Ok guys would really like to hear some opinions on this. What is the most cost effective way to remove carbon from my disassembled engine? The problem is mainly on the pistons and the cylinder head. I've heard various things from using coke, diesel fuel, kerosine, normal fuel, methylated spirits, acetone and all sorts of other things I consider old wives tales... I would pay for a good parts cleaner if I knew where to get one (the chemical not the machine). What does everyone use? And please give me real information from experience not "I heard this works". I mean no disrespect but there's a lot of 3rd party 'experience' out there and I would really like to bypass all that and get to what actually works. Thanks again for any help.
from actual experience - the cheap ~$3 a can aerosol oven and BBQ cleaner in supermarkets. I was doing it in a laundry tub full of hot water so the parts were heated before I sprayed it on and just used soft bristle brushes - toothbrushes and larger... Don't leave it sitting for any length of time it will discolour bright aluminium to a dull grey - which can be recovered with cream of tartar in hot water Cleaned pistons, Al cylinder heads, cast iron blocks, cranks, cams etc etc etc Rinse parts thoroughly in hot water afterwards. Use thick rubber gloves and eye protection - make sure you have ventilation coming from behind as the fumes can get you also. peace out
Sounds excellent mate I'll give that a shot. I'm also curious about what coke would do... may experiment with that just for fun!
Back in the old days u could drop a penny into coke overnight and it would come out bright and shiny. They say it will remove oil from your driveway also . Imagine what it does to your stomach. Of course modern coca cola might be made different ...but I doubt it.
Yeh I've put one of the pistons in some coke to see what it does after a few hours. If it removes carbon that's a hell cheap way of doing it. I like coke too, I try not to think about how little stomach lining I've probably got left...
Just mix scotch with it ..... wont help your stomach much but helps destroy brain cells so u dont care .... trust me on that one
Well guys I tried both Coke and Oven cleaner, I thought I'd share with some pics so you can see the results for yourselves. Firstly, Coke. 1. Grab a piston 2. Grab a bowl and insert Coke 3. Insert said piston into Coke for soaking in sugary goodness 4. 12 hours later, check said piston and polish with a toothbrush. Pretty much no change. The only stuff that came off was a bit of residual oil, the piston was still greasy and I don't think any amount of polishing could have really removed anything. This leads me to believe all these stories about coke are most likely from its concentrated form. Secondly, Oven cleaner. 1. Grab a piston and some oven cleaner from coles 2. Insert piston(s) into sink filled with very hot water 3. Leave for couple of mins to heat up. Spray oven cleaner on a piston and immediately start polishing with a toothbrush.... The results are pretty much instant. GOLD. seems to come right off. After a further two minutes or so of polishing and rinsing in hot water... Now to fully appreciate these fantastic results, check out the ring grooves. These were what I was most concerned about cleaning build up from. Total investment: $5. two x medium tooth brushes from Aldi ($2 twin pack) and a $3 can of oven cleaner from coles. Ruckusman, you've been hiding a very valuable secret I used a soft scourer at the end to remove the last bit from the piston head but the rest of it was only using the toothbrush! Next: Lookout cylinder head!!
Just threw this stuff on the concrete to remove oil. Works better than degreaser. Gotta love muliple applications.
