The PCV valve (also known as the crankcase breather) essentially maintains the correct pressure inside the crankcase relative to atmospheric pressure. There is a more comprehensive description of the PCV valve’s function here.
The standard PCV valve fitted to the Freelander TD4 uses a felt filter to catch oil as the filter vents air to the outside world, but this filter has a tendency to clog after a while. The side-effects of a clogged PCV filter include loss of power and rough idling, and in extreme scenarios can cause the crankcase pressure to rise dramatically and force all of the engine oil out of the dipstick tube (covering the inside of the engine bay) and past the turbo seals.
A clogged PCV valve can also result in the burning of oil, which causes the exhaust to emit bluish smoke. This bluish smoke can be misinterpreted to be symptomatic of other issues, including turbo faults (which can be expensive to investigate/fix).
Initially, Land Rover stated that the PCV should last the lifetime of the engine, then in 2007 radically revised their position and decided that the PCV should be replaced every 12,000 miles. That’s quite a rethink. BMW noticed (and solved) this problem a while ago (presumably Land Rover were just slow on the up-take) and there is an improved PCV assembly available from BMW which is compatible with the Freelander. The BMW PCV is a filter-less cyclone design, will not clog, and will last a lot longer (and give better performance) than the Land Rover part.
Sourcing the part
The BMW part number is 11127799224. Broad Oak BMW usually has a listing on eBay for a competitive price (their shop is here). This is where I purchased mine, and delivery was very quick. Otherwise, an eBay search will probably give you several results (be aware, some may not be genuine BMW parts).
Where is the PCV located?
The PCV valve is located under the junction of the engine cover and air filter cover. For easiest access both should be removed. The engine cover requires a hex wrench or small socket. Removing the air filter cover is described here.
Location of PCV valve
PCV valve partially visible behind injector wiring loom
The PCV valve cover is attached with two 5mm security bolts; a hex wrench should fit these if they have not been burred. I didn’t have the correct hex wrench to hand, and was able to carefully remove them with pliers. The valve cover is held captive by part of the injector assembly. The injector wiring support can be unscrewed and moved to one side, and two of the braided injector return pipes must be detached by releasing the retaining clips, and carefully prising the tee-pieces out of their fittings.
The PCV cover is obstructed by the injector wiring loom
The valve cover should pop off with a little encouragement (it’s an airtight fit) and will probably take the filter element with it. Visual inspection of the filter will give you an idea of how inefficient the PCV valve has become.
The BMW part supplied by Broad Oak includes the PCV cover and seals, so the old parts can be discarded. If you have sourced just the inner part of the PCV or even just the PCV filter media from elsewhere, retain the PCV cover and the seals for refitting. If you are simply going to clean and replace the filter, use white spirit to clean, rinse with clean water, and replace when completely dry.
Refitting is the reversal of removal, but from experience takes about 20 minutes longer because of the awkwardness of the air filter cover!
Hi, I appear to have major oil leaks including the front crank seal (behind the main crank pulley) and I also noticed that oil has come out the oil dip stick tube and a difficult to identify location near where the oil hose to the oil cooler comes back to the engine/gearbox.
So the PCV may be clogged and I will check this. Will the seals that have gone stop leaking or will they need replacing? Is the front crank seal able to be replaced from the front of the engine readily or does the whole crank shaft need to be removed? Can you do this seal with the engine still in its bay? Do you need any special tools? Is the bolt holding the crank pulley on hard to undo? Do you need to somehow lock the engine?
Cheers, Stephen
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Hi Stephen,
It definitely sounds like your crankshaft is over-pressurised, and I expect you will find your PCV is clogged. Generally once oil has been forced through a seal, that seal will become misshapen or even perish in places, and require replacement. You may be lucky and not need to replace any seals – it doesn’t sound like you’ve anything to lose by cleaning/replacing the PCV, then starting the engine and monitoring the leaks.
Replacing the crankshaft seals looks like quite an involved job; it is graded as 4 out of 5 for difficulty in my Haynes manual, and involves removing the crankshaft pulley, which is graded 3 out of 5 for difficulty, and itself requires that the auxilliary drivebelt and air conditioning compressor are removed.
The manual notes that the crankshaft pulley retaining bolt is extremely tight, and to prevent rotation of the crankshaft when removing the bolt, it is necessary to remove the starter motor and have an assistant insert a wide blade screwdriver between the flywheel ring gear teeth and the transmission bellhousing whilst the pulley retaining bolt is slackened.
The seal itself needs to be removed by screwing two self-tapping screws into it and pulling it out with a pair of pliers pulling on each screw in turn.
