I went this long weekend to the beach with some friends and my 83 W126 SEL and it got really windy and the parking was right in front of the beach and gusts of wind kept coming and when I got home there was sand in door jambs and on top of the engine and air filter.

I cleaned the engine out and filter with a air compressor and the doors the car is clean but I am worried about the engine (internally) if it sucked up anything?

Its running perfect and added some injector cleaner should I worry?

somebody please reply

Your car is fine. If you were using an OEM filter, I would not worry. Especially if you were not running the car. "but I am worried about the engine if it sucked up anything." You weren't driving it so no, it didn't suck anything up.
So I'm reassuring you, that I believe your car is fine.
Injector cleaner wouldn't help if there was sand in the system anyway.


:)

Don’t worry, be happy. I always liked that old Bobby McFerran song. If everything downstream of the filter was intact, you should not have a problem. You didn’t mention what model of 126 you have, but on the gas engine cars, there is a rubber ring that is located in the bottom of the air filter housing and attaches to the air flow sensor housing. When it becomes old, this often times gets either pushed out of position or can leak a little. You should check it out. I *would* say with certainty that you are in no danger if the car was not running, but once you started it up, it is *possible* that you could have sucked some sand in *if* that seal was bad; not likely though. I wouldn’t lose sleep over it, just check it out.

The car was running though on the way out of the parking and waiting in a big line down the beach strip in traffic with the sand blowing. This was when I was leaving!

The seal is fine and the car is a beautiful metallic brown 83 380 SEL with limo dark tint. It has 430 000 km and original engine and gets pampered because it deserves it! So should I still worry?


Please reply.

Ok! Thank you guys I wont worry anymore it's just because the car means a lot to me and its my first car, I am 19 and I respect my car.

If you are really worried, take some of the air intake apart and look for evidence of sand in any areas, after the air filter I mean. I doubt you will find anything.

Just for peace of mind, you can replace the air filters anyway. :)

Don"t worrie if your air filter is intact. I mean..loks at the crap your car must suck up on a daily basis. Bugs, pebbles etc.

Don't worrie if your air filter is intact. I mean..look at the crap your car must suck up on a daily basis. Bugs, pebbles etc.

Being a VW fan as well I used to ride the sand dunes in a friends sand buggy, and BOY, did it kick up some sand! The engine was fine despite all of that sand, and it ran properly because of the big foam filters on the dual carbs.
In other words, if nothing got past the air filter, you are fine.

If you can drive through all of that sand with proper air filters without harming an engine, then just sitting there can't hurt either...