Thanks CR! The thing we amateur mechanics need to
remember is that no matter how grimy the outside of an
engine gets, the inside needs to be VERY clean. When
I de-coke pistons I not only vacuum everything first,
I also place masking tape over all the other
cylinders, oil galleries and coolant ducts. In short,
I tape over all the holes in the deck except the one
I'm working. I also vacuum WHILE I scrape away
carbon. Some here have suggested various abrasives
but I avoid using anything HARDER than the cylinder
walls; specifically, ScotchBrite, etc.. The best
thing I have found is coarse steel wool. It is
adequately abrasive to clean up after scraping BUT it
is softer than the iron block bores. Again, vacuuming
while cleaning. And if a shred of steel wool gets
left behind (no process is perfect) the shred is
softer than the cylinder or rings. That is NOT the
case with debris left behind from harsh abrasives.
I just did a valve job on my MGB and de-coked the
piston crowns while in there. Here's a (large,
high-res) picture of a cylinder as I clean up
afterward. Notice the tiny bit of debris on the
cylinder wall. I cleaned this away and oiled the
cylinder down afterward.
http://www.aubard.us/MGB/HPIM0928.JPG
Obviously, my goal was to get things clean, not a
beautiful, fresh aluminum finish on the piston crown.
:-)
Regards,
rick
--- Charles & Peggy Robinson <ccrobins@ktc.com> wrote:
> The Vasoline trick is a new one on me; pretty neat
> trick to keep the
> debris out of the ring groove. I used to squirt
> gear lube around the
> edges, then start scraping. Vasoline sounds better.
> May stay in situ
> better.
>
> CR
>
>
> Rick Lindsay wrote:
>
> > The better technique I have used is to vacuum away
> any
> > loose debris, rotate the engine do the piston is
> at
> > TDC, fill the gap between the piston and cylinder
> with
> > grease or vasoline then clean the carbon away
> normally
> > - all the way to the piston's edge.
>
> > rick
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