velocipus

Not real happy right now.
I was getting ready to button up a very long intake/ cam cover/ power steering/ water pump timing belt R&R. I could almost hear the roar of the engine starting. I pulled the rags out of the intake ports and decided to shine a light to see what was going on in there. Clearly I was not as diligent as I thought when it came to pre-removal cleaning

Glistening in the light were the little grains of impending doom. I'm deflated.
I pretty sure I know what to do next

The engine has to come out doesn't it.
If anyone has any sure-fire methods for removing ALL of the debris (possibly in the cylinder as well) without pulling the motor, please do tell.

Bart-Jan

I had a similar problem, although it wasn't sand... a tiny metal piece fell into the cylinder. With MacGuyver tape (I believe the official name is Ducktape), I attached a small tube to my vacuum cleaner and pushed that through the sparkplug hole, while looking through the opening through the intake valve (mine was fortunately in the inlet open position). Whith a small LED attached to two wires, I lit the inside of the cylinder to have a look wether it was gone afterwards and it was.

In your case however, sand will get stuck to the cylinder walls due to a small oil film. You could squirt in some brake cleaner and suck it away using a wet vacuum cleaner. Repeat this several times and I'm sure all will be gone (you could use statistics to find out how much debris will be left behind, but I'm sure 95% will be gone;-) )

Good luck!

Mrmerlin

as a note,
before you remove any injector or intake manifold , make sure to cover the intake opening.
then use a vacuum to remove as much dirt as possible then follow up with compressed air to blow away any particles that the vacuum didnt get

velocipus

That's just the thing... I could not figure out how to plug the opening before creating an opening. In other words, it seems the port must be exposed before one can stick a rag in it.

I thought I was doing due diligence by merely using vacuum, compressed air, then vacuum again. In hindsight (and doing an after-the-fact search) Hot soapy water and a tooth brush and more vacuum is a key component to prevent debris in the head/ cylinder.

I like the brake cleaner idea. I was able to remove the sand from the valves/ valve seats by using a long cotton swab dipped in gear oil. Once I was unable to detect anymore sand in the head, I blew compressed air through the intake port while running a vacuum through the spark plug hole.

I may just go back to and try the brake cleaner idea, though I worry about forcing particle between the piston and cylinder walls... Maybe I can still get a few hundred miles of fun before destroying the block? Maybe I'll take take another year and address any of the other issues I had planned on putting off for a while (oil pan gasket, motor mounts, steering bushings, etc.)

Leon Speed

I don't understand how you mean this since the intake has to come off before you can cover the intakes.

SteveG

I would vacuum before AND after. Lift parts straight up, wipe around edges with clean rag with maybe a little WD40 on it, w/o getting particles into the intakes. Then clean rags, old socks work well, no lint.

Fortuna

Excuse me. Off-topic.
How to correctly name the color of your 928?

Randy V

It is listed in his signature block.

velocipus

Well, if anyone wants a lesson on how to clean before and after removal and you are in the SF Bay Area/ North Bay, I have experience on how NOT to do it, have read extensively on how to properly clean before and after removal. I work for beer.

Leon Speed

I'll buy you a beer if you don't do my engine

But look at it this way: now is the time to pull the engine and do all things you always wanted to do, like replacing those head gaskets and having the head work done.

White Lightnin'

928 Specialists carries block off plates for just such an operation. I am assuming that the intake just needs to be lifted about 1/4" to allow those plates to cover the ports (haven't used them, just seen them).

Still, it's just like surgery on a human... cleanliness is everything!

polecat702

I gunk my engine everytime I wash my 928, and wash it with hot water, then blow it off with compressed air, and start it up. I don't know why everyone is so afraid of getting one of these engines wet. I like having a clean engine, so I can see if I have an oil, or coolent leak starting. You don't have to worry about dirt if it's clean to start with before repairs.

velocipus

The problem occurs as soon as you lift the intake. The MY 85 intake comes off of the ports in four pieces. I suppose if you had a friend hold one and you held one while you slid the cover in... oh but wait. then you push the grit into the head as your sliding the cover in. Back to the drawing board.

I LOVE reading everyone's description on how to clean the engine pre-removal, post removal, with every wash etc, but what I'm really hoping to read is something like this, "This happened to me and I used method x to extract the grit... have been driving 10K miles and haven't blown the motor yet." or "your only choice is to remove the heads and clean it the proper way." I am well aware of the mistake made in my haste. If (when) I have to do this again, I will devote an entire day to pre-removal cleaning.
Quite frankly I can do a search to find out how to clean the engine

Aryan's reply is so far my favorite post of the thread. An offer of a beer for doing nothing. Seriously, I like that.

All fun aside, I may have access to a borescope. I've never used one before (never really needed to before.) I understand I can determine the condition of the cylinder wall with this device, but can it provide me an all around view of the cylinder? This could be helpful in determining just how clean it is inside.

Joking aside, I do appreciate ALL of the responses. This community has been very helpful now and in the past. I will be submitting my membership tonight. It's worth each of the 3200 pennies.

Ed Scherer

Yeah, (it's too late for you, but as a recommendation to others doing this job) you want to get those 928 Specialists intake port covers (32V, 16V) on there ASAP, right after you lift off the intake and inspect the ports, removing any crud (using oil-moistened Q-tips® or whatever) that may have dropped in (if you're lucky, any crud that dropped in will be in ports where the valves were closed ). Of course, you clean up as best you can before lifting the intake and then try to lift the intake without sliding it around in a way that might dislodge the grit 'n' grime, but there's only so much you can do. It's actually during removal of the gaskets between the intakes and the heads (assuming you remove them after the intake which, IMHO, is advisable, i.e., you don't allow them to come off stuck to the intake) when you have to be really careful, but by that point, you should be able to carefully lift them straight up and then out without brushing them against anything.

When I got to the cleaning phase of my top-end refresh, I think I spent an hour or two per side (with the intake port covers off again temporarily) just on the top surfaces around the intake ports, being extremely careful not to let anything drop into the ports. I had a rather amazing quantity of gritty, oily crud along those surfaces to clean off. I'm pretty sure I got it all cleaned up with not a single grain of crud dropping into a port.

velocipus

I used sheet plastic and duct tape. What a waste of time! Took 4 hours to make them. I would recommend the 928specialist covers and I've never even used them

and I hear ya Ed. The more info the better.