3rd May 2006, 19:18
PCV valve is a fairly cheap item to replace, if you haven't had it changed in a while, it is worth going ahead and doing it.
13th May 2006, 22:13
A PCV valve at Canadian Tire (or any parts store) should be no more than $3 and easily replaceable by yourself. It's important to have it changed regularly.
100K miles is about 162K kms. Not bad. I'm now at 427,000kms and rolling.
7th Dec 2006, 21:03
Adding another follow-up. Just passed 439,000 kms - still going. Her engine is starting to show signs of age (mostly taking a while to warm up, oil leaks), but nothing I can't fix. I still love my Spirit.
6th Mar 2007, 14:55
Wow, 439,000 km, that is awesome! I love seeing people who keep driving cars and take care of them like that.
The PCV valve stands for "Positive Crankcase Ventilation." It is a little spring-loaded valve, generally plastic nowadays, that sticks out of a rubber grommet in your valve cover, with a rubber tube that runs to the vacuum side of the intake manifold, usually in the carburetor base plate. It's just there to help burn off some of the fumes that come from the crankcase, rather than venting them directly into the atmosphere like old cars prior to the 1960's. When the PCV valve gets old, carbon builds up around it and can make it stick closed, which allows pressure to build up in your crankcase. That can increase oil smoking as oil vapor gets pushed past the rings or up the valve guides into the combustion chamber. The other guy is right, a PCV valve is just a few dollars and takes less than 90 seconds to change.
25th May 2007, 15:55
I'm the original poster... timing belt is done every 100K kms. The next one is coming up around 470,000kms. I'm now at 447,000kms and rolling. Have a bit of problems with the oil pan gasket, but it's getting fixed.
24th Jun 2007, 18:18
I have just bought a 1992 Spirit.. the transmission isn't shifting right going down the highway. I was told to check the speed sensor. Where the heck is that thing?
30th Jul 2007, 18:34
Original poster here again. The speed sensor tells the computer how fast the car is travelling. I've had it replaced (I believe) 3 times during the life of the car. My transmission usually jerks badly and the torque converter doesn't lock up under high speeds as it sends erroneous info. What exactly do you mean by not shifting right?
7th Aug 2009, 16:55
Hi there, new poster, 92 Dodge Spirit 3.0l V6, 145,000km on it. Great little car.
If the transmission is shifting hard, it could be that the linkage arm between the throttle and the transmission is sticking. Some lubrication is all that is needed to fix that. If you wait too long your transmission could die. I just had to replace mine because the radiator was shot, and the mechanic who I had look over the cooling system a few months ago thought it was not anything to worry about.
23rd Feb 2011, 18:56
I live in BC and my Spirit did not pass air care. It runs great and fuel economy seems good, it's got 176000 km but emissions were too high to pass. What should I look for?
26th Oct 2011, 08:54
Hey all! I just purchased a used 92 Spirit 4 cyl (2.5L.) with 114k miles on it. Runs a tad rough. Looks like original plug wires and possibly cap as well. looks like small stuff.. Easily remedied. My Pops owned Dodge / Plymouth products as long as I can remember. This is only my second Chrysler product, and I'm happy to see such high praise reviews!
JG. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1st May 2006, 22:53
Very nice man! I have a spirit also and just wanted to ask what is a PCV valve and is it crucial to the health of my spirit? Because every time I get an oil change at jiffy lube, they keep telling me to replace my PCV valve and fuel filter.
What is so important about that little tiny piece of metal anyway? (Spirit 2.5L 4 SOHC)
BTW Just hit 100,000 miles on it (dunno what that is in kilometers)