PCV Breather Hose Upgrade for Audi EA389 2.9T/3.0T

Upgrade your failure-prone PCV breather hose with the high-performance, reliable 034Motorsport PCV Breather Hose, engineered for enhanced durability and long-lasting performance. The 034Motorsport PCV Breather Hose isn’t just an upgrade for tuned vehicles - it’s also a critical safety enhancement for all EA839-equipped vehicles.

The PCV breather hose on the EA839 relies on a pair of internal check valves to switch between ventilation pathways and prevent the loss of crankcase vacuum or entrance of boost pressure to the engine crankcase; however, these factory components are prone to premature failure. Once these check valves fail, they can no longer regulate crankcase pressure properly, causing the crankcase to pressurize and potentially allowing hot oil to escape that can lead to serious engine damage, including the risk of fire. This failure occurred to a development vehicle in Ashes to Asphalt, documenting the absolute worst case scenario of when the PCV system can fail. This failure can occur on bone-stock vehicles or vehicles tuned with Stage 1, 2, or 3 power levels. The 034Motorsport PCV Breather Hose is designed to offer reliable crankcase ventilation for the EA839 V6 at all power levels.

The 034Motorsport PCV Breather Hose fixes these critical safety issues, allowing the PCV system to operate flawlessly at all power levels for years to come.

Features:

• Direct Replacement of the Failure Prone OE PCV Hose
• Ensures High Flow Crankcase Ventilation to Prevent Crankcase Pressurization
• Eliminates Potential Boost Leak at OE Plastic Check Valve Housing
• Supports Boost Pressures to 40+ PSI
• Compatible with OEM and Upgraded Turbocharger Inlets
• CNC-Machined, Billet Aluminum Check Valve Body (Black Anodized), with a Heat and Chemical Resistant, Durable Rubber Diaphragm
• 4-Ply, Reinforced, Silicone Hose
• Retains Factory Engine Cover
• Simple Installation
• Covered by Lifetime Warranty

How Does the PCV System Operate?

The Positive Crankcase Ventilation System on the EA839 works to remove excess pressure from the crankcase system and relies on the vacuum from the engine’s intake system to operate properly. At idle or cruising while not in boost, the engine’s charge air system operates under vacuum, drawing air in continuously. During this state, the PCV system utilizes this vacuum to release crankcase pressure into the charge air system through the connection just after the throttle body.

However, when the vehicle is under boost (during acceleration), this connection becomes pressurized, meaning it can no longer provide a vacuum source for crankcase ventilation. When this happens, a check valve in the breather hose closes off this connection, preventing boost pressure from entering the crankcase. At this point, the breather hose is able to draw vacuum from the turbo inlet connection, as this creates vacuum through a siphoning effect as the turbocharger draws air in through the intake.

Whether you are sitting at a stoplight or romping on a backroad, a properly operating PCV system is crucial for maintaining the engine’s performance and preventing harmful pressure buildup.

Why is the OE PCV System Insufficient?

The check valves within the factory breather hose are an integral component of ensuring correct operation. However, since these check valves deal with the high temperatures of an engine bay and the transition between vacuum and boost pressure, they are susceptible to premature failure. When they fail, excess pressure can enter the crankcase, causing it to operate under conditions it was not designed for. In fact it’s likely these are the same as what Audi uses on naturally aspirated engines, which makes them not up to the task of dealing with pressures associated with turbocharged engines.

As the crankcase of the engine is not designed to operate under pressure, it typically will find the path of least resistance to release this excess pressure. The seals and components inside your engine, which are designed to operate under vacuum, aren’t built to handle this excess pressure. In some cases, the path of least resistance is unfortunately the oil cap, which can loosen and expel hot oil into the engine bay, potentially causing a fire.

Audi issued a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) concerning this failure of the PCV Breather Hose as of 2020, though in our testing 034Motorsport has concluded that even the newest variant of breather hose is susceptible to failure.

Some other solutions on the market neglect the importance of maintaining adequate vacuum pressure from the charge air system and intake tract to ensure proper operation of the PCV system. Because the PCV system relies on these two separate vacuum sources under normal operation, removing one would prevent the crankcase ventilation system from functioning properly.

When these solutions remove the intake tract as a vacuum source, it disrupts the PCV system’s ability to vent crankcase pressure at idle or in a cruising state while not in boost. Because the crankcase no longer has sufficient vacuum pressure, seals that are designed to operate with this vacuum pressure can fail prematurely. This lack of vacuum pressure can also lead to the potential of pressurization of the crankcase system and engine damage.

Additionally, many aftermarket solutions have check valves that do not provide sufficient flow to accommodate the boost levels of Stage 3 equipped vehicles. These check valves are too small and this inefficiency can cause restrictions, resulting in reduced flow from the crankcase, causing crankcase pressure to build up.

During the development of the 034Motorsport Stage 3 Dynamic+ tuning suite, the development B9 Audi S4 experienced an unfortunate OEM PCV breather hose failure.

This failure caused oil to be expelled through the oil cap and onto the hot turbocharger, immediately causing an engine oil fire. This failure was documented in our video Ashes to Asphalt, documenting the extent of the damage and how 034Motorsport was able to make the most out of the situation.

Because of this failure, it made engineering a proper solution that was able to withstand the harsh engine bay temperatures and elevated boost levels of utmost priority for 034Motorsport Engineers.

What is The Fix?

034Motorsport began by benchmarking the factory PCV system for flow capacity and other check valves on the market. Due to this, we opted to engineer and develop our own proprietary check valves that offer fantastic restrictionless-flow capability when open, and create a strong seal when closed, capable of holding over 40+ PSI of pressure and dealing with the high temperatures this system is subject to. These check valves utilize a durable synthetic rubber diaphragm that offers superior high heat and chemical resistance.

034Motorsport engineers designed the 034Motorsport PCV Hose to be used with the OEM Factory Air Oil Separator, as we found during testing that this unit provides excellent crankcase pressure control and is capable of supporting the flow needed at Stock through Stage 3 power levels without failure.

The 034Motorsport Check Valves are housed in a high-flow 4-ply reinforced silicone hose, specially designed to not collapse or inflate under vacuum or boost pressure. These silicone hoses are molded to allow for the factory engine cover to be utilized with the 034Motorsport PCV Breather System installed.

The 034Motorsport PCV Breather Hose uses OE-style multi-use connections, which allow for easy installation and removal when servicing your turbo inlet.

The OEM breather hose includes a new turbo inlet system as well, increasing the cost of this failure-prone component. whereas with the 034Motorsport PCV Breather System installed, there is no need for excessively costly OEM replacement components, as the 034Motorsport Breather Hose is engineered to last the lifetime of your vehicle.

The result is the 034Motorsport PCV Breather Hose, which isn’t just an upgrade for performance enthusiasts—it’s a critical safety enhancement for all EA839-equipped vehicles. It has been extensively tested on several 034Motorsport development vehicles for upwards of 2 years at varying power levels to ensure its performance and reliability, whereas the OEM breather hose can fail in as little as 3 months! The 034Motorsport PCV Breather Hose is suitable for all vehicles including those that are bone stock or upgraded with Dynamic+ Stage 1, 2, or 3 tuning!