cleaning heads
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From: fortress of solitude
cleaning heads well i just bought my first set of heads. they came off my cousins car( he swears that they arent that great, but i got a good deal and they worked pretty good on his car. anyway i would like to prep them b4 i install them on my car. i want to clean them up really good. i did a search but all i found was people tallking about heads in general and not how to clean them up. whats the best way to do it and what should i use(or not use) i want them to be like new before i install them. im sure its not going to necessarily make the car "run" better, but i want to do it anyway 
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Take it too a machine shop Im sure they could break it down for you and pressure wash it with scalding hot water or some solution for pretty cheap. If your gonna do it yourself I think that would involve a set of engine brushes so you could get into the ports and stuff, a lot of elbow grease, and some chemicals not sure what would work good. A parts tank would be awesome to have for this. I would check local machine shops, depending how bad they are and how clean you want them. Good Luck
If you are talking about deposits in the combustion chamber part of the heads, the GM shop manual says to clean them with a wire brush. I have small wire brush on an air die grinder that I use. With the amout of oil that LS1's burn, you can get a lot of carbon deposits in the heads.
What are u trying to clean. If it is the intake/exhaust runners then leave them alone. If it is the comustion chambers just leave them alone also. But you are talking about the out side of the head aka the part u can see while it is on the car just get some GM motor cleaner.
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From: fortress of solitude
Originally Posted by goober35
What are u trying to clean. If it is the intake/exhaust runners then leave them alone. If it is the comustion chambers just leave them alone also. But you are talking about the out side of the head aka the part u can see while it is on the car just get some GM motor cleaner.
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From: Chicago Suburbs
Originally Posted by goober35
Well they can not vat them. Only thing u really could do is just get the tooth brush out and start scrubbing because that is what they are going to do.
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From: fortress of solitude
Originally Posted by goober35
Well they can not vat them. Only thing u really could do is just get the tooth brush out and start scrubbing because that is what they are going to do.
vat them?? what exactly does that mean? also a toothbrush is pretty brittle. i dont know if that would be the best idea to clean aluminum. i may have access to a pressure washer, but i dont think that by itself is going to cut it
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Whats wrong with using some top end or brake cleaner, some water in a sink, and a brush? I think a good idea would be to disassemble the heads first so you can put some more lube in there when you put them back together.
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From: fortress of solitude
Originally Posted by goober35
if you have them Vatted it will eat the metal up.
as far as using water, etc. i dont know what exactly i could use to clean the head(wire brush, etc.). like i said i dont want to damage the head. also its obvious that regular soap will completely clean the heads
Use a power wire brush to clean the combustion chambers and valves. Then take the valves out and clean the carbon out of the exhaust ports with the wire brush. There are also hand wire brushes that look like a tooth brush, but that will take you a hell of a long time. If you don't have a small air die grinder with wire brush, at least use a dremel. A steel wire brush really will not remove enough aluminum to damage the heads, but if you are worried about that you can use a brass wire brush instead.
The intake ports you can clean with just solvent like carb cleaner. Soap and water won't cut it unless the soap and water is boiling hot. Running the heads through the dishwasher will clean the intake ports, but your GF or Mom will kick your *** if they find out!
Then blow all the debris out with compressed air, lube the valve stems and reinstall the valves. You can do all this yourself, or you can pay a shop a few hundred dollars to do it. It's not hard work, but time consuming, so you will be paying their hourly shop rate for a flunky to do the work.
The intake ports you can clean with just solvent like carb cleaner. Soap and water won't cut it unless the soap and water is boiling hot. Running the heads through the dishwasher will clean the intake ports, but your GF or Mom will kick your *** if they find out!
Then blow all the debris out with compressed air, lube the valve stems and reinstall the valves. You can do all this yourself, or you can pay a shop a few hundred dollars to do it. It's not hard work, but time consuming, so you will be paying their hourly shop rate for a flunky to do the work.
Last edited by Cal; Jan 16, 2005 at 04:22 PM.
I used a wheel brush (long bristles...the kind you use on nice rims) and some Gunk Engine Degreaser in the sink...probably wanna use a sink in the garage though cause Gunk has a stronger smell than you think when you're inside. I also used some dishsoap and a few pieces of scotch brite and the heads look brand new now... the engine had 40K miles on it when I got it, and I don't think it was EVER cleaned on the outside at all. Also...if you're wearing good gloves when you do it (so hot water won't burn your hands) use only hot water...hottest you can get it...and don't forget that the head will be that hot when you're done cleaning it, so don't just go grabbing it with bare hands when you're done.
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From: fortress of solitude
Originally Posted by Mike454SS
I used a wheel brush (long bristles...the kind you use on nice rims) and some Gunk Engine Degreaser in the sink...probably wanna use a sink in the garage though cause Gunk has a stronger smell than you think when you're inside. I also used some dishsoap and a few pieces of scotch brite and the heads look brand new now... the engine had 40K miles on it when I got it, and I don't think it was EVER cleaned on the outside at all. Also...if you're wearing good gloves when you do it (so hot water won't burn your hands) use only hot water...hottest you can get it...and don't forget that the head will be that hot when you're done cleaning it, so don't just go grabbing it with bare hands when you're done.
Yeah, everywhere. I just took the valvesprings off the heads, pulled the valves out, pulled the valveseals off, and pulled the spring seats out...put the valves, springs, seats, retainers and locks in a bucket of solvent to soak to try to soften the carbon on the exhaust valves, and went to town on the heads...they both look like they're absolutely brand new now. It takes a lot of elbow grease, but I had the free time, so I figured why not get it done.
vatting is when the put the heads in a big tank of something...that is just what i know from "common sense" it is probably a solution of chemicals to clean or a tank of hot water or something...
Originally Posted by KALEL
anyone else
Brandon
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From: fortress of solitude
Originally Posted by Mike454SS
Yeah, everywhere. I just took the valvesprings off the heads, pulled the valves out, pulled the valveseals off, and pulled the spring seats out...put the valves, springs, seats, retainers and locks in a bucket of solvent to soak to try to soften the carbon on the exhaust valves, and went to town on the heads...they both look like they're absolutely brand new now. It takes a lot of elbow grease, but I had the free time, so I figured why not get it done.
when you say bucket of solvent, what chemical is it? engine degreaser? sorry but i really dont want to mess this up
I use Castrol "Super Clean"...it's not petroleum-based, water soluable, will remove all carbon deposits without a lot of brushing, it's a super engine degreaser, and best of all it's only about $5 a gallon at WalMart! Don't get this stuff on your skin though, you won't notice it right away but the next day the skin falls off. This won't hurt rubber seals and engine enamel but I have seen it bubble up fresh house paint....