Nice shiny head?

Haaamster

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Hi all, I currently have my head off and wish to clean the carbon from the top of the pistons, is Redex a good product for this or can somebody recommend anything better.
 
Hi Haaamster
Redex will not remove carbon from the pistons unless the engine is running,you will have to manually scrap it off ! then you could use a tin of carb cleaner to get it clean but after that remember to oil the cylinder bores before you rebuild the engine to get the compresion back
Regards Keith
 
Thanks Wilthebeast, just a bit worried about scratching the head but I will be gentle with it.
 
Hi Haaamster
you can clean the valves with a round wire brush connected to a drill but make sure the valves are shut first.
 
hee that brings back memory's kieth when we used to do decokes now we only ever pull a head of after a cam belt snap:cool:
 
Hi Arthur I had to do this because of an overheated engine, still at least I know the job will be done properly and it's cost less than £50 so far.:)
 
hi there have you had it skimmed and pressure tested? only fit a quality gasket and you should have no probs :D
 
If I were doing it on my engine, I would leave a thin ring of carbon around the edge of the pistons.

It's a lot of years since I overhauled an engine but I always did that myself.
 
if you have the head off .then you must have had a blown head gasket ,as nobody takes the head of for a decoke nowadays for fun. .so the head will have been skimed and the valves removed ,they will have been reground and refitted and the had will be nice and clean .and the head preasure tested .all you need to do is make shure the mating surface of the engine block is clean of all the old gasket, you can clean of any carbon deposits on each piston with a wooden scraper dont use anything else as you may damage the piston tops or the bores . put it back together with a good quality gasket set. if your engine has a timing belt, not all do, then a new one is a must, dont reuse the old one. when all is replaced turn the engine over manualy a couple of times to make shure all is ok ie valve timing is set correctly, if the engine locks up then something is wrong, there is nothing worse than putting everything back trying to start the engine and finding the pistons and valves meet and destroy the engine (it has happend to the best of us ) check then check again is the way to go hopes this is of help
 
Thanks Mandrake great post
The head is being skimmed and valves sorted today.New cambelt being delivered tomorrow.
The overheat caused a ticking noise in the top end.Had injectors cleaned,tested glowplugs no change.
Done compression test,all even.No oil in water or bubbles,no water in oil,no reduced speed so thought gasket was ok but couldn't live with the ticking and knowing something was amiss.
Strange thing is when I took the head off the block was covered in oil and the pots had about a coffee cup full in each but the gasket looked almost perfect'.
 
Right it's all back together now and starts pretty good but I still have a lot of noise from the top end. I suspect the people who skimmed the head never checked the valves, I knew I should have done them myself.

Just done a short run and am struggling for power,only managed to reach 50mph with a push.
I thinks it's the turbo as I don't think it's kicking in.Will check all the pipes tomorrow but can anyone think of any other reason for lack of power.

It was capable of reaching 70 quite easily before the head gasket change.
 
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