FIT / Centrifugal Blower PCV Mod

[HwyCruiser]

I thought that this mod justifies another look.

Credit goes to SergntMac's for posting the PCV solution he and Zack came up with on his Marauder a while back, and to MarauderJack for applying it to the FIT kit.

Here's the parts list for this mod:

(1) Motorcraft EV153 '03 Cobra PCV valve
(4-ft) 3/8" heater hose (sold per foot)
(1-ft) 3/4" heater hose (sold per foot)
(1) barbed 3/4" x 3/4" x 3/8" tee or (1) 3/8" x 3/4" barbed adapter
(1) 5/8" cap - not required if you remove the 5/8" x 5/8" x 5/8" blower intake tube tee supplied with the kit (see step 2 below)
(1) 3/4" cap - not required if you find a 3/8" x 3/4" adapter mentioned above
(assorted) zip ties and/or hose clamps

I sourced these parts through a local Oreillys parts store for around $20-25 IIRC. I used a EV153 instead of the EV111 after a finding out that there were some centrifugally-blown Mustang owners that were switching to it due to oil consumption issues.

The FIT kit PCV mod is pretty straight forward:

1. Remove the vent heater hose and barbed fitting from the driver's side cam cover grommet to the blower intake tube

2. Either cap the end left open on the 5/8" tee on the bottom of the blower intake tube or remove the tee and hook the passenger side vent directly to the fitting on the bottom of blower intake tube

3. Insert the EV153 into the grommet on the driver's side cam cover left open after removing the vent fitting

4. Route the 3/8" heater hose from the PCV valve to the passenger's side cam cover around the back of the engine compartment

5. Remove the 3/4" cap originally supplied with the kit from the upper intake manifold OEM PCV connector

6. Connect the 3/8" heater hose from the EV153 PCV valve to the 3/4" upper intake connector using the tee (cap the other end of the tee) or adaptor and a short length of 3/4" heater hose (see pic)

7. Remove the OEM PCV valve from the passenger's side cam cover by removing the two bolts holding it onto the cover

8. Remove the screen, plunger and spring from the bottom of the OEM PCV valve

9. Re-install the OEM PCV valve (now just a vacuum fitting) on the cam cover and verify the original 5/8" heater hose still connects the OEM PCV valve to the bottom of blower intake tube

10. Install hose clamps, zip ties, or similar to secure hoses

Here's some pics of the final installation:

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/showcase/files/1/5/9/4/pcvds.jpg

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/showcase/files/1/5/9/4/pcvps.jpg

I've been running this mod for about a month now and even tested it at the track. Nothing has come loose and there has been no indication of boost getting past the Cobra PCV valve.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with the FIT crankcase ventilation system, although I did find a small amount of oil dribbled out from the driver's side vent tube when I removed it. In either case, those in colder climates may want to minimize any "drape" in the blower intake tube vent lines to avoid freezing any water that may condense there.

I'm not going to go into the mechanics of this PCV mod, there are others out there that can make a better arguement than me one way or the other. But I am with MarauderJack's opinion that this is a better way to skin this particular cat. The floating ball inside the EV153 PCV valve provides shutoff under boost and any oil and/or water vapor will travel directly into the upper intake versus through the blower and intercooler. I figure if it was good enough for Ford on the '03 Cobra, it's good enough for me.

Of course, approach any mod at your own risk and/or with your skill level in mind.

Jack, did I miss anything?

[snowbird]

Well, Just did it today at the dealer and the vacuum look stronger this way. I 'll keep a close follow up to confirm nothing is amiss.:up:

[Mike M]

What do you think about just switching over to a Motorcraft EV153 '03 Cobra PCV valve?

[snowbird]

What do you think about just switching over to a Motorcraft EV153 '03 Cobra PCV valve?
Well IMO, the vave itself is not much better than the MM one. The routing of the hoses appear superior (and shorter). But before i slip on a banana, i'll let others answer this as they probably understand this better than i do !

[HwyCruiser]

What do you think about just switching over to a Motorcraft EV153 '03 Cobra PCV valve?

Mike, all the other steps are to facilitate using the EV153 in the grommet on the driver's side cam cover, since this is a spot to to place it neatly and in the correct orientation for a centrifugal application.

The rest of the tubing is to get air flowing from the blower intake tube, into the passenger side cam cover, through the crankcase, out the driver's side cam cover and into the intake. This is reverse from the OEM setup, but should be just as functional. The ball inside the PCV valve provides is a one-way check from boost getting through from the intake into the driver's side cam cover, but under vacuum the intake draws air through it. The OEM PCV valve just gets gutted to provide a input path for the air stream.

I suppose you could rig up a way to flow air in the same direction as the OEM setup, but I doubt the engine cares which way the air flows as long as it flows.

