making sure the engine is clean during rebuild
making sure the engine is clean during rebuild I bought my LS1 from someone who didn't really know his *** from his face, so I decided I'd better pull the heads off and make sure it wasn't fubar. I've got it down to the shortblock and everything looks OK. There was a LOT of carbon buildup on the pistons (or it seemed that way to me, anyway), but the cylinder walls are nice and bright. The factory hone marks are still visible. Lifters and cam also look good. The crank turns freely.
Now the question: How do I make sure that there isn't crap in the engine? I've cleaned all the carbon off the pistons and gotten all the gasket residue off the deck. Everything looks very clean now, but I want to be 100% positive. ANy tried and true techniques? I'd rather not disassemble the shortblock if it isn't absolutely necessary.
And while I'm here. Should I use copper gasket sealer on the head gaskets? Anything on the exhaust gaskets?
Thanks for the help.
Now the question: How do I make sure that there isn't crap in the engine? I've cleaned all the carbon off the pistons and gotten all the gasket residue off the deck. Everything looks very clean now, but I want to be 100% positive. ANy tried and true techniques? I'd rather not disassemble the shortblock if it isn't absolutely necessary.
And while I'm here. Should I use copper gasket sealer on the head gaskets? Anything on the exhaust gaskets?
Thanks for the help.
when i did my H/C the first time,i thought i was keeping everything clean.on the second go around,i noticed 2 cylinders had a little scoring,obviously from dirt that i missed the first time.short of taking it apart,there's not a lot you can do other than take a shop vac to the cylinders,and everywhere you can reach.make sure the cam and lifters are clean before you reinstall them.take a lint free towel soaked in mineral spirits or thinner to wipe everything down.that's about it,unless somebody else has any ideas.and make sure the tools you use are hospital clean.especially the sockets....
The only way to get it 100% clean is to disassemble it, but that's a lot of work, I understand you don't want to do it. Compressed air will be your friend, and lots of shop towels. I've found that WD-40 cleans up the block pretty well and clings to dust and gunk. Run a cheap oil in the car for the first 50 miles or so and SeaFoam the engine, this will clean it up quite a bit. Then change the oil and the filter with whatever you prefer.
thanks for the advice. i was thinking of flipping the block upside down and using brake cleaner like crazy in the cylinders, esp on the piston rings. do the same thing on the cam. then, of course, change the oil and filter after letting it run for just a little while.
would it hurt to soak down the internals with brake cleaner? i know you're supposed to assemble an engine with assembly grease, so that might "dry it out." could I just spray it all with brake cleaner, then douse it in motor oil?
