Mann ProVent - Successful Installation!

[Alchemy]

(Sorry - Procedure no longer available as I have switched internet providers and they nuked my account before I could salvage what was written)


Well, it took about two hours and several burned knuckles (turbochargers stay hot long after shutdown), but I have sucessfully installed a Mann ProVent CCV on my 05 Passat. In the end, I believe I have come up with a very easy and slick installation method.

I will post pictures tomorrow along with detailed instructions and a comprehensive parts list for others who may like to do this same modification.

The only good place to install this unit is beneath the air cleaner in the same space where the horn and AC condenser reside, and this location makes for easy routing of the inlet and outlet hoses. As I was installing he unit, I checked the outlet of the intercooler and there was oil dripping from one of the connections, so guarnteed, oil is still getting into the intakes on the 2.0 PD engines. Glad that I installed this unit, as I have had the pleasure of cleaning the intakes on four ALH TDI's and the 2.0 PD looks more intense. Plus, while installing the ProVent your hands barely get dirty. Can't say the same for cleaning an intake!

Well, off to ice the knuckles on a beer.

Cheers!

Steve

 

[owr084]

You da man!

I anxiously await the pictures of your installation. Who did you order your ProVent from?

 

[jimoilrell]

Great!!!! The parts list will be very helpful. I look forward to the pics and details on how you did the installation.

 

[rgue]

Wow, perfect timing. The ProVent I ordered from www.singhmotorwerks.com just arrived today.

 

[EJS]

Excellent, can't wait to see the pics - I've been puzzling out how to install the unit. It will be nice to see it installed on an 05.

 

[Alchemy]

Click here for the -> Mann ProVent 200 Installation Procedure

Well, it took longer to put together the procedure than it took to install the ProVent, but I am sure that it will save endless time for others who do this mod in the future.

I have put the web page on my Roadrunner account as to not hog space here.

If anyone sees any errors or has suggested improvements, please email me and let me know!

Regards,

Steve

 

[Btravelen]

Pardon my ignorance, but what does this product improve on? I looked at the description of it on the link that rgue provided. Is there a problem/concern regarding the stock pcv system?

Thanks

 

[tomo366]

YES

 

[Alchemy]

If there are two things that VW diesels are know for they are bad mass airflow sensors and plugged intake manifolds.

The latter is caused by two factors that come together to cause the plugging, those being particulate from the exhaust (these are diesels afterall) that is directed into the intake by the EGR and oil that finds its way into the intake through the crankcase ventilation system. When these two ingredients combine, they condense and stick to any surface that is cooler, the most prominent place being the inside of the aluminum intake manifold.

This will happen to almost any (well, we are assuming it will happen to the 2.0 PD engines) VW TDI unless one of the two conditions mentioned above are taken care of, either remove the exhaust gas recirculation (which increases emissions) or remove the oil from the CCV gas. Because the EGR on the PD engines are electronically controlled and people have not figured out the engine controls to the point of shutting it off like you can do on ALH code engines, I have chosen to go with a filter that removes the oil from the CCV gas.

To remove, clean and reinstall the intake takes from 2.5 to 4 hours, and I would much rather invest the time and effort to install a CCV filter that will solve the problem that VW can't seem to.

Unattended intakes tend to start plugging around 60k miles. I plan on keeping this vehicle for at least 120k so I am money and time ahead right now.

Steve

 

[jimoilrell]

Great instructions. Great pictures. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. I oredered my Provent 200 tonight. Thanks

 

[rgue]

Many thanks, Steve. Your photos and write-up are superb. I didn't even see that this location was available when I looked over my car the other day. I think I may use copper fittings instead of the bulky plastic ones. I have an idea that a couple of 3/4" sweat-type street ells could serve as elbows and 1" to 3/4" hose reducers at the same time. We'll see.

 

[deming]

WOW! Great instructions and photo write up on the installation. I plan to order mine this week, but I probably will not get it installed right away. Thanks again.

BTW--I figured out an easier way to clean those intakes--Call your local engine builder/machine shop to see if they have a heated, recirculating, parts degreasing system.
Most big shops lease these degreasing systems.

I have used this process for John Deere Intakes and Ford aluminum cylinder heads and it takes less than 30 minutes and it costs very little. They look perfect when they come out, although your intake paint is also removed.

The down side is that you will have to wait, or have a second car for transportation or a second identical intake to slap on.

I would most prefer a second intake but I have not found a good deal on a Passat 2.0 TDI intake. It would be easiest to have a TDI Intake Cleaning GTG at my Quad City IL farm (Moline) for all of you Midwest TDI'ers.
I could just run a whole bunch of intakes into the machine shop on a Saturday 11:00-12:00 and pick them up 30-45 minutes later. Our big engine shop is ususally open til 4:00 on Saturdays during tne spring and summer because the 1/4 mile dragstrip is a big thing in those parts. Sorry to ramble.

Thanks again.

 

[Alchemy]

Re: Mann ProVent - Successful Installation! *DELETED*

Post deleted by Alchemy

 

[Alchemy]

For those who may have printed a copy of the procedure, there is one slight modification that I have made. The drain line is 1/2", not 1/4" as I indicated in the original.

Sorry for the mistake and potential confusion. What is 1/4" between friends?

 

[eluwak]

Good for the FAQs

 

[Btravelen]

Thanks for the info. I'll likely order the Mann system. I intend to keep mine for awhile also, and would like to prevent as many problems as possible!

 

[djg]

Has anybody inquired about warranty issues with this type of modification?

Thanks in advance - this is a great board.

 

[Alchemy]

Great question, and I am certain that for every dealership that you ask, they will give you a different answer.

