[T3] In Car Head Removal - A fools folly??

[Jim Adney]

Rags or paper towels in the intake ports, and other important openings, is a 
very good idea when an engine is being built, but, of course, you need to 
remember to take them out.  ;-p

When I do this, I use enough paper towel to stuff half down one port and the 
other half down the other. This leaves a bunch running across the outside, 
where it can't be missed.

I wonder if you could just remove the intake runners (FI) or intake manifolds 
(carbs) and reach down there with one of those grabber devices and pull out 
as much as you can. You might be surprised at how much you can retrieve. 
Unless this is keeping the valves open enough that the piston is hitting them, 
the engine should slowly chew up the remains and spit them out, without 
damaging anything.

Of course if the pistons are hitting the valves, then you need to stop, remove 
the heads, and maybe replace some valves.

Yes, you CAN remove a head with the engine in the car. I've done it. If 
you're going to remove BOTH heads, it's probably easier to drop the engine.

Sorry, I feel your pain,


On 12 May 2026 at 16:21, EL PUERCO wrote:

> Dear Type 3'ers,
> 
> So, I seem to be experiencing the murphy's law of engine builds.  Can I remove the left (3/4) side head while in the car?  I left paper towels covering the ports to protect from foreign objects entering them.  Long story short, the intake valves are now jammed.  It ran but very rough then spit out a few bits of paper towel (that was my clue.)
> 
> On the bright side, I think my low oil pressure issue is gone.
> 
> Thank you all in advance,
> 
> Jaime Gurrola (aka El Puerco)
> Oceanside, CA
> 
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-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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