so i've got my head stripped down although atm it does still have the valves fitted these can be removed easy enough if needed. the inside of my head is caped in shit, i've done search after search on the net and found lots of idea's although most of these come with conflicting info.

so i'm looking for a way of cleaning it that will not destroy any rubber seals and will not damage the alloy. i've tried hitting it with degreaser and a tooth brush but this is pretty labour intensive and very difficult to get into most of the places on the afh head.

one suggestion i have just read is to soak it in coke, i like this idea as it's cheap and i know it would work (i've seen what this shit can do to a 2 pence piece), i'm just worried about it damaging any seals?

an idea i've thought of is either just a straight pressure wash or some thing like GUNK and a quick pressure wash, any thoughts on this?

are there any chemicals i could soak it in that won't damage the seals or alloy? as most of the things i've read about come with a warning that they can?

this is were it stands at the min, the shit is coming off pretty easily but like i say access is the problem. i'm just looking for ideas or tried and tested tricks as i'm planning on doing this after work tomorrow... btw i don't have a dish washer

damn no dishwasher.... that's my list of suggestions exhausted then

Bilberry Wheel cleaner?

I cleaned my other head by leaving it soak in warm chem guys orange degreser.

I realise you probably have already thought about this already, and theres probably a reason why you haven't done it, but you could just take it to a local engine builder and ask them to throw it in their parts washer for an hour? My local one told me they're happy for me to use their washer and they won't charge! Might be worth a try

cillit bang (purple bottle with orange top) or oven cleaner.

scrub in with a toothbrush, leave in for a while then wash off! Does wonders.

Failing that, if you want it looking as new, take the valve stem seals out and have it acid dipped.

not wanting to sound like a complete bell-end, but you should have thought of it before you put all the valves back in McL, there's absolutely nothing worthwhile doing to the head now which wont ruin the seals

it took some shaft mounted wire wheels, a soak in cresylic acid for 2 days, then a hour in a special hot solvent parts washer to get this as clean as it is... the other thing you could try is sand blasting but you should keep it away from the cam journals and valve guides and seats, again it would need to be fully stripped first

Nah you don't sound like a bell end mate, totally appreciate all the help you've given me

As blatant as it is that it needs cleaning I honestly didn't even think about it, I just got carried away refitting the valves, guess its just my total noobness showing through

As for the valves it won't take 5 mins to pop them back out now, that's one thing I got the hang pretty quickly. It's all a learning curve for me and tbh I'm enjoying doing it all as its some thing I've never even considered doing before

presumably you bead blast it rather than sand blast? Surely sand is much too course a media for a soft alu cylinder head.

but yeah, I'd just take the valves and any seals back out and then you can do whatever. You'll need to soak it in something that would eat seals in order to actually clean it.

For an 'every-day' finish, take the valves out (poke them through a piece of cardboard to keep them located to their own seats) and wash the head in a bucket with Jizer in it (I find that this product is more penetrating than Gunk), scrub as much of the black sludge off as you can, leave it to soak into the corners that you cant get at too easily and then hose it down with a normal garden hose. Wipe the valve seats dry and run an oily rag over them to prevent rusting, just leave the head to dry off in the sunshine or if you have a compressor, blow it dry with the blow-gun.

This method will get rid of the nasty sludge, but you may end up with light oil staining, this is only a cosmetic problem.

Whatever you do, make sure that you protect the camshaft journals, also be sure to put the bearing caps back in their original position, and the same way round, be sure too to tighten the camshafts evenly (a bit at a time).

I'm not over impressed with the idea of either sand or bead blasting items like this, not only from the risk of damaging working surfaces, but there is always the problem of getting all of the product out afterwards, especially out of oil passages.

Regards.

you really cant beat a dishwasher for this stuff though

As someone suggested above. Oven cleaner!

you really cant beat a dishwasher for this stuff though

i did ask her but she point blank refused

you really cant beat a dishwasher for this stuff though

i did ask her but she point blank refused

Nip it in there for a quick one when she's least expecting it

no need to strip the head again just find a container large enough to put your head in and soak in parrafin, red diesel, kerosene or white diesel ideally make the derv hot any way you can either steam hot water whatever and leave to ingress into all the crap that has built up over time then pressure wash no need for acid dipping coz once you rebuild the head and replace it on the block the first thing you are going to do on start up is run shitty oil back through it

what happened to the kid who shoved his cylinder head in a tub full of coca cola?

coca cola is a good acid as it containd phosphoric acid but it will eat metals which is why when it is carried by road transport it is carried in stainless steel tanks and off loaded asap and the tank washed out phosphoric acid or it's sister acid - poly phosphoric acid is a very nasty acid that if touched by bare skin would reveal skinless finger's it is also carried as a heated product around 70c and to think that it is then put into the pop that we all drink