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I almost hate to ask because then you'll all know how ignorant I am about cars, but here goes. I want to spiff up my engine compartment and I'm looking at chrome valve covers. However, when I see pictures of some of the forum members engine bay and their valve covers I don't see the same configuration as mine. I have a 1972 coupe with the base 350 and the original covers which include 2 holes on the drivers side(one for oil fill the other to the PCV hose) and the passenger side has the breather hose. Most of the aftermarket valve covers only have 1 hole per side which means no oil fill hole. That's ok, but how do some eliminate the PCV configuration by putting on an aftermarket breather cap? Doesn't that effect the performance or something? What exactly does the PCV do? Thanks.
Get some w/ PCV! ít's important. It puts suction on the crankcase to pull out fumes for better ring seal and reduce oil contamination (oil becomes acidic from fumes in the crankcase) You can fill the oil by pulling off the PCV.
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Re: valve cover question (Twinnie)
Install valve covers with a PCV on one side and a breather on the other. Many people just have the breather, which then lets excess pressure out of the crankcase. Good, but not best.
The best set up is to use a PCV system on one side and breather on the other. The engine vacuum draws out the fumes and creates a vacuum in the crankcase when using a PCV. It aids in better ring sealing and better gasket sealing -- less leaking. In this case the breather is there to allow fresh air IN to the motor.
You can remove the breather and use a funnel to put oil in. The breather is usually just a push in unit in a rubber grommet.
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