[Marauderjack]

Great explanation and photos!!:beer:

Very clean install and engine bay!!:bows:

I think you got it all covered very well....glad I could help ya!!:up:

Marauderjack:burnout:

[tmac1337]

JD,

Thanks for providing me the link to this thread:beer:

I don't know how I missed this one a year ago:(

I've been looking into the PCV setup lately, and Dennis also provided me some assistance:beer:

The setup I was running was not like this at all....no wonder it was not working.

I like the Moroso Catch can setup I am using, but this looks great too!

This thread should be pasted at the top of the FIT forum for new owners to see. Even I missed it.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/tmac1337/PCVSetup.jpg

[MM2004]

JD,

This thread should be pasted at the top of the FIT forum for new owners to see. Even I missed it.


This thread is now a 'sticky'.

;)

Mike.

[tmac1337]

Thanks!

It's good information.

[John Nero]

is this something that should be done and what will it help

[tmac1337]

is this something that should be done and what will it help

John, if you still have the stock setup....change it to this. Scott Beer swears by the catch can setup now on my car, but if I didn't have that on currently, I would be switching to this. Oil vapor crud will get into you blower and down into you intercooler if you leave the PCV system setup the way it was originally designed.

In the diagram I post, Oil and vapor will still get into the intake. I read a lot of threads about the PCV systems on other forums the last couple of days. That oil vapor is bad stuff and even lowers the octane in the fuel and can cause detonation. The system I have currently will catch the crud and vent off the vapor, although I doubt it will be catching large amounts of oil.

[John Nero]

John, if you still have the stock setup....change it to this. Scott Beer swears by the catch can setup now on my car, but if I didn't have that on currently, I would be switching to this. Oil vapor crud will get into you blower and down into you intercooler if you leave the PCV system setup the way it was originally designed.


thanks on the too do list

[sailsmen]

% infor.

What is the differ between the FIT PCV and the other S/C PCV set ups?

I seem to remember there was a lot of discussion on the PCV set up during development.

FYI a P1800 Volvo Saints version I worked on had a metal pipe that vented down past the oil pan.

[Marauderjack]

I will have 60K miles on my setup tomorrow and NO PROBLEMS!!!!!:beer::bows:

The last time I had the blower off (belt change...GATORBACK!!) I had absolutely no crud on the impeller!!:D

I wonder how long these P1SC's last??:confused: Never has any debris in the oil and the magnet has normal dust on it!!;) ProCharger says they have a bunch of them with 100K miles or more....we'll see....just don't want it to break in da boonies!!??:shake:

Marauderjack:burnout:

[tmac1337]

I will have 60K miles on my setup tomorrow and NO PROBLEMS!!!!!:beer::bows:

The last time I had the blower off (belt change...GATORBACK!!) I had absolutely no crud on the impeller!!:D

Marauderjack:burnout:

In your current setup, the crud must be going through the OEM hole on the upper intake. That is better than how it originally ended up before the blower from the driver's side fitting.

[tmac1337]

The Moroso Catch Can setup does not have any vacuum, so the engine is pushing out all the gases and any oil crud is caught in the catch can (at least that is how it hopefully will work). Being no vacuum, it should not be able to suck any unmetered air in through the canister, but should always be pushing it out. The can has baffles to separate the vapor from the oil.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/tmac1337/CatchCan.jpg

If it works as it is supposed to, the engine should be expelling all the vapor and crud without re-injecting it back into the cycle. I read that the vapor and crud can lower the amount of octane and cause detonation, if true, good riddance.

This PCV system stuff is confusing and has had me scratching my head thinking about loosing boost.....pressure where it shouldn't be. Get rid of the system in essence, hopefull get rid of any potential issues....but the environmental types might not like gagging on my vapor:P

[HwyCruiser]

Bottom line is the PCV mod will provide positive crankcase ventilation while keeping the oil mist from being sucked through the blower to get to the intake. I know that it works under vacuum because at first I cut my 3/4" heater hose coming off of the large upper intake connection too long and the vacuum draw actually collapsed the hose. I took my PCV valve out the other day to see if I was getting gummed up and it is still functioning fine after over a year now and I haven't noticed any indication of a boost leak. These valves are only $5 or $6, so it's cheap enough to replace once a year anyway.

The consequence of not doing this mod is a slight oil accumulation inside the tubing and/or intercooler. We're not talking enough for you to notice as oil consumption with your dipstick, but even a tiny amount of oil will be noticeable after several months, especially at the joints, if you pulled your intercooler piping apart. We saw this on BJ's car when we made some adjustments to his tubing. Will this kill your car? No, but getting oil in your intercooler won't make it any more efficient.

Running a 360 pulley may very well be too much for the EV-153 (03-04 Cobra) PCV valves to handle, I don't know. It seems to work fine with the 370 (Jack's) and 380 (mine) pulleys. There's probably some point where running a catch can and / or oil separator is required for higher boost applications. For the average F.I.T. kit out there this mod seems to work fine.

[tmac1337]

Check out this PCV thread.....if you've got the patience to read the whole thing. There is a lot of good info. in it.

http://www.modularfords.com/forums/f17/oil-separators-open-breathers-why-they-85651.html