removing my rats nest and the vacuum actuator on the right side of it, the center stem on the bottom broke off.



i super glued it back together, it broke again, super glue never works twice. so can i get another at any auto store, or is it a mazda specific part?

or what other parts will perform the same function?

thanks,

Nick

 

You could cobble a few plastic tees together or post WTB in the first gen For Sale section.

 

Actually, I broke something similar on my ratsnest, and Im thinking your just using that watery super glue stuff? I used a kinda thick sewing needle, to fill the passage and align the broken piece, and glued around that. I used Locktite superglue gel, and swear it was as strong as before. Just a suggestion

 

I believe that the piece you broke serves two functions. It acts both as a one way check valve, and a T-fitting. It is part of the PCV system to get water vapor out of the oil and put it back into the combustion cycle. Doing this burns off the water vapor and keeps your oil from getting filled with condensation. It also eliminates that yellow watery crap that you see showing up inside your oil filler neck sometimes. You can easily make a similar setup with off the shelf parts at Autozone. I always throw that thing in the trash when I pull off a rat's nest anyway. It breaks half the time, and when it doesn't break I usually find that it isn't doing its job correctly anyway.

Go to the vacuum/emissions section at Autozone. Get some white plastic T-fittings of the appropriate size. Probably 5/16"? Just get whatever matches the hose size. You will also need a PCV valve. Get something that looks fairly universal. I find some of the Chevy stuff works good. You'll want a PCV valve with two barbed connections for hoses. Put this inline in the hose that goes to the carburetor. This will act as your new check valve, and will prevent a vacuum leak.

If you need more help look up "PCV Valve" or "rats nest" in the first gen section. There should be 5-10 threads about how to do this.

Jamie

 

deadphoenix52, the part you broke is called a purge valve. its job is to carry evap fumes from the gas tank and charcoal canister to the intake manifold. i sent you a pm regarding the valve.

 

awesome. thanks for all the responses. ill end up making my own with the PCV valve. the pCV valve will be placed as if it were the single top end on the purge valve, with the vacuum from the carb opening it. correct?

 

You will want to position the PCV valve so that flow is allowed to go towards the carburetor/intake manifold. It should prevent flow from going away from the carburetor, back towards the oil neck as this would create a vacuum leak. I have attached a somewhat helpful picture of my rat's nest delete setup. I was a little bit off on my first post. The only place that you need a T-fitting is for the dash pots on the dizzy. You can see mine in the picture. I'm pretty sure that I ran it to the black phenolic carburetor spacer. You should have 5-6 nipples on that thing that you don't need anymore after you pull off the rat's nest. I believe that you want the second nipple from the front. There are differing opinions about which one to use, but that's the one I've always had good luck with. You can also see the arrows I drew to my PCV valve. It goes from the nipple on the oil filler neck, to the PCV valve, to my vacuum source (carb or intake). Just connect it to something with a good vacuum source. All you need it to do is pull air through the oil neck to keep the condensation from collecting. Check under your oil cap after letting the car run for an hour or two and you'll know if it's working right or not. If it's working it will be bone dry. If it's not working then you'll see the yellow crap that we have collectively named "lung mustard" or "lung butter".

If I've confused you or you need more help let me know. I remember how confusing all the rat's nest crap was the first time I went through it.

Jamie

 

thanks a ton