I had to pull the plastic cover off the top of the engine of my 1997 E420 today, and discovered what looks to be some sort of breather/crankcase ventilation hose had completely disintegrated. I've attached a photo; the hose comes from the bottom left of the photo (behind the back of the cylinder head on the passenger side of the car) and runs up to the center of the engine. From the remains I found, it looks like the hose should then drop down next to the air intake and connect to the intake manifold. Right now it simply ends just before the point where it looks like it should dive down to the intake manifold. The remaining portion of hose is badly cracked and deteriorated.

Can anyone tell me what this hose is called, as well as its purpose? Where does it connect at each end? Also, is this one of those "have to buy from the dealer" parts or can I find it online, and if so where should I look?

On a somewhat unrelated note, I was not at all happy to see how dirty the outside of the engine was once the plastic cover was removed. Any ideas how to do a good cleaning job? I tried using a pressure washer on some of the engine last summer, but ended up with water down some of the plug holes. If anyone has some suggestions of how to clean the engine without creating even more work, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks in advance for your help!

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