From: SDTilton@aol.com
I'm guessing that you cant go cleaning off the pistons while they are still
installed? Getting some of that carbon down on the sides for the piston
rings to deal with would not be good I'm guessing. The sight of it bugs me
though. I cringe at putting the head back on top of that mess.
Sure you can. Look in your shop manual under decarbonising or
decoking, and you'll discover that you're -supposed- to do this...
Making sure the bore is clean to start, crank the piston to TDC, then
put a little vaseline around the edge to seal the gap and catch the
gunk. Scrape off the top of the piston with a plastic or -soft- metal
object so you don't damage the piston itself (books used to recommend
a stick of lead solder, which would be great if you can find one).
Get the piston top cleaned off as well as possible, but leave the
carbon on the very top of the cylinder bore (the space above where the
first piston ring rises to at TDC) alone, as it helps the rings to
seal just a little better.
When you're done, clean off the vaseline as best you can, then "lift"
any remaining vaseline out from between the piston and cyl with a
folded-over piece of typing paper, then lower the piston and wipe the
last bits off of the cylinder.
-john
--
John Wroclawski
jtw@lcs.mit.edu
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