engine and drivetrain Crusty cylinder & oil build up

[ArdenK]

Hi All,

I've started my engine rebuild project! I used CD's mystery oil marination technique before turning the motor. I got the head off this morning and found 3 dry cylinders and one icky crusty cylinder with oil in it, #2. The head looked ok except it had a funky #2 combustion chamber, see pic. The good news is it has the little piano tops in it!

Questions:

1. what can I do to clean up the cylinder? Will one of those ball hones do the trick?

2. What should I use to remove oil build up, sludge?

Thanks you for your advice!

[mossyboy6]

well, since your rebuilding the engine, just give them the head as it is.

Ask them to hot tank and blast it.

[ArdenK]

Thanks but I wanted to diy, if possible. I have an extra head, that's not the issue. The cruddy cylinder is a problem. I posted the pic so people could see the "Cruddy" stuff.

[kcdonahue]

Possibly burnt oil leaking from the rings. How did the plug from that cylinder?

Easy off oven cleaner will clean up that mess pretty quickly, just dont leave it on too long or it will etch the aluminum. After I rinse the oven cleaner i like to use another degrease and then spray the bare metal down with a light coat of oil or even wd40.

Once it is clean give the chamber a good visual check for any damage just in case the chamber looks like it does from an incorrect mixture. This from a tii or carbed car?

KC

[ArdenK]

Hi KC,

it's from a carbed car that was last running 10 years ago.

[ahlem]

I am doing the very same job on an e30 cylinder head. I bought a fine wire cup brush for a dremel mototool and masked off the mating surface of the head to block. The little thing did a marvelous job. I took the head all apart and made a simple fixture for my wood lathe that holds the valve and spins it so I could polish the area not inside the guide. They looked like new when I was done. I took them to machine shop and had the valves turned for $3.00 each and the seats cut for $3.50 each.

[kcdonahue]

Hey Arden,

The new pic helps... I would check the combustion chamber (after cleaning) and even the head gasket real well. Looks like coolant has been hanging around in there for the 10 years the car was sitting. Possible crack in the head or just gasket failure.

KC

[ArdenK]

Yup, looks like a BIG booger. There is green jelly stuff in the exhaust manifold too. The gasket looks ok, i think, I didn;t see any cracks but I does look like it's been hot. The rockers have a gold tint. I'll get pics tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone for your comments!

[2002haus]

Arden,

Coolant sitting for an extended period will usually look like what is shown in the picture.

It is more than likely a cracked head (either between the valves or between the coolant passage and the combustion chamber) on that cylinder.

Repairing an old casting is not usually worth the $$ or effort.

Head thickness is also an issue, although that (lack thereof) can be compensated for a couple of different ways.

[ArdenK]

Hey Rob,

Thanks for kickin in your 2 cents.

I was hoping it wasn't a cracked head but it's no bigie, I have a spare head.

I was thinking it was the head gasket, it appears there was some seepage between the water passage and the cylinder, I'll look closer for a crack.

Check out the pics.