D.I.Y.: Replacing Your Jeep Wrangler’s PCV Valve
Clogged PCV can cause all sorts of problems in your Jeep Wrangler, but replacing it is a simple project.
The Jeep Wrangler with the 3.8-liter V6 uses a positive crankcase ventilation or PCV system to safely and cleanly evacuate fumes and pressure from the cylinder heads back into the engine. The key problem with the PCV system is that over time, oil vapor can gunk up the internal workings of the valve and if the valve gets jammed shut, it can cause a variety of engine issues. If nothing else, a failing PCV valve can cause a vehicle to run poorly as the substances that are normally burned off in the intake system are trapped in the cylinder head, but in the most extreme examples, a failing PCV system can lead to total engine failure.
The Jeep Wrangler JK is one of the many vehicles that can suffer from a problematic PCV system and unfortunately, the valve is located in an area that makes it hard for the average owner to easily replace. Fortunately, forum member “ronjenx” put together a great DIY write-up showing how to quickly and easily remove and replace the PCV valve in your Jeep, helping to achieve the best performance and prolong the life of the engine.
PCV Removal
In many vehicles, changing the PCV valve is as easy as opening the hood, locating the valve, pulling it out by hand, maybe disconnecting a hose or two and plugging the new one into place. In the JK Wrangler, the PCV valve is located under the coil pack, so to change the PCV valve, you have to remove the coil pack.
That sounds intricate and it might scare some owners off from trying to tackle this project themselves, but it really is a simple job.
The coil pack of the Wrangler is cleared out by removing the two bolts highlighted with the yellow arrows by the OP. You remove the plug wires, you remove those bolts and the coil pack flips out of the way, making the PCV valve easily accessible.
The next headache is that the PCV valve is recessed into the valve cover, so after removing the hose going to the PCV valve, you have to grab the tube on the top with a pair of pliers and pull it up out. The OP found that just grabbing it with pliers can just crush the tube, so he put a zip tie on the valve pipe and then used the pliers to pull on the zip tie. It seems that with vehicles that have the PCV valve changed or checked with some regularity, the zip tie method works, but others took a different approach.
For those folks who can’t make the zip tie system work, they put a small bolt into the pipe sticking out of the PCV valve so that it won’t crush. Next, they grab that pipe with a pair of vice grips, then they put a screwdriver through the vice grips, prying against the intake manifold to pull the valve out of its housing.
PCV Installation
The PCV valve in the Jeep Wrangler engine is hard to pull out of the valve cover, so it should come as little surprise that it is a tight squeeze to get the new one into place. You can’t apply too much pressure to the new valve or you risk damaging the metal pipe sticking from the top. To avoid doing that, the OP and many other members found that putting a socket that is big enough to clear the pipe but small enough to fit into the recessed opening will make it much easier to install. Add a long extension to the socket and you can gently tap the new PCV valve into place.
Provided that the removal of the old PCV valve doesn’t go too poorly, this job really shouldn’t take you more than an hour from the time you open the hood to the time the vehicle is back ready to run. The new valve is inexpensive and the required tools are simple, so this really is a maintenance project that any Jeep Wrangler owner can do on their own.
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