rkk69olds

Got my 350 out to replace heads and cam. What method do you guys use to clean the old head gaskets off the block. The engine only has 200 miles on it so not wanting to tear it all the way down and have the block cleaned.

How about cleaning the tops of the pistons. They have very light carbon build up.

Thanks

ELY442

I use a very sharp razor blade when i do a head gasket, intake, water pump, etc on my cars. After all the gasket is off, i clean the mating surface with brake cleaner. And for the pistons, you can clean the carbon off with a wire brush and spray some carb cleaner and a rag.

panos

The easiest and most efficiant way to make the pistons look like new is with water!While the engine is running, take a vacuum line from the intake and hold it in a glass of water,now the engine is gonna want to die so you have to be gentle and not put too much at once,after the glass is empty i quaranty you that the pistons are gonna look like new inside

coppercutlass

imo i would not use water . A little carbon build up aint bad., wire brush and some deep creep will eat through the carbon. For the gaskets a nice gasket scraper or really good putty knife work great.

panos

Why not water? Steam cleans really good without everything falling all around the engine or oil passages.

coppercutlass

Water in any form is no good on an engine .

panos

You just put it in the combustion camber, doesnt stay in the engine.

rustyroger

Every gallon of gas you burn produces a gallon of water.

I've used the water method several times and it works.

Might not be a good idea if your car has a cat or O2 sensor though, not because of the superheated steam which does the job of removing carbon but the flakes of carbon could damage these parts.

Roger.

Rickman48

Back in the mid-50's, Ford dealers used to do it [use water] as part of a tune-up!
Especially on higher compression motors driven in the city!
At least that's what my Dad told me - Ford mechanic for 30 years.

bigD

water is ok, it just sounds wrong... back in the late 80's i worked for an electrician that had a water injection set up on his 460 ford to help with detonation. which brings up another though and that is that any carbon at all is not good as it tends to promote detonation...

the best approach is to prevent the carbon build up, run either marvel mystery oil or seafoam in your fuel and it'll clean it up in no time and prevent any future build up.

rustyroger

Using water injection to prevent detonation is an old rally car trick.

What goes in your gas over there?, since unleaded petrol (gas) was introduced here carbon build up is pretty much a thing of the past.

Roger.

jag1886

Using a little water from a spray bottle while the engine is running works great for cleaning things out.
Water injection has been used for 60-70 years and it works great as detonation suppressor. Look up the hair drier guys they use it a lot.
Don't mean to sound like I'm giving you crap but it's just a fact.

coppercutlass

Are we forgetting he mentioned its gonna be apart and is already out and not running not being a smartA$$ but its not running you guys are talking about running engines. Advice is being given for something that he can even do since his engine is out. I probably should have re phrased that to an engine thats apart. I would not wanna risk leaving a little water on the piston around the rings. I know turbo guys and diesel guys use water injection but those are engines that are running they vaporize the water inturn cooling the intake temp and aiding detonation the added hp comes from being able to run more timing with lower octane fuels from what i know., im no turbo expert . If the engine is apart I'm not gonna touch it with water . Deep creep yes .

bigD

i would just wait until the engine is running to deal with the carbon. as for the head gaskets, i use a die grinder with a medium scotchbrite disc after i scrape the bigger chuncks off. snap on sells a few different "striking scrapers" that are awesome for tough gasket removal. they are only about $35 and you can buy them individually... excellent item!! they have a few different widths. the biggest factor in my experience is that they have a nice sharp edge and hold it well.
as for the carbon on the pistons, you can just wait until it's back on the road and fog it with deep creep or just start running marvel or seafoam in every tank for a few tanks & then every 2nd or 3rd tank. the marvel is about 1/2 the price of seafoam so i've started running it in every tank, at $9 a can seafoam gets a little pricey if a guy is doing a lot of driving...

oddball

Just as a side note, all this is fine and dandy if you're using the typical FelPro blue head gaskets. If you're using fancy MLS gaskets, then the surface needs to have a specific finish for a good seal. So don't attack it with scrubbers, blades, etc.

To the OP, don't worry about it. They'll get that much carbon within 200 miles again.

coppercutlass

Aren't mls gaskets reusable? So they don't stick as much to the surface like the felpro blues. I also would not worry about the carbon build.

oddball

MLS are reusable and shouldn't stick. But just-in-case the OP has blues and is thinking about switching to MLS, it's not necessarily that easy.

SBORule

Razor and cheap Wal-Mart brand carb cleaner for the head gasket mating surfaces.

I bought a scraper @ maybe Harbor Freight, could of been Wal-Mart that has a wide *** razor blade on it, like 5 inches wide, makes cleaning the heads and block a breeze.

I wouldn't use a wire brush to clean the carbon off the top of the pistons, just spray the cheap Super-Tech Carb cleaner on them and wipe with a rag, it'll come off and it doesn't matter if it all doesn't come off the pistons because after a 1000 miles it's going to look the same, anyways.

citcapp

I just use Mr Gasket gasket remover. Spray on let set for a couple of minuets. Easy scrape of wipe with rag and your done

cjsdad

This will probably scare the bejeezus out of many of you, but to get the block and heads "clean down to the shine" I use a nice flat block of wood and wet/dry sandpaper and solvent to clean the gasket material off. The flat block of wood makes sure you don't create any gouges or low spots and it will not round over any edges. It keeps all the surfaces flat, and once you see shiny metal you move on and clean the dirty spots. I start with 120 grit, then finish with 220 grit. Once all the surfaces are clean blow it out with compressed air so no gritty residue remains. Blades and scrapers will gouge cast iron!

The heads are easy since the valves are closed and will not let any grit get into the moving parts and blow them out once finished cleaning. Special care needs to be taken to keep as much of the solvent and residue from getting into the cylinders as possible. Stuff terry cloth towels not blue paper shop towels down in the bore and only sand around cylinders that have the pistons at or neer BDC. Clean each cylinder out as you move past it and turn the crank to move the pistons to the bottom as you clean.

Just my $.02, adjusted for current market value.

Nasty455

Wood chisel for removing stubborn gaskets..
I just degreased my bottom end...used a combination of kerosene followed by oven cleaner.
Hosed off the complete engine,and coated it with PB Blaster.
A few days later..wiped it down with lacquer thinner,and painted the block.

Macadoo

Have you ever done this with the engine upside down? You know, making gravity work for you? Sounds like a pain though. Terry cloth towels, as in lint free? As in hand towels?
As a woodworker myself, I see the value in using the sanding block. How big? Big enough to cross the cylinder for stability or would that get more impurities into the boar? Old thread, I know. But worth bumping up.

MDchanic

A little ScotchcLoc ScotchBrite disk is usually fine for scrubbing old gasket material off of a cast iron block and heads.

- Eric

Macadoo

Dry or with some kind of lube/solvent?