Once the intake manifold was off, the problem with the breather box was that it is broken. A few things that raise questions are:

1) the floor of the intake ports are clean. The walls and tops are covered with slick black varnish. Is this normal or is the fuel pressure regulator dying ?

2) what does the vacuum actuator, located between intake runners #3 and #4 of the intake manifold do ? What is the purpose of the little trapdoors in the intake manifold ? What happens if the whole lot is siezed up ?

3) the hole in the block where the lower hose from the oil seperator box connects is 3/4 full of crud. Where does this passage lead ? Is there a good way to clean it out without getting a bunch of junk in the crankcase ?

4) how does the breather box get broken ?

Thanks

Greg