OT: Carbon on pistons

From : ed

Q: some may remember a few weeks ago a 98 isuzu amigo with ruptured coolant hose and temperature gage in the red line for an unknown time. well i finally pulled the cylinder head - block and head are well within warpage limits but when i pulled the head i saw a lot of carbon on the pistons that is mostly soft - my finger nail easily removed a test swath. comments requested on cleaning the pistons in the block do you think its ok to rotate the pistons to tdc and use a soft bristle brush to clean the carbon and vacuum out any debris. also some cylinder head gasket material fell into the head mounting bolt holes along with some engine oil. i was thinking of using a turkey baster to remove the material and/or putting some kind of oil filters on my shop vac to remove the debris before running a tap to ensure the threads are clean. any ideas im sure the regulars will respond with sound advice and thank you in advance but dont want to name names lest i forget a significant contributor. .

Replies:

From : max dodge

comments requested on cleaning the pistons in the block do you think its ok to rotate the pistons to tdc and use a soft bristle brush to clean the carbon and vacuum out any debris. yup. use a vacuum to remove loose carbon from the area between piston and cylinder wall. also some cylinder head gasket material fell into the head mounting bolt holes along with some engine oil. i was thinking of using a turkey baster to remove the material and/or putting some kind of oil filters on my shop vac to remove the debris before running a tap to ensure the threads are clean. any ideas um yeah yours..... go with it its a decent idea. not sure how the turkey baster will work but a vacuum and a small pick will get all debris out that are worth the time. do not use a tap to clear the threads. this can open the threads too much. there are thread clearing tools out there snap on has some. or use a head bolt and run it in an back it out. if it spins in fairly easily no tight spots you have no problems. im sure the regulars will respond with sound advice and thank you in advance but dont want to name names lest i forget a significant contributor. -- max there are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty soap ballot jury and ammo. please use in that order. -ed howdershelt author ed edo.hart@verizon.net

From : big al

some may remember a few weeks ago a 98 isuzu amigo with ruptured coolant hose and temperature gage in the red line for an unknown time. well i finally pulled the cylinder head - block and head are well within warpage limits but when i pulled the head i saw a lot of carbon on the pistons that is mostly soft - my finger nail easily removed a test swath. comments requested on cleaning the pistons in the block do you think its ok to rotate the pistons to tdc and use a soft bristle brush to clean the carbon and vacuum out any debris. also some cylinder head gasket material fell into the head mounting bolt holes along with some engine oil. i was thinking of using a turkey baster to remove the material and/or putting some kind of oil filters on my shop vac to remove the debris before running a tap to ensure the threads are clean. any ideas im sure the regulars will respond with sound advice and thank you in advance but dont want to name names lest i forget a significant contributor. i use a large wet or dry vacuum cleaner to get the coolant and oil out of everything. al .

From : christopher thompson

contributor. .

From : ed

thanks to all for your suggestions. i should have little trouble putting it back together though i often say that and end up cursing anyway. some may remember a few weeks ago a 98 isuzu amigo with ruptured coolant hose and temperature gage in the red line for an unknown time. well i finally pulled the cylinder head - block and head are well within warpage limits but when i pulled the head i saw a lot of carbon on the pistons that is mostly soft - my finger nail easily removed a test swath. comments requested on cleaning the pistons in the block do you think its ok to rotate the pistons to tdc and use a soft bristle brush to clean the carbon and vacuum out any debris. also some cylinder head gasket material fell into the head mounting bolt holes along with some engine oil. i was thinking of using a turkey baster to remove the material and/or putting some kind of oil filters on my shop vac to remove the debris before running a tap to ensure the threads are clean. any ideas im sure the regulars will respond with sound advice and thank you in advance but dont want to name names lest i forget a significant contributor. .

From : sqdancerlynn

get a can of air duster and blow the crap out the bolt holes. vacuum out as much of the crap as you can .