2001 Dakota PCV Valve fell into valve cover & is rattling
 

Hey Everyone,

2001 Dakota 3.9 L V6

I'm having a problem that just started. I was doing maintenance, replacing ball joints, control arm bushings etc.
When I finished up I took it for a test drive and it was driving better (needs an alignment though). During this drive, however I heard this new rattle. It sounded like it was coming from the glove box area & you can feel it. It's pretty aggressive. It is pretty consistent but is more relative to engine speed than anything. It does go away during acceleration. I was able to find that the PCV valve broke off & a part of it, I assume fell in the valve cover. I took off the cover today to see if I could easily find it but to no avail.

Should I be concerned? There is no metal in the engine as far as I know, just a plastic ring the diameter of the PCV valve.
If I wanted to pull it apart more, what would be my next steps & would it be reasonable to go this route?

I'm also in the process of moving ~15 miles, do you think it'd be safe to drive this distance? Maybe I'll get lucky and it will fall through the oil return lines? There is also a risk that it will melt & who knows what would happen.

Looking for some advice that makes financial & common sense,

thanks!

Was it the PCV valve? Or was it the vent elbow that broke? Did the vacuum line from it go to the intake manifold, or to the air filter housing?

I could be wrong with my description. Passenger side, valve cover. The little elbow that goes into the grommet. Part of it broke off. I popped it out and you could tell the plastic had a ring that cracked off.
the hose went to the intake manifold on the passenger side.

I found it after I had already started the engine, just poor timing. I don’t see it sitting around the valves. I ordered an endoscope to try to find it, but don’t know the best course of action from here. Hopefully it falls through to the oil pan. I don’t know the size of the orifices though.

thanks for the response

Is this what broke off? Check each of the six valves make sure it's not interfering. Check lifters, springs etc.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/dodgefo...bd154469b6.jpg

that’s it alright. If you pull it out you’ll see a lip on the inside that prevents it from backing out of the grommet. That’s what broke off. I’ve already inspected the best I can from the top side. I can’t find it. My question is what do I do if I can’t find it in the valve area? Where would it have gone and what are the next steps/is it worth it to go through all that?

I think that's just the vent elbow. If you already found the little lip that held it in place, then that's all there is. PCV valve should be in the other valve cover....

The problem is I can’t find the little lip. I think it’s fallen down somewhere. I only found it by running the truck, so I couldn’t get it prior to dislodging it from where it initially fell

It's just a bit of plastic..... I don't think leaving it in there will harm anything.

Can you hear the rattle outside looking at the engine? Agree with HeyYou, just leave it and let it disintegrate. I doubt if it will melt, just get pulverized or fall down into the oil pan/get caught by the filter.