4piston

Oven cleaner has sodium hydroxide in it, which is an alkali. Alkali and aluminum or magnesium forms hydrogen gas and if you leave it in enough concentration of alkali (a lot...like 1 molar solution) with elevated temperature it will consume all the aluminum. It won't harm steel at all.

You obviously put very little sodium hydroxide on the head and at room temperature. All you did was gave it more thorough of a cleaning than you would have with regular degreaser

You didn't hurt anything...just take it apart, clean it, and put it back together. Better yet, drop it off at a good cylinder head shop and let them freshen it up.

EG-SIXV-TEC

o okay thanks thats the kind of comment i wanted to hear. so i am kinda safe then i will take it apart and send the whole thing to get it cleaned and the head shaved .

rich7777

I can't see why you'd have a problem. I always use oven cleaner to clean up gunky parts. My current block/head/gearbox were cleaned with the stuff. It works well...

carbon fiber coupe

iTrader: (2)

Id say slap it on and call it day. unless your pushing alot of power through that thing you will be fine. I have seen heads in ALOT worse shape run forever.

rich7777

What power got to do with it ? It's either ok or it isn't. He's fine...

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

dont listen to the guy above lol
you must have only SEEN not done.

ive done 4 single cams in a row last year or so and (all were mine not customers)

and all4 with no exception leaked not too long after.
i tried different gaskets, etc,

get it resurfaced and you will be golden.

it costs 50 bucks or so and many local shops can do it

rich7777

What ?? I don't think so...

If it NEEDS resurfacing then it needs doing. I'm not disputing that. But the rest of the head will be fine. Like I say I have used oven cleaner a number of times to clean stuff down and I've never had a problem.

Eg.ls.turbo

Thats the first time i heard someone use a OVEN CLEANER to clean a motor.A lot of brake cleaner does the trick.

Eg.ls.turbo

The best stuff to use is the stuff the clean truck and tractors with. ITD power brite aggressive truck wash and degreaser. I used that stuff to clean my block and it was like new.

angryhillbilly

buy 1 valve seal. spray it with the oven cleaner and observe. then youll know if you need a rebuild or not.

GhostAccord

If you are going to use brake cleaner make sure it's safe for rubber and plastics. Most of the "good" brake cleaners out there are not so rubber or plastic friendly. Oh and most aren't too friendly to paint ether.

Why are so many people apposed to a water based degreaser? That is all I use now. hot water and add degreaser as recommended. Sure it make take a little bit of elbow grease to get everything shiny clean. If you are that lazy a hot water and degreaser solution through a high pressure wash works as well.

HiProfile

Valve seals are cheap, and *should* be replaced. Valve springs, retainers, and valves are harder steel and won't be affected. The guides will be just fine since you'd have to soak them in degreaser for a month to remove all the residual oil before the cleaner would even scratch them (they're designed to hold oil).

Just work on the bearing surfaces and intake ports with a mild aluminum polish. Same for any other surface you want to look pretty. The rest of the parts will work fine with pitted or oxidized surfaces.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

i followed service manual to the dot on last 3 rebuilds and it still leaked.
i tried to use regular gasket, metal headgasket, metal headgasket with copper spray

only after i took it back off again and took it to machine shop resurfaced it sealed properly. and valve seals are like 30 bucks fro supertech vitton seals but u need tools to remve the valve keepers and valve seal removal tool also

single cam heads warp very easily, and theres tonns of treads online confirming it.

EG-SIXV-TEC

okay whats the proper way to check for cylinder head warpage and also block warpage. i am thinking on getting a straightedge what brands of straightedge are good out there to inspect if my head is warped. i want to check b4 i send it to a shop thanks....

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

the ones whose edge is straight lol

take it to local machine shop i dont think they would charge you just to put a ruler on top of your head. harbor freight should have some cheap ones

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

diagonally each way and then straight just to be sure.

GoodSkoolRevltn

for a straight edge. i recently bought this one off of amazon.com


not sure if i paid this though, but either way, a very fair/cheap price for this tool. besides checking for warpage, im sure itll make a great paperweight someday.

I would agree with a teardown, and changing any seals that would be a PITA to change at a later date, plus it would be kinda difficult to check for warping on your own i think with that cam hanging out there.

In my case (dohc), .002" warpage is ok (helms), but anything above would need to be resurfaced.

Make sure you follow proper torquing/removing sequence if there is one.

Im not sure if there are LMA's (lost motion assemblies) like in dohc motors, but if for some reason that they are i would go as for as to clean em out to make sure that theres no cleaner inside them as well, especially if they were "pumped"

Theres this stuff called 2+2 gum cutter that is a carb cleaner on steroids that works great for this type of stuff, but is usually only for shop/professional use, and probably illegal to be sold in CA since youre so "green" but in any case, can be bought online and hopefully shipped to your state.

and for the best diy guide ive ever found on valve jobs, see the videos, and if your up for it, go nuts.