Need help identifying a hose/connector
 

Forgive me, I'm a relative beginner.

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/3291/closeuppc.jpg

What first caught my attention on this is the fact that I can actually see the threads. The arrow points to the threads which you cannot really see in the pic (out of focus). The "bolt" like connector also seems to rotate pretty freely.


http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9482/fromafar.jpg


Pic above, from afar.



I suspect the connector on this may be failing (looks like there's a small leak - then again, I just started doing maintenance on myself and whoever did it previously looked like they got grease and grime EVERYWHERE).

We get an intermittent P0440 emissions code on this vehicle and I wonder if this is a part of it. I may be completely wrong though. The camshaft position sensor is right beneath it, and I actually just had to replace it as it was faulty. Part of me wonders if something leaked into it and if I could have gotten away with cleaning it and re-attaching.


2004 2.4L Engine.

Furthermore, you can see behind this, near the plug wires, it appears darker. I recently wiped this off and tried to determine if it was coming from the hose, or if it was oil, fuel, etc. It definitely did not smell like fuel, and although it looked like oil, it didn't really smell of oil.

BTW - The car runs fine outside of the intermittent code. 80,600 miles.

Is that not the PCV valve? ( Positive Crankcase Ventilation valve )

If it is and is threaded it should not be loose that you can move it by hand.

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...NyBXqA9TuO4J0=

That appears to be it.. Should it be tightened into the engine so you cannot see the threads? I would think so...

Maybe I should just go ahead and replace?

Any idea it could cause an intermittent P0440?

Check here. Could be just a loose or bad gas cap.

http://www.obd-codes.com/p0440

Already went down that road. Thanks for the assistance though!

Found that PCV valve, interestingly enough, this car takes the one listed for the '05, at least in the AutoZone catalog. The '04 one looked nothing like the one in the picture.

Replaced the valve. I screwed this one in just a bit further than the last, I see about half of the threads that I did before. The old one was gunked up a little, but still functional.

However, one thing that was a little discouraging was that the outer edge of the seal/o-ring? around the screw hole (valve is threaded) appears to be falling apart. Is this replaceable?

Go to chryslerparts.net and look it up. If it's listed as a separate part, then you can buy it.

a PCV is not part of the emissions system that is used with the 440 code.

Cracked hoses gas cap LDP purge solenoid and gas tank.