Took the intake tube off the TB and Holy Smokes what a mess!
I understand the 4AGE does not have a PCV valve (or mine doesn't), but there is a hose that goes from the valve cover (closest to firewall/intake) to the intake manifold.
What causes soooo much gunk to deposit in the intake? Is it lack of a PCV or EGR?
What can I do to prevent this from happening?

Tye

The gunk is accumulated oil mist from the breather pipe.
The best way to avoid this happening is to run the breather pipe to a catch can and then run another pipe from the catch can back to the inlet manifold.

The EGR also dumps a lot of soot into the manifold.

Catch can eh. Anyone have any pics/material list of their set up?

I successfully deleted the EGR on my 22RE, can this also be done on the 4AGE?
Is there a write up somewhere on what to block off and such, anyone else do this with success?
Thanks,

Tye

EGR soot and oil/vapor from the breather combine to create the mess you see.

KSD engineering sells a block off kit for the egr. Search around for info on the install, there's plenty out there. It's very easy.

I also vta my breather to an vented can. If you want to keep a closed system I would look for a good air/oil separator vs. a 'catch can.' They are expensive, but do a much better job of capturing oil if designed properly.

TyzToyz wrote:What causes soooo much gunk to deposit in the intake? Is it lack of a PCV or EGR?
What can I do to prevent this from happening?

It's caused by blow-by, 100% normal in any old tired engine and especially in one that has lots of cold startups, short trips & infrequent oil changes and poor oil drainage from the same side of the head that is vented.
No.
Eliminate the cause/es.

TyzToyz wrote:I successfully deleted the EGR on my 22RE, can this also be done on the 4AGE?
Is there a write up somewhere on what to block off and such, anyone else do this with success?
Thanks,

Tye

The simpelest option is to substitute the gasket from the pipe to the manifold with a blanking plate This will make the system look stock but no more gunk in the intake.
To remove the complete system just remove all ERG pipes, modultor, actuator and blink both the exhaust and intake manifold. Also, you have to put a few vacuum caps on the lines that are now unused.

So you clean the crud out once every 25 years or so. Is that really a lot of maintenance to do? <G>

Before you strip the EGR parts, all you have to do is pinch off the EGR's vacuum control line and it should stop working, stop recirculating gas, so you can judge for yourself if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Surgical clamp, hemostat, whatever. Unplug the hose and stick a golf tee in it.

Of course, the O2 sensor, TPS, plugs, rotor, cap, all will need maintenance way more often than the intake manifold, so you could just clean it once and forget it.