This might be a simple thing but not knowing much about engines yet i dont know..... okay what is it? what does it do? and where is it located? and how would i do about changing it? because i read about it in the techinfo and it says i should replace that when i do a tune up... so any help will do thanks in advance Nick

The PCV valve is a little steel valve that allows filtered air to be drawn through the crankcase from the throttle body to purge crankcase fumes (oil vapor, moisture, and combustion gases that leak past the piston rings into the crankcase). The fumes are sucked from the crankcase where the oil pan and crankshaft are, to the intake manifold to be burned through the engine. Fresh air enters through a passage in the throttle body (on the driver'* side), passes down through the lower intake manifold, down through the rear cylinder head, from the driver'* side of the crankcase to the passenger side of the crankcase, up through the front cylinder head, up through the lower intake manifold, and up into the PCV valve housing on the upper intake manifold. This is located on the passenger end of the plastic upper intake manifold on your L36, VIN K engine. It is underneath the MAP sensor on your car. The PCV valve allows just a small quantity of gases to flow through at idle, and more to flow under load. When you replace the valve, make sure you get the correct replacement part - it is calibrated for your engine. Also, the valve is sealed on its bottom end with an o-ring that is very hard to see down inside the black hole that is the PCV valve housing. If the o-ring is left out, the intake manifold will create a vacuum in your crankcase that can damage your oil seals and cause a costly repair. Some PCV valves also have a spring on top of them to keep them tight against that lower o-ring.

On my '95, (no MAP sensor) the plastic cap on the top of the PCV valve housing is sealed with a big o-ring and turns counterclockwise to unlock. You then wiggle as you pull up to remove the cover. Underneath is the PCV valve. Your car has a MAP sensor incorporated into the cover. You may have to unplug it. Hopefully, one of the other guys will chime in here and tell you exactly how to deal with the MAP sensor, and maybe even provide a picture, too. If you want to learn more about your car, consider buying a Chiltons 28200 for $15 or $20. It will explain a lot of this stuff and save you more than the purchase cost.