PDA

View Full Version : Clean up hard carbon off pistons and valves, need suggestions / product insight



civicturbo10
05-24-2010, 05:03 PM
So i've got the pistons out of my spare motor and i want to clean off the hard carbon on the top and skirts of the pistons and the valves. Taking it through the parts cleaner is not going to work b/c hard carbon does not come off easily. So far i've googled the topic and it's all over the board. For the pistons it's on the skirts and top. Sure i could wire brush it but i don't want to scuff up the parts. So wirebrushing is out.

On the valves i want to clean off the hard carbon also but retain the factory finish on them. Any off the shelf products i can try or suggestions for both the piston and valves.

Here is what i found googling below - (so many scenarios, just want to find out what really works, lol)

1. permatex gasket remover

2. You’re probably asking yourself what can be done to remove these carbon deposits and how can such deposits be prevented from forming in the future. The answer is not an engine teardown to clean the valves, pistons and injectors. You don’t have to take such drastic measures. The answer is in a can: MoparŪ Combustion Chamber Cleaner, P/N 04318001AB. Let’s review how to use this product. If the engine is equipped with an air pump, disconnect it. Next, remove the throttle body air intake hose. Start the engine and run it at 750 rpm. Begin spraying the contents of the can directly into the throttle body. If the engine begins to stall, increase the engine speed, but run it just fast enough to prevent stalling. Spray the entire contents of the can into the engine. When the can is empty, turn the engine off. Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes as the cleaner does its magic. Restart the engine and run it at a low speed for about 5 minutes. This will completely expel the cleaner from the engine. Turn off the engine and reinstall the air intake hose and reconnect the air pump, if required. That’s it. It’s that simple to remove those harmful carbon deposits. The next question is how does your customer prevent this carbon from building up again in the engine and causing the same problems. First of all, it’s important to keep the vehicle properly maintained. This includes replacing spark plugs at the recommended interval and being sure that the air filter is clean. These are tasks that optimize performance and minimize poor combustion.

3. crushed walnut shell sand blaster, what????
What??? You never seen one of those???
It looks just like a mini sand blaster, but instead of using sand as the blast media(for obvious reasons) you use crushed walnut shells.First time I saw it used, to clean the back of valves, was at the Toyota dealer many years ago. Toyota had a TSB fix for shitty drivabilty and high oil comsumption. The cause, i think, was a crap PCV design. Part of the fix was to take the intake off and blast all the baked on carbon off the valves, clean it up and put the intake back on. This was all done WITHOUT taking the heads OFF!! Worked pretty good. The walnut shells were tough enough to get the rock hard carbon off but benign as to not the hurt the engine.

4. I just put some rings in my 91 prelude.It was an oil burner so the tops of the pistons had a lot of carbon on them(in the center of the piston).I soaked them in my parts washer and it didn,t seem to help much.


5. I had some BG intake cleaner that I had not used.I soaked them in it and the carbon came right off.
I don,t build engines that often.I would kinda of like to see what others use also.

Or buy a bottle of cleans at GM and spray it, it will liquify the carbon. This stuff is amazing. Only thing is this will get past the rings and into the bottom end so it is reccomended you change your oil after.

civicturbo10
05-24-2010, 05:08 PM
Piston hard carbon. Valves are the same way. Running it through a parts washer is a negative.....not strong enough to cut through it....

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/jcoolw30/importatlanta/pistons2.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/jcoolw30/importatlanta/pistons1.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/jcoolw30/importatlanta/pistons3.jpg

Red_EJ1
05-24-2010, 10:56 PM
dude your wasting your time, i dont know of any shit off the shelf that will get it all off i took myne to the machine shop and when i got em back they still had a lil on them, i just used a wire brush, can i ask why you dont wanna wire brush them

civicturbo10
05-24-2010, 11:10 PM
dude your wasting your time, i dont know of any shit off the shelf that will get it all off i took myne to the machine shop and when i got em back they still had a lil on them, i just used a wire brush, can i ask why you dont wanna wire brush them

Don't want to scuff them up. Don't have to get all of it off but a good bit is what i'm looking for. I just read about aircraft stripper being used. I'll have too look into it. Any other suggestions?

Theycall_Metue
05-24-2010, 11:23 PM
a new set of piston will do the work :goodjob:

bam-bam
05-24-2010, 11:49 PM
Gunk Carburetor and parts cleaner in the gallon can. Pick it up at Advance or the like for about $30. Take out the dip basket and submerge all 4 pistons in the solution overnight. Next day, rinse with water and they'll look like new.

WEAR GLASSES AND GLOVES. THIS STUFF ALSO DISSOLVES SKIN AND EYEBALLS.

civicturbo10
05-25-2010, 07:00 AM
a new set of piston will do the work :goodjob:

Reserving it for my other motor. This one is getting freshened up.

civicturbo10
05-25-2010, 07:02 AM
Gunk Carburetor and parts cleaner in the gallon can. Pick it up at Advance or the like for about $30. Take out the dip basket and submerge all 4 pistons in the solution overnight. Next day, rinse with water and they'll look like new.

WEAR GLASSES AND GLOVES. THIS STUFF ALSO DISSOLVES SKIN AND EYEBALLS.

Kool, i'll try that. There getting cleaned this week. Anyone else?

Barefoot
05-25-2010, 07:17 AM
smalls a soft wire brush is all u need. an they dont need to be spotless. u want spotless get new 1s.

WalkS
05-25-2010, 08:52 PM
Simple...get a big jug of degreaser, soak all pistons over night. All the carbon should come off, I do this all the time.

preferredduck
05-26-2010, 02:03 AM
Gunk Carburetor and parts cleaner in the gallon can. Pick it up at Advance or the like for about $30. Take out the dip basket and submerge all 4 pistons in the solution overnight. Next day, rinse with water and they'll look like new.

WEAR GLASSES AND GLOVES. THIS STUFF ALSO DISSOLVES SKIN AND EYEBALLS.

yea gunk in a pain bucket works pretty good. i don't know if MEK would work for that or damage anything. i know when i last rebuilt a motor MEK was used before assembly of certain parts to make sure it was clean as hell.

GsrME
05-30-2010, 07:15 PM
Use red scotchbite. Its not too harsh and will clean great.

i4_garage
05-30-2010, 08:29 PM
wire brush on air. Purp power