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Scott, I'd run it and keep an eye on the engine temp, oil pressure, engine oil usage and coolant level. There will always be some crankcase pressure and if the breather was plugged its going to come out somewhere else. Some condensation at the breather is normal, especially this time of year with temps going up and down a lot. The "steam" you see might be steam or it might be atomized oil particles from blowby. How much is normal is hard to say but blowby in and of itself is not going to damage anything. Running low on oil, coolant or overheating will. Excessive blowby will tend to pollute the engine oil a bit more quickly so keep up with the oil changes. You asked if having excessive blowby would cause smoke or reduced engine performance. Its not likely to cause smoke in the exhaust. Technically the compression would be down a bit and this would reduce HP but perhaps not so much that you would notice. A gradual increase in blowby over time is normal engine wear. A sudden increase in blowby (with no other obvious causes like a clogged breather) would tend to indicate that something has broken (a cracked piston or broken ring). In the case of a sudden increase in blowby, an engine tear-down in probably in order before something comes apart. I hope this helps,
John
1968 Case 450
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