PCV Testing Procedures?

[Internexus]

I believe the PCV is the culprit to my excessive oil consumption issues that I've been experiencing and equally have noted that my oil cap regularly has a thin film of oil over it.... I would really like to test the PCV to confirm it is indeed faulty especially since it's at a ridiculous price compared to the average vehicle. Does anyone have any information they can provide?

 

[Wrath And Tears]

Start car.

Test one: can you pull off the oil cap?
Test two: if you can pull it off, does the engine start stumbling or sound the same?
Test three: place a post-it note on the valve cover, does the post-it note get blown off or sucked in super forcefully? or does it just kinda sit there with a small amount of vacuum on it?

Those are the quick and dirty tests without using a manometer.

1. Oil cap should be easy to remove with engine running.
2. Engine should start stumbling with oil cap removed due to it being a vacuum leak
3. Post-it note should be lightly sucked against the valve cover, not sucked in or blown off

If you have any issue or things don't behave accordingly, you likely have a bad pcv valve. There are a few other more advanced tests to rule out some other issues. I can look them up and post them later if you want.

 

[Internexus]

I'm able to remove the oil cap, the vehicle immediately begins surging and has an apparent suction. I placed several post it notes on top and they were immediately buckled from the amount of suction.

Any other ideas for testing this? There aren't a lot of options for reasons to have a coating over the oil filler cap and I just wiped it off this past weekend and already had a film over it today. The car is consuming upwards of 1qt of oil per 1,000 miles and has zero leaks and no blue smoke at idle, driving, or hard acceleration.

 

[Wrath And Tears]

That certainly does sound like a pcv issue. If you are under warranty I would say take it in. It could possibly be a bad rear main seal, bad pcv valve on top of the valve cover, or even a bad gasket on the oil cap. The first two would coincided with oil consumption, but depending on how bad the RMS is, you would also see oil on the ground if you park in the same spot consistently. A smoke test through the dipstick tube or air intake would help rule out a RMS, unless you see smoke coming from underneath the car which would confirm it (from looking up top the smoke comes from the rear of the engine right where it meets the trans, from underneath you can see smoke pouring out of the bell housing).

 

[Internexus]

I'm out of bumper to bumper warranty, the car went in for an oil consumption test under the powertrain warranty and they deemed it "normal" to consume 1qt of oil in ~1,000 miles. They recommended changing the PCV but didn't make any promises it would actually remedy the problem. Furthermore the PCV is not covered under any sort of warranty sadly. I've seen no smoke upon visual inspections with the covers on the top and bottom off during idle or right after a drive. Definitely strange to say the least.

 

[2slowvw]

I'm out of bumper to bumper warranty, the car went in for an oil consumption test under the powertrain warranty and they deemed it "normal" to consume 1qt of oil in ~1,000 miles. They recommended changing the PCV but didn't make any promises it would actually remedy the problem. Furthermore the PCV is not covered under any sort of warranty sadly. I've seen no smoke upon visual inspections with the covers on the top and bottom off during idle or right after a drive. Definitely strange to say the least.

I would say that you are consuming more than a quart every thousand miles, make them preform a full leak down test and check everything. When they put in an order for the leak down test it basically forces them to check the whole system (valves, rings, gaskets) instead of just saying its normal. If they find no issues with the big parts, maybe they will assume the leak is pcv and replace that. Also i had my PCV replaced on my A4 under warranty so it is more than likely a warrantied item on the gti.

 

[Internexus]

I spoke with 2 different dealers yesterday to inquire if the PCV would be covered under Powertrain warranty if I brought it in and have them diagnose it and they both confirmed that it's a no go. I can pay ~$160 out of pocket for a diagnostic and go from there...

 

[demi9od]

I spoke with 2 different dealers yesterday to inquire if the PCV would be covered under Powertrain warranty if I brought it in and have them diagnose it and they both confirmed that it's a no go. I can pay ~$160 out of pocket for a diagnostic and go from there...

It's not that big a deal to replace it and will give you peace of mind. I'd just do it yourself, monitor oil consumption and take it in for full leak down test if the issue is not resolved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF3O6ChxBv0

 

[ITGUY]

A round about how many miles is the PCV supposed to last? I've been contemplating on changing it just for peace of mind. I'm at 58,000 miles.

 

[Internexus]

It's not that big a deal to replace it and will give you peace of mind. I'd just do it yourself, monitor oil consumption and take it in for full leak down test if the issue is not resolved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF3O6ChxBv0

True story... Hopefully picking one up today and swapping it this week. Gonna be quite disappointed if it doesn't resolve my situation.

A round about how many miles is the PCV supposed to last? I've been contemplating on changing it just for peace of mind. I'm at 58,000 miles.

To my knowledge there isn't a regular service interval for them more of 'surprise you have random ass problems! Have you checked the PCV?!"

 

[George Ab]

Replace your oil fill cap. I had my oil fill cap replaced as it was leaking. I have read on the forums a number of folks have had the same issue and replacing solved problem. I suspected PCV, but cap replacement corrected the problem. Really bugged me as it was getting pretty dirty in that area. However, no way was I using a quart every 1,000 miles.

I spoke with 2 different dealers yesterday to inquire if the PCV would be covered under Powertrain warranty if I brought it in and have them diagnose it and they both confirmed that it's a no go. I can pay ~$160 out of pocket for a diagnostic and go from there...

You can replace the PCV for less then diagnostics and then if they replace it list price for part ($137) plus labor. PCV with gasket is $91 from VW Fiat World worl. https://www.worldoemparts.com/worldvwfiatparts/oem-parts/volkswagen-separator-06k103495ap DIY which is easy here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF3O6ChxBv0 There have been some part number changes so you may want to see what variant you have and verify you are replacing with latest variant if you go that route. I see same part number is called out for 2015 as 2017.

For the GTI I usually go almost 10K for oil changes and I never have to add any oil. My 407K mile Honda Civic uses maybe a quart every 5K as does a 120K mile BMW 3 Series. I find the dealer comment of a "normal" oil usage of a quart of oil every 1,000 miles to be ludicrous.

 

[TheSwede]

I have replaced my PCV valve on my Golf R with the latest version at the time part no 06K 103 495 AT. The former one had the number 06K 103 495 AA.

This was in August 2017. Price 70 eur for the unit from VW dealer (say 80 usd). There are torque specifications on the bolts.

The DAP video is for the older EA888 version, not gen 3. However it’s similar.

/Peter

 

[Internexus]

Can you provide the torque specs for the PCV valve if you have them? Thanks.

 

[TheSwede]

Can you provide the torque specs for the PCV valve if you have them? Thanks.

Hose for crank case ventilation one bolt 4 nm.
Seven Bolts 9 nm for the oil separator (as it’s called in the ErWin manual).
Should be tightened crosswise.

The bolts are included and also the gasket. Bolts are self-tapping which means you will have to clean alu-stuff when you have removed the old one. Don’t waste any alu stuff in the engine, be careful!

/Peter

 

[Internexus]

Thank you Peter, I appreciate it!