Cleaning Pistons?

[dubbsix]

So I had a blown gasket and now I have some carbon deposits between the cylinder walls and Pistons. how best to clean up the loose carbon that's in the gap between piston and cylinders wall?



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[84GT350CONV]

The best way would be to undo the connecting rod from the crank and pull the piston and scrape it clean. Maybe soak it in carb cleaner or Seafoam first. Buy new rings hone it a bit to clean it up and re-install it. If you have a ridge on top of the cylinder wall from wear there is a tool that can take ridge of metal off. I know it can get deeper and deeper but you might want to do the rest of the cylinders while your at it. You could scrape the top of the piston clean and vacuum out the excess, but getting in between the piston and the cylinder to clean it out is impossible. Unless one of our readers here knows a way to dissolve it without harming the engine.

[dubbsix]

the best way would be to undo the connecting rod from the crank and pull the piston and scrape it clean. Maybe soak it in carb cleaner or seafoam first. Buy new rings hone it a bit to clean it up and re-install it. If you have a ridge on top of the cylinder wall from wear there is a tool that can take ridge of metal off. I know it can get deeper and deeper but you might want to do the rest of the cylinders while your at it. You could scrape the top of the piston clean and vacuum out the excess, but getting in between the piston and the cylinder to clean it out is impossible. Unless one of our readers here knows a way to dissolve it without harming the engine.

whaaaat!!

[bwguardian]

I would be willing to bet there is not that much to remove anyway in looking at the picture. However, if so inclined to try and clean...I would run the piston up to T.D.C. and spray some solvent such as seafoam. You might try and get a tooth brush in the area to help but let it set for a while and then hit it with some compressed air. This is how I cleaned mine up when I did this a couple years back.

[dubbsix]

I would be willing to bet there is not that much to remove anyway in looking at the picture. However, if so inclined to try and clean...I would run the piston up to T.D.C. and spray some solvent such as seafoam. You might try and get a tooth brush in the area to help but let it set for a while and then hit it with some compressed air. This is how I cleaned mine up when I did this a couple years back.

I was just worried about some carbon scoring the side of the cylinder walls... If thats not lickely then I wont worry too much about it. I do like how yours came out though that is amazing! You just sprayed seafom on them??

[bwguardian]

I was just worried about some carbon scoring the side of the cylinder walls... If thats not lickely then I wont worry too much about it. I do like how yours came out though that is amazing! You just sprayed seafom on them??

No, I simply ran a drill powered circular wire brush over the deck of the block. Then for each piston I rotated them up to T.D.C. and brushed the carbon off the tops, applied compressed air, then soaked good with WD-40. I was not concerned with the sides of the pistons above the top rings but by soaking with WD-40 and applying compressed air I am sure it helped get the loose stuff off. I had my power plant out of the car and tore down to a bare short block though, so keeping the internal cooling system cavities clean with compressed air was fairly easy.

[JACook]

GM top engine cleaner will make quick work of the carbon, but I wouldn't get too anal about it.
After a few thousand miles, it'll be back. The carbon deposits are caused by oil getting past the
rings or valve guides, and being burned. The buildup accumulates over time, occasionally flaking
off, only to be replaced by more. The carbon is not hard enough to cause cylinder wall damage.

What you have looks worse than it is, because it's wet, and because some of the carbon that was
accumulating around the head gasket fire ring has fallen down into the cylinder. I would bring each
piston up to TDC, scrape off the loose stuff, and blow out all the trash with compressed air.

[84GT350CONV]

whaaaat!!

I wasn't trying to alarm you too much there, but if you had debris wedged between the cylinder wall and the piston I thought it may be the only possible way of getting it out without risk of scoring your cylinder wall.