CCV hose closed off

So I'm looking under the hood of my new '99 GC (75km), just to familiarize myself with the layout of the engine and systems, and happen to notice the oh-so technical CCV system. Beautiful. However, on closer inspection, the hose at some point had actually become brittle and been broken in half, probably while removing the intake to get to the airbox.

And then the half coming off of the engine was sealed with electrical tape. :nono: The tape had opened up enough to let air out, I guess, but what sort of damage could this have caused? There's already a crust of oil all around the front of the head right under the camshaft cover; if I remove that and replace the gasket can I get a better seal?

Oh...and I pulled the half of the CCV hose from the airbox and put it on the nipple on the valve cover, and left it open to atmosphere; I also sealed the other port (on the intake). The car seems to leak less oil now... :)

Yes, of course replacing the gasket will help it seal better. From factory the don't put alot of sealant on the gaskets if any. So you would be better off replacing that one. Just be careful not to get any grime or dirt particles into the camshaft casing. This will cause serious damage later in the vans life!