For giggles, I called my dealership in "anonymous" mode this afternoon. First, I got them to admit that intake plugging is a problem and why it happens. This is undeniable. Then I asked if they have installed any CCV ventilation kits to prevent the oil from getting into the intake system, and they said they had not. I then asked if there would be any ill effects if I were to install one on my vehicle and all I heard was a gasp, on the other end of the phone and the immediate response (almost sounded scripted) that the engine warranty would be voided because this is an engine modification. So I asked the guy to explain why this was an engine modification and what possible harm it would do other than filter the air coming from the CCV system (wanted to add "...and taking away dealer service profit" but I digress). He then admitted that he didn't know what it harm it would do, so I told him that if he cannot say that it wouldn't void the warranty, he cannot say that it would void the warranty. I will be persuing the issue further with the dealership service and parts director tomorrow, and with VWOA after that.

Basically, as we all know, dealerships are not engineers and always looking to cover their butts.

More tomorrow when I continue this fun journey of wits.

Cheers,

Steve

 

[jimoilrell]

Steve, I'm glad you have the time to pursue this with VWOA. You're the CCV Man! I will be installing mine on Thurs, thanks to your great set of instructions. It's people like you that make this forum so special.

 

[jddaigle]

Steve,

Congratulations on finding a spot for the ProVent in the B5's cramped engine bay! It looks like a great location. How easy is it to access the drain line? Do you have to do that from below?

 

[Alchemy]

I change my own oil, and when I drop the belly pan to do so I will be draining the line as the valve is zip tied in the area. I used a simple nylon ball valve so it will drain at the same time as the oil.

Now, how much that will be I have yet to see. Stay tuned for updates.

Steve

 

[jddaigle]

how much that will be I have yet to see.

In my Golf I collected about a tablespoon over 2500mi. It will be interesting to see how the Passat's engine behaves.

 

[jimoilrell]

Rather than discarding the CCV hose when I installed the Mann ProVent, I cut it and used it for the connections at the valve cover and the intake. The 3/4 inch hose slips right over it and using the flex section to make the connection on the intake provides a nice curve to install a straight length of heater hose. Steve's instructions were otherwise followed and were great. Thanks to Steve again.

 

[Alchemy]

I thought of doing the same, but wanted to make sure I could revert back to bone stock at a moments notice.

For example, tonight the ProVent is completely out of the vehicle as I have to take it in tomorrow to have them look at the transmission... There is something very wrong going on there.

Oh, BTW, when I removed the unit and all traces of its existence, the drain line was completely full, not of oil but water. There was some emulsified oil on top of the filter near the inlet. The inlet back to the intake snorkel was completely clean, dry and free of any oil, so the unit is doing its job.

My only reason for removing was because I do not want to give the dealer anything to blame the transmission problems on. More to follow once I have the diagnosis on that one.

Steve

 

[Alchemy]

How did your install go? Pictures??? Based on how much water accumulated in one week, I'd suggest making the drain line very accessible.

Steve

 

[deming]

Please keep us updated. I have basically the same car just a different color.

Thanks
Deming

 

[outthere]

A Few ProVent Questions:
How long did it take you to install, and what is your mechanical skill level?
I'm considering adding a provent, or having a shop install it.
How frequently have you had to drain it?
Can the drain be routed such that the belly pan doesnt have to be removed?
Any update on the warranty? Does Mann provide any coverage?

Thank you.

 

[pruzink]

If you are getting a lot of water out of your Provent CCV filter drain, double check your hoses to make sure that you don't have any hose leaks. After I installed mine, at 1st was getting pretty much just oil from the drain; then I started getting quite a bit of water mixed in with the oil (emulsified). I figured the change had to be due to the colder weather. I started draining it more often because I was afraid of the water freezing and cracking my drain hose. When I was installing my skidplate, I wanted to put a better drain hose and fitting for draining it so I could drill a hole in the skidplate and have it hang just below it to allow easy draining. As I was removing the Provent filter to replace the drain, I found one of the other hoses had wiggled loose. Since the loose hose has been corrected, I don't get much water in the drain any more, just a little oil. Of course it isn't as cold any more either so I'm not sure how much that would affect it, but obviously you don't want any of the hoses leaking. Dropping the drain hose through a hole in the skidplate has worked out nice for making it convenient to drain.

 

[Alchemy]

The first install took me about two hours, but following the instructions I followed should cut that in about half, not including finding the parts at your local hardware store.

My mechanical skill level is in the 99.9 percentile (overachieving engineer), but this work is very straight forward. Nothing too complicated here.

I drain mine once every few weeks. A lot of water comes out now (99%), mainly due to the cold weather.

I routed my drainline through the lower facia of the bumper. I have a shutoff valve on the end of it, so all I do is pull out the tube, drain it and life is good.

No update on warranty. In a court of law I would win. THere is nothing detrimental that this unit does, unless you plug the inlet line and pressure builds up in the engine.

 

[pruzink]

I would really recomend installing the Provent filter yourself as opposed to having a shop do it. If you search these forums thoroughly, there are many posts on differant variations of how people have done it. Getting it installed is more of an excersize in a scavenger hunt finding pieces to reroute your CCV hoses to the filter and to make a decent bracket to mount it as opposed to installing a complicated mechanical device. Several installation posts done in here use hose and fittings from Home Depot to make the connections (some even give hose size, length, ect). Home Depot also sells pieces of aluminum flatstock that you can bend to the radius of your oil filter to mount it too (I used a 3" conduit clamp and a washer and a dishwasher hose to make my hose connections). In any case, if you just do your homework researching the various installation posts in here and spend some time collecting your pieces parts at Home Depot its more of an 8th grade science fair project than a complicated auto repair. Good luck.