Is this a bad thing?

Soo.. On my 88 XJ today i installed my new battery and noticed that one of the lines leading into the engine had come un-done. Tried putting it back together but no luck then i looked into the hole and what was there was suprising there looked to be little metal shards just chillen there so i took some needle nose plyers and had myself a look!
Here is what the line im talking about i think its a vacum line, not sure but it ran into my airbox and it has been disconnected for a couple months or so.



i have a RENIX so the my engine looks a little different. So i pulled like 3inches of coiled up metal shards and found out that it was the tip of the iceburg. There was more way more probably a good fist sized of this thing pulled it out and looked at it, my first thaught was maybe like valve, or piston shards I dont know this is what it looked like.



Please if anyone know what it is, where its from, or what i should do with it please do tell.

It was a method to keep oil from going into the air box. It allowed vapors to pass but oil would collect on that metal wool and turn back to droplets and return to the oil system, while allowing the vapors to be sucked into the air box to be re-consumed in the combustion process.

That hose would be one of your CCV vent lines. Not critical, but it should be attached (and not having it attached will fail you on a Air Police check...)

The "metal shards" look a lot like metal wool. I've not seen any in any of my RENIX valve covers, but it could have been put there by a previous owner - in an attempt to catch the oil in blowby gas. Removing it should not have caused any trouble.

The main thing about the CCV line is that the lip that retains it becomes brittle and flakes off - and then nothing is retaining the line. Search around here - I know the NAPA/Echlin part numbers for the CCV and vacuum control lines for RENIX are posted here at least twice (I know it's at least twice, because I've seen it before I reposted them myself.) There are three part numbers for the entire kit, and expect to spend $50-60 at your local NAPA for them, all up.

I went to the local dealer, and the prices weren't bad at all for the hoses.

ChevelleSSLS6 said:

I went to the local dealer, and the prices weren't bad at all for the hoses.

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How much? We can just add 30% or so for being here in CA...

I try to avoid going to the dealer - not because the parts are bad (they're not,) not because I have trouble with the countermen (I don't - I've known them for years, and they've done me some HUGE favours!) but because the parts just cost too damned much out here (and I get jobber!) So, the dealer parts counter is a "weapon of last resort" for me, and I've been able to use it less and less (but I keep my name going in there - I've sent them business for crate engines, and I've sent quite a few parts-finders for late models to my local. It do come in handy having calling cards printed for yourself, you know. It doesn't do any good to send someone business unless they know you sent some their way - that's why my prices get better over time...)