PCV System

[Jrbball7]

I have an early model year 2018 s4 and was wondering if it's worth it to upgrade prematurely to new revision pcv hoses or a whole aftermarket system.

I've seen two documented cases now where the oil cap blows off resulting in fire and I was about to tune the car. TIA

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[Esmin23]

I have an early model year 2018 s4 and was wondering if it's worth it to upgrade prematurely to new revision pcv hoses or a whole aftermarket system.

I've seen two documented cases now where the oil cap blows off resulting in fire and I was about to tune the car. TIA

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Honestly, knowing how shitty the stock system is now, it would've been one of the first "mods" before i started doing anything to the car. Get the Racingline unit

[oesman]

I have an early model year 2018 s4 and was wondering if it's worth it to upgrade prematurely to new revision pcv hoses or a whole aftermarket system.

I think it's worth doing it incidentally to other work, but I don't think I'd swap it out just to swap it out if you have no issues. Realistically lots of stuff could easily cause a fire. A fuel line leak, a turbo oil line leak, electrical fires, collisions, etc... PCV systems don't normally fail spectacularly into a fire.

The front PCV hose is pretty easy to swap. The racingline kit is an (expensive) option if you want an upgrade and a catch can rather than just a separator that drains the oil back into the engine like OE. It's also not too hard to install from the looks of it. The challenge is the PCV line under the turbo. You're going to have to rip the turbo off to do that one. It's also prone to melting and the new revision basically just adds a small section of heat shielding where it's closest to the turbo. When I installed my hybrid turbo I found that was the difference in the parts, I just wrapped mine with added shielding since the hybrid turbo makes more heat.

[rlme36]

i haven't put eyes on this yet, but is there a way to add a fire sleeve to the existing hose that passes under the turbo by just sliding it on and chasing it down to provide protection?

[Jrbball7]

I think it's worth doing it incidentally to other work, but I don't think I'd swap it out just to swap it out if you have no issues. Realistically lots of stuff could easily cause a fire. A fuel line leak, a turbo oil line leak, electrical fires, collisions, etc... PCV systems don't normally fail spectacularly into a fire.

The front PCV hose is pretty easy to swap. The racingline kit is an (expensive) option if you want an upgrade and a catch can rather than just a separator that drains the oil back into the engine like OE. It's also not too hard to install from the looks of it. The challenge is the PCV line under the turbo. You're going to have to rip the turbo off to do that one. It's also prone to melting and the new revision basically just adds a small section of heat shielding where it's closest to the turbo. When I installed my hybrid turbo I found that was the difference in the parts, I just wrapped mine with added shielding since the hybrid turbo makes more heat.

The pcv breather hose is the one that usually goes bad right?

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[oesman]

i haven't put eyes on this yet, but is there a way to add a fire sleeve to the existing hose that passes under the turbo by just sliding it on and chasing it down to provide protection?

I think you'd have a hard time getting your hands in there. The other end that connects to the turbo inlet is accessible, but its a very bendy line, I have doubts you'd be able to thread on a sleeve and getting your hands in there to Velcro on a wrap-able sleeve (like the one I used) would also be hard.

The pcv breather hose is the one that usually goes bad right?

Either hose can go bad, cheap/easy fix is the front one, if the bottom one melts that's the $$$ fix unless you DIY. Another challenge with that bottom pcv hose is that it's meant to be one time use, per the manual there is no way to remove it without damaging it. I could not find a clever way to pull it off without just taking chunks out of it with pliers until it was willing to come off. Also the oil cooler is there and you don't want to smack/damage that. The reason I mention that, is because if you think you can snake your hand in there, you won't be able to pull it off anyway without clear access for pliers or similar tools.

If you want to do the easy one just for peace of mind it's pretty simple. The only trick is that officially it "can not" be removed from the inlet. You're supposed to swap out the inlet which comes with a new hose. Swapping the inlet is a lot more work than swapping the hose. In practice I think this is just lip service because of emissions regulation. What I found is that if you unhook the side off the PCV block first and then flip the whole line over towards the passenger side, in that position you can take it off quite easily without much force. Seems to be due to it's shape. I tried doing it the way others say to do it ("just pull hard") and it seemed like an absurd amount of force, but the flip trick made it super easy. Whether or not you'll find a source for just the PCV line without the inlet itself is another question. ECS claimed to have it, but the date kept slipping and then i found it was cheaper to buy it with the inlet anyway, not to mention faster.

I'll have a video on swapping those out soon.

[rlme36]

I'll have a video on swapping those out soon.

look forward to the video, I appreciate the work/effort that you do to create your channel of helpful info for the platform.

thanks,
rob

[thermobryan]

Got this bad boy on order....https://www.racingline.com/audi-s4-s5-oil-catch-can

[oesman]

look forward to the video, I appreciate the work/effort that you do to create your channel of helpful info for the platform.

thanks,
rob

Thanks Rob!

[MGZ]

Do it, it's like $100 to do it. Peace of mind PCV and hose. You'll be all good

[Jrbball7]

I think you'd have a hard time getting your hands in there. The other end that connects to the turbo inlet is accessible, but its a very bendy line, I have doubts you'd be able to thread on a sleeve and getting your hands in there to Velcro on a wrap-able sleeve (like the one I used) would also be hard.



Either hose can go bad, cheap/easy fix is the front one, if the bottom one melts that's the $$$ fix unless you DIY. Another challenge with that bottom pcv hose is that it's meant to be one time use, per the manual there is no way to remove it without damaging it. I could not find a clever way to pull it off without just taking chunks out of it with pliers until it was willing to come off. Also the oil cooler is there and you don't want to smack/damage that. The reason I mention that, is because if you think you can snake your hand in there, you won't be able to pull it off anyway without clear access for pliers or similar tools.

If you want to do the easy one just for peace of mind it's pretty simple. The only trick is that officially it "can not" be removed from the inlet. You're supposed to swap out the inlet which comes with a new hose. Swapping the inlet is a lot more work than swapping the hose. In practice I think this is just lip service because of emissions regulation. What I found is that if you unhook the side off the PCV block first and then flip the whole line over towards the passenger side, in that position you can take it off quite easily without much force. Seems to be due to it's shape. I tried doing it the way others say to do it ("just pull hard") and it seemed like an absurd amount of force, but the flip trick made it super easy. Whether or not you'll find a source for just the PCV line without the inlet itself is another question. ECS claimed to have it, but the date kept slipping and then i found it was cheaper to buy it with the inlet anyway, not to mention faster.

I'll have a video on swapping those out soon.

Do you have a part number for the most up to date revision? Also looking forward to that video! I'm sure I can figure it out easily enough but I like having a visual to make sure nothing is missed. Thanks!

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