Spring holding down the PCV valve, = GOOD.
No vacuum present in crankcase, = GOOD.

(leaving out the spring, or the lower O-ring in my '99, = serious vacuum leakage around the pcv valve, = crankcase vacuum present at oil filler cap, = bad karma.)

"Ya Did Good "

no applause, no applause..... thank you, thank you.

sorry, i had to throw that fresh prince quotation in there. i'm glad to have that verified 100%.

Is there supposed to be a spring in all years? My 96 also had no spring.

while your motor is running remove your oil filler cap and immediately place your hand on the opening... if you have vacuum sucking on your hand then i guess that'* a bad thing. i had this problem, so i checked my pcv assembly and bought a new delco pcv kit for my year. that'* the only way i found out i was even supposed to have a spring. if you have vacuum in the crankcase and no spring in the pcv, i would guess you've found the culprit. that'* all i know.

Could the spring be an upgrade to the original design or did the former owner / shop
leave my spring out???

mine doesn't have a spring.. I haven't tried that vacuum trick though, but I want to, once I get my brakes fixed, I should try that.


-justin

I would venture to guess all years are supposed to have the spring. My old1992 SE, 1993 SSE, 1994 SLE, 1998 SSE, and 1999 SSEi all had springs with the PCV valve.

Thanks for letting us know that. I've been waiting for someone with a somewhat definitive answer to chime in. I think it'* a fairly common thing for springs to get left off, don't ask me why. I'm betting mine was left off by the service shop that replaced my upper intake. Get one on there if you don't have one. 57chevythunder seemed to give it quite a bit of importance, and so far I have reason to believe him.

Well, I checked the GM Service Manual and there was no spring mentioned or shown for a NA 3800. Send me your email and I'll send you a diagram.

Cheers,

mine doesn't have a spring.. anywhere.


-justin