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Cleaned pistons and other parts

Posted March 23, 20186 yr

Fired up the brass wire brushes, ultrasonic cleaner and bucket of spray 9 cleaner. Also used Zep Purple for the heavy stuff.

All went well... now an expert at removing rings.

Can't separate the oil pump yet... it is a tough one. My propane touch will convince it tomorrow.

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March 23, 20186 yr

comment_545467

Which engine are you working on now?

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March 23, 20186 yr

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comment_545471

44 minutes ago, grannyknot said:

Which engine are you working on now?

260z for a friend.

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March 23, 20186 yr

comment_545477

12 hours ago, 240260280 said:

Fired up the brass wire brushes, ultrasonic cleaner and bucket of spray 9 cleaner. Also used Zep Purple for the heavy stuff.

All went well... now an expert at removing rings.

Can't separate the oil pump yet... it is a tough one. My propane touch will convince it tomorrow.

Those Webers you had in that ultrasonic cleaner, how did they come out?

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March 23, 20186 yr

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comment_545478

I just did a few parts from some SK's when I first got the Ultrasonic,

Yesterday I did all 6 pistons. They came out great. 3 things that make a difference:

1. Pre-cleaning helps. I soaked pistons in hot water with Spray 9 heavy duty cleaner and used a brass wire brush to scrub. When the rings were removed I used a 4mm and 2mm ring cleaner to get the groves.

2. The ultrasonic bath must be very hot with a good cleaner (spray 9 again as it is nice to aluminum)

3. Run the ultrasonic for two 10min cycles with a movement between.

It is not nearly as nice as Duff'd vapour blasting but they come out very clean.

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March 23, 20186 yr

comment_545483

I have plenty of "before" pictures of those Webers I used to own we can use for the "after" comparison if you go that route.

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March 23, 20186 yr

comment_545485

I tried to clean pistons and no matter what I used, they wouldn't come clean, so I gave them to my machine shop and they came back looking great. Same with the front cover.

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March 23, 20186 yr

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comment_545486

6 minutes ago, Jeff G 78 said:

I tried to clean pistons and no matter what I used, they wouldn't come clean, so I gave them to my machine shop and they came back looking great. Same with the front cover.

I think next time I'll get a hot plate and big enamel lobster boiler and boil them with spray-9 to see how it works.

If you go the water cleaning route, you need to oil them to prevent rust, especially the spring metal plates inside.

I read that some have luck just soaking in diesel/furnace oil for 24 hours.

Edited March 23, 20186 yr by 240260280