Crankcase ventilation hose tee junction fail!

[abominablesnowman]

Replaced my spark plugs for the first time myself today. Seemed to work fine, but I broke the Tee junction that connects the ventilation output of the two sides of the crankcase into the air intake box. The thing is made of crappy plastic and cracked with only a little misplaced force.

I'm new to doing my own maintenance and don't want to F-up anything important, so I tried to read up on this and as I understand these lines are to allow the oil fumes from the crankcase to be sucked up into the engine air intake to cut down on emissions.

1) The T-junction was only partially cracked, so I taped it up kind of crappily. Can I drive with this to the autoparts store? It seems to me it would be safe to just tape a rag over the ends of the two crankcase vents temporarily as long as air can flow and oil doesn't drip out.

2) Can I just replace the T with some brass fitting from Home Depot with a few hose clamps? My superpower is destroying all things plastic, and I'd hate to buy some overpriced plastic tee replacement only to break it again next year.

 

[mmc757]

I replaced that whole system with generic parts from the local hardware store...
Nice rubber hose instead of the brittle plastic garbage, sturdier fittings, generic hose clamps.
No problem at all doing this, just make sure it all sticks together tight. You dont want unfiltered air getting drawn into your valve covers.
As for the tape temporary fix...should be fine for a short time, just dont leave it too long because the tape will degrade in the heat and end up leaking.

 

[barryh]

Failed T Piece PCV System

I replaced the broken T by cutting the plastic pipes and replacing with a brass T of 5/8''(from an underground irrigation sytem) and buying in a length of thin walled silicon hose from a supplier in England. The hose has good temp characteristics and makes a tight fit on the brass fitting and the plastic pipe without clamps. My set up has been on place for about 2 yrs and has removed the build up of mayonaise from the oil filler neck as a bonus.