Hey Guys,

Well looking at my engine and hoping to have it all together in the next week or so. The exhaust manifold and ports have a large carbon build up. I am going to get the engine retuned and running perfectly BUT what is the best way to clean this out without all the crap ending up inside the engine?

The other thing is my motor has been sitting since april. What is the normal procedure for the firstfire up after sitting for a year. I heard a drop of oil in through spark plug hole's and turn over by hand and then give it a go. Do the enlightened ones amongst us agree and suggest anything else?
I put a rag in the ports and other openings but am not sure if any loose paint or dust might have made its way in before I did that. Is it worth pulling the head to give it a good clean up> I have a new head gasket but heard that if you have a good one it sometimes is better to just leave it alone.

Cheers
David

The manifold is easy, get a stiff bottle brush and give it a good workout. You should be able to do the same with the ports on the head, but make sure you give it a good blast of compressed air to get the loose carbon out afterwards.

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

I put an oil container cap of oil down the plugholes - what you're doing is lubricating the bores, so that the top rings have oil on them - a drop of oil won't go far

doesn't take long to burn the oil out

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

Thanks chaps!


SGC
That sounds good. I had thoght to do this but was worries about filling them up with carbon. chunks. Is it worth pulling the head and doing it properly?

SIMON
Yeah i pictured more than a drop in my head but typed that. A cap full per bore and then turn over by hand for a bit.

thanks again guys.

DC

Take the plugs out and spin it with the starter motor until you get oil pressure, spinning it by hand won't give you enough speed.

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The 850 Man

It's always worth doing it properly

But unless the carbon build-up is restricting gas flow in the head, I'd leave sleeping dogs lie.

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

As always, I'm waiting for the Doc to make a call.

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1964 Cooper UK 970 S 'CZ 4289'

pull the plugs,,, P!$$ a bit of oil down each cyl,,, spin it up on the starter motor till you get oil pressure on the gauge but with rags catching all the oil comming out the plug holes


after that just replace the plugs & fire her up

job done

the carbon in the exh ports is going to come back within a few weeks anyways, don`t worry about it

Just run it

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Drop him an email then, it'll save everyone's replies.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

See Matt's answer above...^^^
But if you get no oil pressure up in 20 secs or so, undo the block to filter pipe and prime the oil pump. Fill to top of hole in block, wind motor backwards until oil level disappears, repeat.
Refit oil pipe but leave banjo bolt 1/2 turn loose. Crank motor again. When it squirts out, do it up.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Hey so I pulled the head today. Its pretty carbonated on the tops of the pistons and in the chambers in general. I will clean these out as best as I can. with a rag and some metho/petrol.


I am going to check and make sure that the bores are spherical
What else shoud I do with the head off?

I took pics but the car is at my girlfriends dads and he has DIAL UP
I could draw you a quicker picture in paintbrush then it would take to upload. I will upload when I get home tonight.

Hey ohh wise and generous people of knowledge,

So here are some pics of my head, bore and pistons. I am wondering what you think, do they usually have that much crap on them? What about the patterns of the said crap?

Any tips or things I should watch out for?

Looks pretty normal, #4 maybe has a worn inlet valve guide or valve stem letting some oil down.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

That head and pistons look fine as far as carbon goes. They will come up a treat with a quick cleanup. Just look for cracks around the seats. And this would also be a good time to put new valve stem seals in if you can get your valve springs off.
Oh and it's always a good idea to get the head face skimmed to ensure it's dead flat.

That's not carbon buildup, THIS is carbon buildup

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i buffed my head with a soft wire wheel on my angle grinder lapped the valves
banged it back together ajusted the valve clearances purred nicely

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1969 Blue Mini K, 1330cc, Weber 45, polished aluminum roll cage, Race seats, 4 point harness, full rewire incorporating 8 fuses, 6 relays and new headlights just needs tyres front shocks and a windscreen til re-register