Schaggy

So I pulled my heads last weekend and found out that my intuition was correct and my valve guide seals are toast.

So while my new heads (Going with pre-smog set my buddy had lying around) are out at the machine shop, does anybody have any good tricks on how to:

a) clean the pistons that have a thick, black coating on them without getting a bunch of gunk down in the rings and:

b) clean the block so the new gaskets will seal properly without getting a bunch of gunk down in the rings?

This is my first time doing this without adult supervision, so any advice would help!

STL 71 C3

Fill the holes up with rags to keep it to a minimum when cleaning the block...and use a shop vac to get small stuff out when finished. You could blow with air too.
I would then bring piston to TDC (while protecting the rest and the valley), wire wheel the top of the piston, use a vacuum and air to blow everything out again...

Just be sure to take your time and keep work area small so the mess is small. Clean as you go so nothing gets left in there.

LannyL81

I coated the piston tops with oil several times which loosend the carbon and then used a razor blade to remove the carbon. For the valve reliefs, I just used a small plastic spoon to remove the carbon. Keep the lifter valley covered and go slowly to keep the carbon from getting into places it should not be.

Easy Mike

Cleaning carbon from pistons with the pistons still in the block will always leave carbon behind.