV valve. It pulled right out and I immediately dscovered the problem. When I'd pressed it in the rubber seal around the metal valve hadn't seated properly around the molded in sealing ridge in the valve cover. In one spot the ridge had just forced the seal up so that it wasnt seated in the seal groove. Apparently it did work for awhile, but when we took a longer road trip than usual it started not to seal.

On the first replacement I just used motor oil as a lube when pressing in the new PCV valve. On the second replacement I used a bit of grease instead and it popped right into place. Monitoring it for the next 3k miles.

 

what kind of grease did you use? I am going to change mine out since it has been 90k since i changed mine... dont want to contaminate anything!

 

Leveraging it out with vice-grips is by far the most painless option IMO. As it is you wont be re-using it, if it is part of your maintenance list.
The outer valve on mine was already lubricated with the engine oil. Using a right size socket that sits on the rubber sleeve of the PCV valve makes it easy to pop it in place.

 

I got the old PCV valve out after alot of prying. When I went to put the new one in I noticed it would not seat properly. I also noticed the old one seemed to have torn off the bottom portion of the rubber seal. I felt inside the housing and there was a rubber seal that I could rotate but I didnt want to pry it out for fear that it is supposed to be in the housing.
My question in this; Should there be any rubber seal/gasket just inside the housing or is this something that tore off the old valve? I had a very hard time getting the old one out and it may have torn off the bottom part of the rubber. The old valve looks very similar to the picture TCDawg put towards the bottom of this thread. My old one is not missing as much rubber at the bottom

 

from my memory, there should be no rubber seal down in the hole. If you pulled your PCV and some of the rubber was left behind you will need to get that out of the hole. Once you do that, the new one will seat in correctly.

 

Just changed mine out, couple of notes/reminders/lessons learned

1) dealer cost (canada) was about $15
2) be careful removing coil pack, it's heavier than you think and mine dropped a few inches after removing last bolt - secured it out of the way using a zip tie once it was unbolted.
3) MAKE SURE THE ENGINE IS WARM as stated above, this will help with removal
4) even with warm engine, mine did not work using zip tie (have 135,000 km on mine, might have been original?) In my case, the vise grip/screwdriver method finally worked. When using this method, I suggest a quick "popping" motion, vs steady pressure to release it
5) size up the socket you need to re-install, before putting the new part in. This new socket should slip nicely into the black tube, and the walls should also line up with the non metal part on the valve itself. IIRC, it was a 17 or 18mm socket that was best - would also think that you need a 1/2 drive socket (or larger), to give the metal tube of the new valve some space to recess into...
6) had a hard time seating it fully, it really is tough to get back in and goes further than you think. I used a bit of oil from the old onto the surfaces of the new - did not try a grease as someone else mentioned. Ended up standing overtop, trying to get the new PCV to sit 2mm below the tube as specified above - not sure if it is fully seated/square, will see if it burns any oil over the next few weeks. The tubes above it make for a difficult straight shot downward, could be why it looks perfect on one side and off centre a tad. Using your hand you can kind of "centre it" and that seemed to have helped.

The valve I took out appeared oily, but seemed to rattle and move just fine - peace of mind I guess, although I did have a rough/jumpy idle at rest, so will see if that goes away now? UPDATE (9 weeks later): Jumpy idle not cured, at least i'm not burning any oil though

Thanks for the write up, really helped!

 

Any follow-up on this? I'm already all in after ordering two valves from local parts store but am curious how many actually see improvement in oil consumption.

 

After 70K on my 2007 JK it started burning oil. About a quart in 1K. I had cleaned the PCV valve a couple of times but it did no good. So this time at 81K I put a new one in and changed the oil. Now after 1200 miles it no longer burns oil. I think that maybe the last time I had cleaned the PCV valve that I did not fully seat it when I reinstalled it. Make sure that it is fully seated, and don't be cheap, buy a new one.

 

The PCV valve is a calibrated/variable leak, so not having it properly seated could cause problems.
The factory service manual warns against cleaning the valve, and recommends replacement.