Pistons

[sleepersupra]

Ok now that the pistons are out of the block and i have some time to clean up, do i need to clean the top of the pistons, the reason i'm asking is cause they have alot of buildup on them.

i was told that i need to leave them alone because it can mess things up....but was given no explaination.

 

[NDBoost]

use some carb cleaner and let it soak on the tops of the pistons. Wipe off & repeat

 

[sleepersupra]

so it's ok to claen them? it won't hurt anything?

 

[NDBoost]

no i dont believe so. I used carb cleaner and wd40 on my piston tops when i did my Head Gasket.

 

[siman]

Yep, use carborator cleaner to soak them in. It gets rid of all that HARD compacted carbon build up.

Dont be afraid to take a soft ( regular ) tooth brush to the top either. That helped me out tons.

Now do not use household detergents, they might corrode the aluminum and cause aluminum oxide deposites to start growing on the pistons LOL...looks like white cancer ( similar to rust on steel alloys ).

-Jonathan

 

[sleepersupra]

ok sounds good, i'll need to get me another toothbrush cause i don't feel like sharing

 

[Stretch]

More often than not your first instinct is correct. You saw it was gross and covered is sludge, and it's correct to remove that. Any surface with that crap on it should be cleaned, it's not doing anything helpfull for the engine anyway....
except maybe raising conpression a bit :icon_razz
eric