Hi all,
During my intake/fuel injector breakdown I discovered lots of crud in the flame trap, the lower hose and the hose between the flame trap and the intake. Most of this material was a rough brown crust. Gritty bits of this stuff were making it into the intake ports on the head. I rolled both the small s-hose and the larger breather hose under my foot (a nice crunchy sound could be heard). Then I flushed the hoses with the spray nossle of a garden hose. Before any water came out a dry dark brown gritty powder shot out (more than two table spoons came out of the long hose). The hoses are in good condition, but the interior walls will never be smooth again....I'll replace them soon.

Are these deposits (which seem to be a hardened condensate) be indicative of any other problems in the crankcase venting system?

After replacing the intake manifold and injectors (restoring every opening to clean as new my 1990 240 wagon) the car is running great (can even accelerate up and over the Blue Ridge on rt. 7 between Winchester and Leesburg, VA ( a long steady climb). However, the idle is still rich and stumbling. Is it likely that the crankcase gasses were drawn through the idle air by-pass valve, where more coffee crystals condensed? Can the by-pass valve be cleaned?

Jon