The Haynes manual notes “Great care must be taken to avoid damage to the crankshaft”.
No special tools are required, but I expect a well-equiped Land Rover workshop will have tools to make the job a lot easier. Personally I would get this sorted professionally, because it looks like a big, long and (in your case) oily job, and has the potential for some seriously expensive mistakes.
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Hi
Ive just replaced my pcv after reading your article. It realy was in a state after 42,000 mls.
A word of warning, check the 4 T pieces a small bit ( barely visible to my OAP eyes) had broken off one of mine & was leaking diesel over the engine £25 + vat to replace.
thanks for the article.
Jim
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Hi Jim,
I hope the PCV article helped a little – it’s not a difficult job, but it’s always nice to have an understanding of what you’re letting yourself in for before you start.
Interesting to hear about the injector tee-pieces possibly leaking diesel, I wonder how many people are losing out on performance and fuel economy because of it!
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Thanks for a thorough and clear account, which has helped me, not only to diagnose a PCV problem on my 54 TD4 Freelander, but has also directed me to an enhancement. Nice one.
Dave.
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Hi Dave, thanks for the feedback, and I’m glad the article was helpful.
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Hi Everyone, replacing/cleaning the PCV is my next job since oil is coming out of the dipstick, and there is a funny sucking sound above 2000′ish rpm (dont know if its related, but every great journey starts with a single step!) Please could someone list the BMW part number for the PCV? since the links dont seem live anymore. My freelander is a 2003 TD4 – 95,000 miles and never had this PCV thingy !
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Hi Chris, the BMW part number is 11127799224. Broad Oak’s current eBay listing for the part is here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-MG-ZT-CDT-CDTi-ENGINE-BREATHER-BMW-PART-/190620279565
I’ve updated the guide to reflect the fact that eBay listings expire after a while, and I’ve also added the BMW part number under “sourcing the part”.
I hope all goes well with your upgrade!
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Thanks for the informative article on this item. I have an 04 plate TD4 3door, and don’t think the PCV has ever been changed. Will have to check it soon. I used to be a mechanic so am not afraid to get dirty when required.
My TD4 runs really rough at 2000rpm, as though it is missing, and sometimes idles quite roughly too. It has cut out completely in the past and then been a real pain to get started. I’ve even had to resort to spraying “easy start” into the inlet manifold. The low pressure fuel pump and filter under the offside rear wheel arch have both recently been changed (last October).
Could these symptoms be as a result of a blocked PCV, or is going to be something else?
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It can’t hurt to check the PCV valve to see whether it’s blocked – you needn’t replace it if there’s no blockage, simply put it back together. From memory though, rough running and poor power can be caused by the TD4 struggling to suck in enough air. You might want to check the air filter, clean the EGR valve if it’s clogged, and even remove and clean the inside of the air intake manifold (using a toothbrush and Mr Muscle!). The MAF sensor could also prevent your engine from getting the right amount of air, but it’s quite expensive to replace and not recommended unless you know it’s at fault.
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Now I’ve bought the upgrade from Broadoak,do I still need to change it every30,000?
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Nope – the reason for servicing the original filter is that the filter element itself can get clogged and needs to be replaced. The BMW part is a filterless design (my understanding is that it uses cyclone technology similar to Dyson vacuum cleaners) so there’s nothing to replace.
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Thanks Nik, I’ll give those a try first. The air filter was changed middle of last year when it was serviced, but I’ll check it anyway. For what it costs to replace, I’ll probably just replace it. The various articles I’ve read all seem to point towards the EGR or MAF sensor.
I’ll report back when I’ve had the chance to check the EGR valve. Thanks again.
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Thanks for the reply, Nik. I’ll certainly check the items you mentioned, and will report back once I’ve had the chance to check them.
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Just a quick update. I’ve removed the large pipe on the outlet side of the EGR valve, and the valve will definitely need a clean. It’s not blocked, but there is a small build up of oily deposits inside, which give the impression of that the inside of the tube is pitted. Will remove and clean next week. Thanks for the advice.
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Would just like to thank everyone for their input on this site. It’s because of people on here that my Freelander TD4 is now running sweet as the proverbial nut. The main protagonist for my problems were the air filter (which should have been changed at the last service, but wasn’t. Not a L/R dealer), the EGR valve, which chock full of gunk, and a clean of the PCV. Now it’s all back in one piece and runs as it should do. Will be looking to buy an EGR bypass valve in the near future. Thanks again folks. You’re all stars. Grant
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Hi Grant, glad your TD4 is playing nicely now – it’s a great engine when it behaves!
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Yes Nik. It seems just fine now. Thanks again for the advice. I guess it pays to check the basics first.
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