Carbon deposits on piston????
 

Hey guys, I purchased some performance heads for my SH a while ago and I started taking the stock heads off. I noticed there was a film of carbon deposits on the piston surfaces. Is that normal and how could I clean it. It seems like the carbon is baked on there.
Thanx

ive heard easy off works wonders.
how about it guys?
is it safe?
this requires pulling pistons from engine of course,dont want any
foreign matter in cases.

mike e.

don't wanna pull the pisons out though.

hawxter996 is right. You have to pull the pistons because little bits of carbon get between the piston and cylinder wall and in the ring grooves and act like an abrasive. If you do decide to procede without pulling the pistons you might want to get creative like putting the piston at the top if its stroke and with the engine inverted clean the carbon and flush the crap out of it before moving the engine.

This may be a good opportunity to hone the cylinders and replace the rings or atleast reseat the old ones to restore perfect compression.

Oscar,
I would leave it there. Like Hawxter says, if you try to remove it, it will end up in the bores causing wear. A lot of it is due to crappy pump gas. Run some Techroline and it will clean it up pretty well. The good part is that stuff takes up space and increases compression ratio.

the bad part is,it causes hot spots and causes detonation.
so if your raising comp. with your new heads,get that crap
out of there.
better yet treat them new heads to a set of performance pistons and cams.

Alright bro, thanx for the info. What is techronline?

True about hot spots. Especially if it's big and flaky. I was referring more to an even deposit a few thousandths thick.

Techroline is a Chevron fuel additive. Also available at the auto parts store. It will also prevent the buildup on the backs of the valves.

Seafoam....Best stuff for everything...imho

It's Techron, not Techroline. Seafoam is good stuff too. I'd leave it be and run some additives through it when you're done. Use better gas from now on.

You're right. It's Techron. I thought it was Techron at the pump and Techroline in the bottle. But it was the other way around. And now it's just Techron both places. Good stuff, that.

Chevon Supreme has more of it than their regular gas. I would buy a bottle and run a few tanks with it added. I run Chevron all the time in my vehicles. I think Shell now has the same additive.

Better gas...so 87, 89, 91, 92 or 93 octane....which is it.....lol....open can :-D :-D

Not necessarily octane rating, but brand. This works a couple ways. For example on low compression Chevy motors, if you run super unleaded in them they get carbon build up, but not with regular unleaded. Higher compression motors such as the LS1/2 require super but don't get build up. The Superhawk motor is a relatively low compression motor, and though I've always used super in all my bikes, I've never found indication of carbon buildup. It usually will occur on valves first, and keep in mind that if your jetting is correct then this will minimize its occurrance.

Carbon on the piston tops is normal. That is, unless it's so thick that it's causing interference with the head and/or valves (which I doubt). I'd just leave it alone.