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Just wondering what's the best way to clean all the carbon out of the pistons without taking them to a shop. I used a old piston ring that i broke in half to scrape most of it out but theres still some build up. Stock 5.3 pistons.
Just went through this ordeal. Because I'm not on a tight schedule, I just ended up soaking them in dish soap for a few days then a heavy concentration of baking soda and dish soap (like mud thick) for a few more days. I then worked gasket remover into all lands and on any carbon still remaining and let sit for a couple more days. Then just washed them in a parts washer with a brass brush and used an old ring to clean the lands. Came out beautiful - lol.
It may have been worth it to just buy some after all but I couldn't find any replacement 5.3 pistons that keep the factory pin height.
I bought a gallon of Gunk Carburetor cleaner and soaked each piston for about 20-30 minutes. Then I gently scrubbed them with a scotchbrite sponge... they aren't nearly as scratched looking in person.
The skirts I scrubbed with the soft side of the sponge.
I used a broken ring to clean the ring lands (this picture shows before I finished cleaning the ring lands for the 2nd time).
Then I wipe them with a paper towel, dunk them in water and wipe them clean with a microfiber. Be sure to inspect that all the scotchbrite particles are removed when you are done.
To do all 8 takes about 4 hours in total.
Edit:
Any rough casting area that isn't machined can be cleaned very gently with a screw driver. If the carbon is still present after one soak/scrub, repeat the process again.
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Cleaning pistons 
