I have a 2000 Ex and was wondering PCV valve to use. Ford quoted me $89??? I remember on my other Fords I was always told motorcraft was the way to go, but I'm not paying $90. Suggestions?

 

5.4L or 6.8L?

For the V10, Tousley Ford has PCV valves for like $5.58

2000 FORD EXCURSION Parts - Tousley Ford Parts Depot

Stewart

 

The cheap on is not the heated type. There are two different heated types, the new kind is electric, and the old kind has coolant lines. I am not sure what year they switched to electric... but I know my 2000 has the coolant heated type.

For now I bought the none heated type, pulled the other one out of the valve cover and zip tied it out of the way. The non heated type has served me just fine this summer... but I am pretty sure I should go ahead and buy a new heated one for the winter. I don't really plan on driving the truck that much this winter though, I have a Land Rover with and aluminum body and snow tires on it. My Excursion has never seen a salty winter up here and I don't plan to drive it much if at all.

For what it's worth I got my non heated PCV at NAPA for about $4.

 

This is the first I've heard of a heated PCV valve. Do anyone know why they need to heat the valve? This fall I'm planning new plugs, boots, PCV valve, and serp belt. So I'm interested in whether is worth the extra $ for the heated valve.

 

The PCV valve lets moisture out of the crank case, as you may know oil will hold water, and humid air comes in via the throttle body. During combustion some steam is created and some blow by occurs letting exhaust gasses, unburnt fuel and steam down into the engine.

The point is that if you live in a place where it freezes, the humidity that the PCV valve lets out of the engine can actually freeze the valve, I imagine that once your engine gets up to temp it would thaw anyway, but it is my understanding that the cooling lines or electric heating element in the heated PCV valves will thaw the valve faster thereby allowing it to do it's job sooner.

The job of the PCV valve is not only to recycle unburnt fuel and let off moisture but also to release some pressure from the crank case. It is my understanding that too much crank case pressure is why a jammed PCV valve causes the engine to eat oil, the pressurized crank case some how forces oil back into the combustion chamber and it burns. Sort of the same as the natural and unpreventable blow by that happens with the pistons but in reverse. Obviously this is also really bad for the seals and could cause the top end to have problems and need a rebuild.

EDIT: I am not a mechanic, the statements above are things I have surmised by reading a lot of stuff written by people who know a lot more than me. I could be wrong about some of this stuff.