Hi all I just wanted to chime in on this thread because I just completed the PCV replacement on my 05 FEH at 230K. It had been doing some funky stuff at idle just after startup, hunting for an idle speed, racing a little and generally behaving strangely. It finally threw a code that indicated an throttle body vacuum leak (P0171). I replaced that gasket and things seemed OK for another few weeks until it threw the code again. I did some research and found this thread so I decided the PCV valve and hose would be a likely culprit. As it turned out for me, the hose was not cracked but the valve was pretty gunked up of course as it had never been replaced after 230K. The job was NOT fun but after about 20+ attempts at getting a socket on that bottom center bolt, I figured out a method using a mirror to be able to see the socket and navigate it to the bolt head.

Part of the reason I wanted to post this though is to potentially help folks with a more serious symptom of this same problem. I met a guy through posting my daugher's FEH for sale. He was looking to buy it because he couldn't get his running. It was the dreaded "stop safely now" message shortly after startup. After replacing the PCM and going through hell trying to get this diagnosed, it turned out to be the cracked PCV hose. It makes sense because this would create a massive vacuum leak; enough so that the computer would not be able to overcome it. It seems odd to me that the computer would react with a remedy of shutting the engine down but indeed this seems to be the case. Either way, the PCV mounted underneath the intake is a seriously crappy design and it makes this job a challenging one.

 

Good information, thanks for sharing

 

Wow, what a hassle. I'm leaning toward letting the dealer change mine out.

 

I certainly wouldn't blame you for that! An experienced technician could do this job in about 2-3 hours. There are some hard learned tricks to it for sure. I think I could do it again in about 3-4 hours now that I've done it but still it's a PITA! It might be good to get an estimate because the flat rate is likely in the 4-6 hour range. At dealer labor rates that's going to get expensive. The parts are around $50 depending on where you buy them.

I sort of enjoy the challenge of figuring this stuff out. I have trouble trusting anyone to work on my vehicles also as it seems like they always screw something up in the process. This also saves me having to drop the car off, wait unti it's done, fend off the service manager's pleas for me to spend an extra $2000 fixing all the other things "you really should fix..." To me it's almost less of a hassle to fix it myself than deal with all that crap. I have a good place to work and the tools needed to do the work. If that weren't the case I would have a very different attitude about it.

 

I'm pretty much the same way, on all counts. But some jobs are less fun than others, and this looks like one of them.
I might reconsider once my new garage is built, and it's a bit warmer