M Danger

I had my intake manifold off for a while in a dusty hangar, left it off longer than planned, I can see dust all over the car, im pretty sure some got in the intake ports so im wondering what the best course of action would be before i start the motor again

adrial

In the future, stuff paper towels in the intake ports...

If you verify that the intake valve is close and then spray compressed air, you should get most of the junk at least out of the ports themselves...assuming no small rocks or anything like that fell into the engine.

M Danger

I put some in after i thought about it, but im pretty sure there was already contamination, I think most of the valves were close but 1 or 2 might have been open a little bit

M Danger

anyone else?

Eyal 951

if its just dust, even if you did nothing, you wouldnt face damage, but i would be inclined to clean it anway. if you have access to compressed air, that should do a nice job, again, if its only dust.
~Eyal

Tom M'Guinn

Shop vac on the port? If it is just ambient dust, probably not much got past the port, right?

eclou

I second the Shop Vac rec

Peckster

You can't clean the combustion chamber without removing the head.

Anyhow, a little bit of dust is not a problem. People run racers without any filter at all.

M Danger

ah, i hope, i used the shop vac, but figured with the oil and all the dust would stick, and score the cylinders. Now i say dust but you could almost call it sand its so heavy, actually they has been sand blown in to the hangar when the idiots next door to me rev up their engine to turn their plane around.
was wondering if i should spray something in there like carb cleaner

Mike Murcia

If it's sand, I can't think of anything that will safely dissolve it without also dissolving some important parts. Carb cleaner will only dillute the oil, preventing it from lubricating the "sand". This could lead to some scraping/scoring or improper sealing of the valves. Seriously, how much debris are we talking about here? Do you have any pictures? This could be a non-issue or a very big issue.

Laust Pedersen

A refinement to other suggestions: If you use compressed air (with or without carb cleaner) make sure the valve is closed and use a small hose close to the valve as an extender for the air. That way you’ll only have outward flow.
Vacuum has less than 14.7 psi pressure difference and compressed air is around 100 psi, so much more cleaning effect.