I think it is a conspiracy.

 

But look how nicely the coolant steam cleaned most of the carbon buildup off that piston!

 

Isn't that the truth about the carbon being gone from the #5 cylinder. Does anyone know of a system of water injection for cleaning cylinders as a maintenance procedure?

 

Holy macro, same thing with my 99 v6. Losing collant, milky oil cap. My question, while I have the heads off what should I repace vs repair, ie rockers, push rods, rings etc. I read head bolts a must.

 

The only thing that comes to mind is the Valve seals. Rings you would have to pull the motor. Head bolt are torque to yield they work once then you throw them away.

 

Once the heads are off how would you clean the pison heads?

 

I would think twice about cleaned the head of the piston without removing the piston. You could get carbon where you really do not want it and end up scraching the cyclinder walls. To remove it would be a huge project. Just let it be.

 

I've cleaned carbon off pistons before without any problems. Do it with the piston all the way up, and follow up with a shop vac. Then rotate the engine to lower the piston a little bit and smear a thin film of oil on the cylinder wall, from the top down about 1". Then rotate to raise the piston up and back down again. Any crud, if there is any, will stick to the oil. Do that a couple of times if you need peace of mind.

 

what kind of agent, cleaner, scrubber would you use on the actual piston heads

 

You can use a scraper, putty knife, etc. to remove the carbon build up. If you spray it with carb cleaner and keep it wet, it will help prevent dry chunks from flying around. Work at it slowly, you're not trying to remove the carbon like using an ice scraper. Carb cleaner loosens varnish, so it works pretty well as a final cleaner too. To avoid soaking down the cylinders, spray the cleaner on a rag and scrub the piston.