Reply to "To PCV or Not to PCV??"

Folks,

I'll try to clear up the charcoal cannister issue. First, it is not part of the pcv system. The charcoal cannister is part of the "evaporative emissions system". The federal test for evaporative emissions the manufacturers had to pass was this: the car sat in a sealed room for 24 hours and the hydrocarbon emissions in the room were monitored and had to remain below a certain level during the 24 hour period of the test.

To pass this test the manufacturers routed the vents from the carburetor fuel bowl & fuel tank into a charcoal cannister that collected the gasoline vapors. The cannister was sized large enough to store 24 hours worth of vapors. A hose from the cannister was then routed to a source that would draw the vapors out of the cannister and into the engine when the car was running. On the Pantera its that small, corrigated, aluminum foil covered hose attached to the side of the air filter assembly. If this hose is missing, your car is not in compliance. I won't tell anybody, I promise. (It won't affect drivability)

Regarding the question of needing a pcv breather on a fuel injected car, the answer is yes, a supply of fresh, filtered air is still needed. you should find that one valve cover will have a hose connected to a point along the intake tract, downstream of the air filter assembly.

George