De-coking my engine

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Steve81GL1100

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Location
West Chicago, IL
Well, I did tell you all I'd be asking lots of questions....
I'm starting to formulate a plan for my newly-acquired 1981 GL 1100:
1) Clean up both heads inside and out; 2) lap the valves to ensure they seat well; 3) reassemble with all new gaskets throughout; 4) rebuild the carbs; 5) replace timing belts; 6)rebuild water pump; 7) rebuild all 3 brake calipers; 8) replace all coolant lines, fuel lines, vacuum lines, and flexible brake lines with new; 9) ....?
Budget and time will force me to take this slowly and also do a few things differently than I might otherwise. One of those is cleaning up the heads. Under different circumstances I'd send them off to my engine guy to hot-tank and give the once-over. Since I don't want to pay him hundreds of dollars to do that, and the heads shouldn't need any serious valve work, I need to find a way to get the heads cleaned up myself. I don't want to use anything really abrasive. I know scotchbrite pads will take the carbon deposits off of things like piston crowns, but it'll be difficult to get into areas like under the valves. So what I'm wondering is, has anyone done this? And what did you use? I was thinking something like Easy Off oven cleaner might work, but I'd like someone else's opinion to support my thoughts.
I'd attach a pic of the head that's off so you can all see how coked up it is, but last time I checked I still can't add pics. I'll try to get one or two loaded into my gallery tonight.
Thanks
Steve
 
its not difficult these are small heads ...patience is the best tool ...and will usealy be better than paid for ...personaly i use all kinds of stuff ...once you the touch its takes dang near anything can be used
 
I've done a few myself.
Never tried oven cleaner on the valves.
Some auto parts stores loan a valve spring compressor free with a refundable deposit.
I'd remove all the valves and use a wire wheel to get the carbon off.
With the valves out its easy to see if there's any carbon build up below them.
 
There is build-up under them, at least the ones on the left side. I haven't opened up the right side yet, but I'm guessing it looks pretty much the same. It's down under the valve seats that I'm wondering about using oven cleaner on. I figure it's caustic enough to clean the burned-on gunk out of an oven but won't damage the racks, porcelain coating, etc so maybe it'll be OK on the aluminum head?
Valve spring compressor won't be a problem. Tools, I got -- too many, if you ask my wife :good:
Steve
 
I wouldn't use oven cleaner on aluminuminum....it WILL eat into it, and cause corrosion. The BEST way is to get a 5 gallon can of the Berryman carb cleaner, and just soak the heads down in the can for about a day. Use wire to hang the heads down in the can. Pull them out, and wash completely with water, and blow dry with air. Do NOT put your hands down in that stuff, and if you do, wash your hands quickly with cold water...it will burn your skin if left on...don't ax me how I know. :blush:
Back in the day, we had a 55 gallon barrel full of that stuff, and we would stick transmission cases down in it to get them clean. Worked really well on aluminuminum and steel parts. I dropped some parts down in there once, and reached down in to get them out....I'll never do that again! :Doh2:
You might be able to take them to a radiator shop, and have them soak them in their vat.
 
Slabghost,
I was figuring I'd be doing that anyway -- my experience with Honda car engines (or one in particular...) had me thinking these are probably not sealing very well
Thanks
Steve
 
My goal? Well, a week ago my goal was to complete some repairs to my Aprilia scooter and continue flying around on it all summer. Then this Goldwing came along...
As for the Wing, it kind of fell in my lap and I couldn't pass on it. The guy I got it from inherited it from his uncle, who last registered and drove it in 1999. It quit working, and he passed it on to the nephew who for some reason you and I will never understand decided to take the left head off. As if there would be some magic wand in there that would fix it... I figure it stopped running due either to a carb issue or cam belts. My familiarity with Honda engines tells me these are very well-built, rugged motors. So, the guy wanted to move it on and the price was definitely right. That price? Get ready...... $1. That's right, One American Dollar.... Any single piece of it is worth more than that, so I'm in good shape almost whatever has to be done to it.
The big-picture plan is to go through the motor, get the whole machine road-ready and safe, and then..... I'll probably keep it, but a small part of me says I might flip it. On the one hand, I really don't need another vehicle (this is #10), but on the other hand I've always had a soft spot for early Goldwings.... :)
Steve
 
littlebeaver":2rtu5xo9 said:
I'll give you $5 for it...LOL No.. good luck with your project ...I'm just kidding...
Click to expand...
There's one in every crowd.....
On the other hand, this is probably the only time I'll ever get 5 times my investment on this bike LOL :smilie_happy:
Steve
 
I expect the head was probably removed because of a blown gasket. Once they priced one it never went back together. You might want to check the valve springs on both heads. They do weaken after a long period of being compressed. Each valve has two springs on it.
 
Here's what the combustion chambers look like...
IMAG0167.jpg


And here's the piston side...
IMAG0168.jpg


I've seen worse.....
Steve
 
TOTALLY!!! That's been my thought since I first laid eyes on it! My guess is that it never got out and really stretched it's legs. Ever. Can't imagine how goobered up the carbs will be... :shock:
 

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