Degreasing & Cleanup

So the messiest job is of course degreasing all of these parts that I've removed.  I thought the block was bad, and then I moved onto the oil pan, and the pistons were definitely the toughest with all of the carbon build ups.  I've been using Simple Green, WD-40, Mineral Spirits, and Gasoline as solvents.  Pretty good results, just takes time.

  

Engine Rebuild: Part 2: Engine Tear Down

Thanks to my wonderful core leave, I was able to tear down the engine to nothing.

First the head came off.  I did break one head bolt off into the block, but after some heat and elbow grease I was able to get it out.  After further investigation, the crud around the broken off bolt was actually fried coolant, which points to one of the places I was loosing coolant through.

   

Next came the bottom end.  I was greated with a nice sluggy mess, including the oil pump pickup

 

I removed the crank retainers and piston retainers, including bearings to fully disassemble the bottom end.  I did store these in order & they need to go back to the proper cylinder.

 

The pistons are in great shape, although the rings certainly have seen better days.

 

While the engine is apart, I decided to extract the freeze plugs and fully clean the inner water passages of the block.  Glad I did, look at all of the crud in there!

 

Tucked within the bottom of the engine I was able to pull out the PCV filter, which I didn't even realize was in there.  It was fully caked in solid grease which I'm sure prevented it from performing its job.

 

I then degreased the block by hand with the help of biodegradable Simple Green, followed by a full power washing of the interior and exterior. To prevent rust, I then used some Water Displacement spray (WD-40), of which I sourced a full gallon.

 

Next up will be cleaning up all of the other parts from the engine & then rebuilding!