Run Cam cover vent to PCV valve?

[Stanley]

My PCV hose is greasy inside and about shot, just ordered a new hose, have a new valve for it. The cam cover vent just has had a little chrome filter on it. Noticed the filter was gunked up, cleaned it, but seems like the setup could be improved. I guess some people drill a hole in the K&N backing plate and put a hose barb there, but don't want the gunk (fumes ok) going through the intake.

I'm splicing a little strainer/filter in the PCV hose to keep some gunk out of the new PCV valve. How about teeing a hose from the cam cover vent into the PCV hose before the strainer ? Is there a reason not to do it that way?

With the stock air cleaner setup the fumes from both places end up in the same place more or less, except only the crankcase vent goes through the PCV valve. It would be a "cleaner" setup with just one strainer.

[beermanpete]

One of the vents needs to be open to the atmosphere (through a filter) to let fresh air into the crankcase. The other goes to the intake manifold vacuum (through the PCV valve) to provide a positive flow of air through the engine. This helps to remove water vapor and other volatile compounds that would otherwise build up in the oil and deposit on the inside of the engine. What you propose would eliminate that system and create a vacuum in the crankcase.

If you are getting a lot of oil in the PCV and vent hoses your engine is probably tired. A tight engine does not do that.

[Stanley]

Yeah, 140k, non-smoker and runs good but rings or hopefully bore and bottom end rebuild down the road.

Just now figured out that if I tee the cam cover vent into the PVC hose, it would bypass the PCV valve (especially when it's closed at high or low vac) and make a closed loop from the crankcase vent tube to the cam cover, not what I had in mind. Still want to improve it though.

Guess I'll do this, then: PCV hose with strainer, no tee, from the tube to the valve. Hose from cam cover vent with small strainer or filter at the end, between the two K&N's. Hate to turn it into a snake pit like the US emissions spec cars.

Maybe a gunked-up PC valve has something to do with the junk in the cam cover filter.

Edited October 22, 2013 by Stanley