Recently I've been doing a lot of tuneup/service items to my 4runner and the last one to be done was to replace the pcv valve, but i had to wait for a new grommet so it kind of was forgotten for a while. Today i figured was a good day to do an oil change, radiator flush and well I was at it change out the pcv valve.

When I started the truck up and let it warm up to operating temp two very strange things happened, first the idle (warm) stayed at about 1200 rpm and I also heard a new hissing sound (like air) with a little investigation I discovered that the the new pcv valve had a significant amount of air moving through it and in fact when I pulled the hose off, the engine died! After I adjusted the idle and checked the timing the engine runs perfect, idles down correctly, but I've never heard this much air move through the pcv valve. Was my old one just so clogged that nothing was happening, or do I have a problem I should be checking into?

The old PCV....does it rattle when you shake it? It should. If not, its clogged.

Clogged PCV valves can cause excessive crankcase pressure, and can cause various oil leaks. Do you have any oil leaks?

I've near really heard a PCV valve make noise when its plugged into the valve cover. Only time it would make a hissing noise is if the hose is loose and its creating a vacuum leak.

I'd say its definitely clogged. I guess that could explain the recent increase in oil leakeage, the thought had never occured to me to check the pcv valve. The noise sounds like air flowing through a small hole, I checked everywhere for vacuuum leaks so I'm fairly certain I don't have one. I think it may just be that the pcv valve has been clogged since I've owned the truck and I'm just not used to a new sound.

Can anyone point me to where this stupid valve is on the V6? I looked at the FSM diagram but I must be misunderstanding something on it.
Thanks.

This one?

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-buchanan/93fsm/engine/75positive.pdf

I'm thinking intake manifold underneath.

On the passenger side valve cover. Burried deep beneath a bunch of vacuum hoses.

In the mess of vaccuum hoses at the intake manifold, there will be a one to three adapter. Three small vaccuum lines go into one hole, triangular shaped. Right below it, there is a large vacuum line. This is the line that goes to the PCV. You have to remove the upper intake plenum to access the valve.

Great, thanks. Much better description than the guy at the dealership

I bet the guy at the dealership never worked on a 3.0

My description is coming from someone who has <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Am I correct in assuming its the one held in place with a wire clip around it going into the valve cover?

Yep...has a U bend in it. Ive heard of people replacing the valve using a long needle nose pliers. I had no luck. Worth a shot if you have a long pair.