I'm replacing the head gasket on my 91 accord, and after pulling the head off, I found the pistons in this condition. the carbon buildup doesn't seem to be too caked on, it is more flaky than anything. this leads me to ask what is the best way to go about cleaning them without the flakes going all over the place, especially the coolant jackets and cylinders? I've read that it can be fatal to the piston rings if any crud or cleaning solution falls into the cylinders, and even worse to blow compressed air into the them if anything should fall in there.












It also seems that some antifreeze got into the chambers.. any suggestions?

A friend suggested the best way to clean them is to remove the pistons from the block and also change the rings and rod bearings.. is this necessary? and would that mean that i have to get the cylinders honed/bored at a machine shop? what special tools would i need to remove them and change the rings and bearings, and is this difficult to do? it doesn't seem that crazy hard to do, are there any special considerations when doing this job?

Also, the milkshake mix is present in the coolant jackets, what is the best way to clean them? i know i have yet to remove the coolant drain bolt from the side of the block.







some background: the engine is a stock f22a1, it has less than 150k original miles. I had symptoms of a blown head gasket before pulling off the head, especially the milkshake mix you get when coolant mixes with antifreeze. I'm assuming this was a result of a previous overheating episode

Any help is appreciated Thanks!

 

anyone?

 

Brake Cleaner?

May sound retarded but use a vacuum cleaner to get off most of the crap and tape off any 'open' areas (coolant/oil lines) and then just clean one at a time.

 

Use a shop vac to suck up the stuff as you scrape it off. As for the bearings, antifreeze in your oil is incredibly destructive to engine bearings. If it's been running for a long time like that I would suggest replacing them.

You don't need to get anything machined necessarily to replace the rings, but you will need precision measuring equipment. Your cylinders look like they are in pretty good shape.

 

sometimes it easier to just go at it with a wire brush and some brake cleaner and flush the motor once the head is back on..................

not the best way, but i never had a problem doing it.

 

I haven't found it to be too effective with carbon. I did have some carbon build up on another engine, rotated the engine so all the slugs were about even and poured ATF on top to soften the carbon deposits. I had one piston that had a faulty oil ring, the ATF seeped down to that ring and freed it up. That engine was very gummy/carbon fouled.
^This.

 

M80