pcv valve location on 2002 Pathfinder (vq35de)

[JohnGre]

I have reviewed several old threads on this topic, but, can't seem to find an image or diagram anywhere that shows the location of the passenger side pcv valve on a 2002 pathfinder? Like many of these old cars, mine consumes oil, and after doing untold amounts of reading on the issue, have concluded that a catch can with a breather would permit me to keep driving this car for awhile longer ( 117K miles). Can anyone point me to a good picture or diagram showing the location of the pcv valve? in other threads people mention that it is located near the firewall behind the engine on the passenger side. I don't think that i need to remove the valve, so am hoping that I can attached a new hose (to the catch can) without having to disassemble much of the engine. anyone have any luck with this?
Thanks in advance.
John

[Blindaviator]

I just did an engine swap on mine a few months ago and I can tell you, without a doubt, that you will have to remove the upper and lower intake manifolds to reach that PCV valve. It sits right under the rear, right corner of the lower intake and is impossible to reach with the intakes in place. While you have it apart that far you might as well replace the water control valve.

Below is a pic I had taken a while back when I replaced my water control valve. It will show you the location of most of the important sensors and such. All 3 of the intake manifold parts are off in this one (Upper, Lower and Intake):

[JohnGre]

Thanks for the quick response, and great pic. I was afraid of that. Looking at my car, the oil 'intrusion' is pretty obvious on the drivers side part of the pcv system... i wonder if it would help to take the pressure off by simply setting up the catch can on the drivers side only until i can get time to do the full install? the issue seems to be crankase pressure forcing the oil into the pcv. so, with a breather, that pressure should be relieved. worth a shot anyway until i get up the nerve to do the full repair you described.

[JohnGre]

Not sure if anyone will see this, but, here is a quick follow up, with a question. Catch can has been on now for a couple weeks, getting no oil at all, but still getting significant engine consumption. After doing a fair amount of reading, I have two conclusions. The PCV system is very confusing/confused, and, I need to tweak my set up. Since I can't access the passenger side pcv valve, I put the catch can in line off the driver's side port, to the can, then ran the second line from the can to a breather. After doing alot of reading, I suspect that this set up is wrong because it does have the intake manifold connection, which would pull air/fumes/ blow by from the crank case. So, I plan on removing the breather and running the second hose back to the intake manifold. Hopefully the catch can will cut down on the oil vapor/blow by going to the intake manifold.

My question is this, in the above picture, on the passenger side, where the PCV valve is, where does that hose go? Looking at any images I can find on line, i am coming up blank. Probably a stupid question, but I am not a mechanic and can't seem to figure out what engine component this hooks into? I get that the two sides of the engine have a hose connecting them together (to equalize), but the PVC hose is a bit of mystery. I am guessing that this is where my oil consumption is really taking place, but am not sure. here is an image of my engine:

https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/diagram ... 8_B001.png

John

[Blindaviator]

My question is this, in the above picture, on the passenger side, where the PCV valve is, where does that hose go? Looking at any images I can find on line, i am coming up blank. Probably a stupid question, but I am not a mechanic and can't seem to figure out what engine component this hooks into? I get that the two sides of the engine have a hose connecting them together (to equalize), but the PVC hose is a bit of mystery. I am guessing that this is where my oil consumption is really taking place, but am not sure. here is an image of my engine:

I don't think I have a pic for that one but it is attached to a metal line that ultimately attaches to the bottom side of the lower intake (which in all reality is the middle piece)... If you pop off the upper intake (has like 12 bolts holding it down) and then remove the lower intake (has 4 bolts down the center and 2 on the passenger side rear attached to a metal bracket) then you can get access to the PCV hose... When you pull the upper intake off you can see where the PCV metal line attaches... You will see a 1/4" size hole on the top side of the lower intake on the drivers side with a lot of blackish build up around it... That is where it ultimately attaches underneath..

When I pulled mine off the first time the rubber hose for the PCV was hard as a rock and broke apart... It tends to soak up all the heat from the engine...
I picked up another rubber hose and left it with an extra length to make disassembly easier in the future... I just rolled up the little bit extra and allowed to to hang down the read side of the intake just above the water control valve...

[JohnGre]

Thanks for responding. Kinda what I assumed, but, always better to confirm. I found a pic (i think), if you scroll down this link:
http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/ ... rews-pics/

there are a couple clear pics. still leaves me wondering, however, what is supposed to be happening at that location, according to design anyway. My guess is that oil is supposed to fall out of the gas and drain back into the crankcase there. it must be that with engines like mine, with a lot of blow by, the amount of oil in the blowby is just too much, so it backs all the way into the drivers side port (which isn't a pcv) and up into the intake manifold. the problem i was originally trying to solve. it maybe that it can't be fixed short of a re-build, which is way beyond me.

[Blindaviator]

Yeah those pics near the bottom show the PCV hose...

The design of the PCV in the valve cover was a poor design and allows the oil to be pulled into the line... Most engines with the PCV in the valve cover have a good baffle system that prevents that from happening...

Rather than rebuilding (which costs about $4000) it is better to grab a used engine from either a salvage yard or get a low mileage JDM engine... You can tell if the salvage yard is trustworthy by the warranty they give... Most of the good salvage yards will give you a 90 day warranty...
The JDM engines are better but they are more difficult to install... JDM means Japanese Domestic Market and as the name suggests they are from Japan... With a JDM you would have to swap almost everything from the old engine to the new one...

[JohnGre]

Thanks again. I think i am going to try to just keep this one going as long as I can, and hopefully later move on to something that doesn't have the same issue. My wife drives a Mazda, it doesn't lose a drop of oil. But I know from experience that many car makers are putting out cars that produce significant blow by and/or consume a lot of oil... so, word to the wise, choose carefully.

[ddcexpress]

02 qx4 easy way to replace pcv , please help