Ball bearing in hose?

[swelltimes]

I'm in the midst of a few repairs, one of which is replacing the oil galley plug in the 2F motor on my 6/77 FJ-40 (California).

The end of the hose that I removed from the engine block was obstructed, so I cut a piece of the hose off to see what was in there. I figured it was some clogged up oil and junk.

Turns out the obstruction was a ball bearing:

I've looked through both my FSM and Haynes manual, and can't find a good diagram of what I suspect to be something related to the smog system / PCV.

Anybody have a similar situation?

Also, any leads on an emission manual for 6/77 FJ-40 from CA?

Thanks.

 

[4x4veteran]

In the 70's I remember a company in Ca. that sold after market Land Cruiser parts telling how to plug smog lines with small bearings and then replacing the hoses so it would look like the emission control was hooked up.
Back then the CHP would post traffic stops for so called safety checks and if your vehicle had any loose or missing hoses they would write you up and you would have to go to a certified garage to get it fixed and written off.
Can't figure why the crank case vent would be blocked.

 

[bulldog77]

Was that hose connected to the pcv valve? Just a guess, but perhaps that was a piece of that pcv valve that blew out. Never opened one up but definitely sounds like something like that could be in there by the way they rattle.

 

[iptman]

The only thing I've heard about plugging on the Cali spec 77 is the vacuum retard port on the distributor. Do you have 1 or 2 ports on yours?

 

[Tysano]

Check ball out of the pcv

 

[middlecalf]

 

[1969FJ]

I forgot how funny this was... Thanks for posting....

 

[1969FJ]

In the 70's I remember a company in Ca. that sold after market Land Cruiser parts telling how to plug smog lines with small bearings and then replacing the hoses so it would look like the emission control was hooked up.
Back then the CHP would post traffic stops for so called safety checks and if your vehicle had any loose or missing hoses they would write you up and you would have to go to a certified garage to get it fixed and written off.
Can't figure why the crank case vent would be blocked.

Makes sense. If I remember , the first catalytic convertor's were junk, but required, and a company was making these with outside dimensions to appear as a convertor, but, straight pipe inside.

 

[65swb45]

I seriously doubt that the bearing came out of THAT PCV valve. But it could well have been put there temporarily while diagnosing a vacuum leak and then forgotten.

Obstructing crankcase ventilation is never a good idea.

 

[swelltimes]

I seriously doubt that the bearing came out of THAT PCV valve. But it could well have been put there temporarily while diagnosing a vacuum leak and then forgotten.

Obstructing crankcase ventilation is never a good idea.

Yeah, the ball is too big to have come out of that port on the engine block.

 

[swelltimes]

Brilliant!

 

[swelltimes]

The only thing I've heard about plugging on the Cali spec 77 is the vacuum retard port on the distributor. Do you have 1 or 2 ports on yours?

2 ports:

 

[SteveH]

If the engine had a ton of blowby, then plugging that hose may have been done for emission test reasons. But, plugging it means pressure in the crankcase and more oil leaks.

 

[emac]

I recall people dropping the cat, cutting a flap in the top, removing the core and welding it back together so you could run leaded fuel. You also had to "fix" the fuel filler to accept the larger leaded nozzle.

 

[swelltimes]

If the engine had a ton of blowby, then plugging that hose may have been done for emission test reasons. But, plugging it means pressure in the crankcase and more oil leaks.

Perhaps part of the reason my oil galley plug needs to be replaced?

 

[Gumby]

ball bearings were standard issue Ford and Chrysler EGR repair parts in the 80s. the 2.2L would surge at highway speeds unless you put a bb in the EGR hose. Clear it right up.
Ford 5.0L wouldn't idle. smack the EGR valve with a hammer and it would smooth right out. stick a bb in the hose and it wouldn't happen again.

Someone could have been trying the same thing with the PCV. as others have said, bad idea.

 

[Spike Strip]

So is that what they mean by 'balls deep' ?

 

[swelltimes]

So is that what they mean by 'balls deep' ?

Gosh, I hope not!

 

[1969FJ]

I recall people dropping the cat, cutting a flap in the top, removing the core and welding it back together so you could run leaded fuel. You also had to "fix" the fuel filler to accept the larger leaded nozzle.

Correct. Also, I had one of those adapters to run leaded gas , when my filler was a smaller diameter.

 

[iptman]

2 ports:

View attachment 1686716

The empty port is the vacuum retard. Either cap it or you can put a Bb in the vacuum line if you’re keeping the rest of the vacuum tubes. It should route up to a T and head in to the VSVs.