how important is the pcv valve? i put my trickflow intake on, and since there was nothing there but the filter when i took it apart, that's what i put it back on with, just the little filter. how important is it to have the pcv valve on my car? and how does it hook up, and to what
the pcv valve (positive crankcase ventilation valve) it alows the pressure in the crank case out of the crank case and it goes back into the intake. as long as you have some sort of filter that allows the pressure out of the case you will be fine.
Personally I would get the PCV system set up like it is supposed to be.
While a breather of open air element will allow the crankcase to vent it does nothing to actually aid in removing the corrosive fumes and moisture that will build up. A properly operating PCV system is always removing these fumes while the car is running and pulling fresh air into the crankcase. This helps prevent the formation of sludge and keeps the corrosive gases from building up.
the pcv valve vents crankcase pressure caused by blowby past the cylinders (every car has some) to be recycled back into the intake tract. Removing the pcv system and simply venting to atmosphere via a filter from the valve cover will cause a slight lean condition, however the eec IV can compensate for this.
Basically people debate both ways on this topic, which is better is anyones guess. Everyone agrees though that if you're going to vent to atmosphere you have to completely block off you pcv system (the valve on the back of the lower intake manifold, the fitting on the bottomside of the upper, and the hose from the oil filler neck to the throttle body). If you do have a severe blow by condition (high miles/poor mainentance) you can eventually get some brown surface film on the metal surfaces of you engine bay.