[jahumphries]

As the title states, I'm going to bite the bullet and replace my PCV system. I have a broken breather hose but since I'm at just a tick above 120k now I figured I ought to do the whole thing just to be safe. Having said that, anything else to look for/do while I'm at it?

Also, should I be fine with FCP's $130 kit or would it be wiser to spend the extra money on IPD's $320 kit that includes the breather hose assembly (this guy)

I really don't want to spend the extra money, but I rely so heavily on my car that I'd rather not take half measures. Thoughts? Luckily it will be reasonably warm for the next week or so, so I can continue to ride my bicycle in the meantime.

 

[arcticfox]

As the title states, I'm going to bite the bullet and replace my PCV system. I have a broken breather hose but since I'm at just a tick above 120k now I figured I ought to do the whole thing just to be safe. Having said that, anything else to look for/do while I'm at it?

Also, should I be fine with FCP's $130 kit or would it be wiser to spend the extra money on IPD's $320 kit that includes the breather hose assembly (this guy)

I really don't want to spend the extra money, but I rely so heavily on my car that I'd rather not take half measures. Thoughts? Luckily it will be reasonably warm for the next week or so, so I can continue to ride my bicycle in the meantime.

I'm curious to know what the others say about the breather hose assembly. I found that that was the biggest pain in the butt to swap out of the whole job and saving the extra nearly 200 dollars would have been nice at the time since I also was buying a new turbo charger.

 

[jahumphries]

Yeah, I can think of a lot of ways I'd rather spend $200. But, if it's necessary....


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[WV Caver]

When I replaced my PCV system, I didn't change the hose. But, I did break the small hose that goes to the intake manifold when I removed the manifold. Luckily, I had a small piece of tubing and was able to repair rather than replace it. That little hose will be brittle from heat and will more than likely break if you're not careful with it. I was unaware of the hose being there when I replaced mine but I could've probably saved it had I known. That would be the only part of that hose I'd be concerned with needing replaced. I read where someone else did the same as me and just fixed the plastic hose rather than replace the whole thing for $200. I guess the main concern for replacing it is if it's clogged. I hope that makes sense....

 

[jahumphries]

That helps! Do you happen to know how common it is for it to get plugged up? Or even if there is a way to clean it out and reattach it? I'm leaning towards not replacing it but I'd hate to have it fail six months from now or something


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[WV Caver]

From what I remember FCP saying, they don't really fail that often. I guess it would depend on how bad the trap is. My car had about 170,000 miles on it when I changed mine and I'm pretty sure it was the original trap. The hole in the engine block was plugged but the breather hose was fine other than the brittle small hose. I would make sure I had something on hand to replace it with just in case it breaks while removing it if you don't buy a new one. Personally, I would rather save the $200 and replace it later if something happened to it. If it was a $50 hose, that would be a different story, but I'm tight. If it does die later on down the road about the only extra cost to replacing it will be an intake gasket and possibly those copper washers for that blasted banjo bolt on the underside of the intake, which I will add that you will probably need to replace when you do the job as well(the washers, not the bolt. Just clean it well before reinstalling). Also, you can remove the intake with a little cursing without removing the thermostat housing but it would be a lot easier to remove it. If you decide to remove it, I suppose you will need a gasket for that as well. If you don't remove it, I would suggest you make sure that you have a 1/4" drive u-joint for your ratchet and a fairly long extension. As far as cleaning that hose, I don't know how easy that would be, if even possible. That thing is a little crazy made. I hope that the miseries of me changing mine can make yours a little less....miserable. For me, it's a 40 mile drive one way to the Volvo stealership so it helps to be prepared.

 

[neovolvo]

I just did the pcv system on my 02 s60. You won't need the breather hose. The inside is entirely metal and easy to clean. My entire pcv system was clogged and that hose was the only thing that was clear! Like WV Caver said. that hose will most likely break. Plan on getting a few inches of vacuum hose to replace it. Also, it will have a plastic piece going onto the banjo bolt, just break it off when you replace the line. I thought it was part of the nipple on the bolt but it isn't. Make sure to blow through the oil return port on the block (the one that channels down to the oil sump) to make sure it isn't clogged. If it is you'll need to take the sump off and clean the channel out. I would also just use a 1/4" drive u joint for the intake instead of taking of the thermostat. This job is a major pita so plan to spend some time on it to do it right! Good luck!

 

[jahumphries]

Going with the FCP kit. Thanks for all the tips, everyone. Has anyone put together a detailed how-to thread for this, or a video?

 

[WV Caver]

I think there might be a "how to" somewhere but I'm not sure where. Maybe someone else will chime in? It's not a hard job to do, more time consuming if you've never done it before. It took me quite a while to do it, but I'm pretty convinced that I could do it in a couple hours or so now that I've done it.


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[qaz996]

clean the throttle while you're there.

 

[good4y0u]

can you link the kit your going with?

 

[jahumphries]

I ended up choosing the one with the big scary $200 hose (https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-pcv-breather-system-kit-s60-turbo-s60turbopcvkit) after realizing that the cheaper kit I was originally looking at only fit up to model year 2002. Have not attempted installation yet

 

[thaxman]

What else should you do while you have the intake off? Well, FMIC comes to mind.....!

 

[jahumphries]

Ha! Don't tempt me, I'm trying hard not to blow my entire tax refund on car parts... The PCV kit is taking away what would have been sway bar money


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[good4y0u]

I ended up choosing the one with the big scary $200 hose (https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-pcv-breather-system-kit-s60-turbo-s60turbopcvkit) after realizing that the cheaper kit I was originally looking at only fit up to model year 2002. Have not attempted installation yet

Thanks! I'm at 161k with my s60 and considering this also

 

[Robdiesel]

I'd definitely go with the "big" kit for $300something. You're already in there and it's a pain in the ass to do all this so I don't want to do it again.

I have some of my pics here http://imgur.com/a/svQXo

There's the bottom bolt on the left side by the thermostat housing that I seem to recall was tough to get to. An open wrench solved that.
The banjo bolts are a bit of a bitch, so especially on the right side of the head, you want to pay attention to the routing of the hoses to make sure you get it back the right way and it fits easier.

I didn't have any gumming to speak of in my PCV (only 110K miles on the car) but I still made sure to run a couple of zip ties through the drain to ensure it wasn't clogged.

Make SURE to disconnect the battery. You're working right above the starter, which has a large hot wire on top of it.

Clean the throttle body when it's more accessible too.

I had the fan out and removed the intake hoses (over the head, into the turbo and IC hose on the passenger side). I also cleaned the PTC (no need, it was spotless), which was a nightmare to get out of and back into the intake hose.