Remove valve carbon

I have a bit of carbon on my exhaust valves. Berryman carb/chem dip doesn't seem to be softening it at all.

What do you use to clean the carbon off valves and any suggestions on cleaning the aluminum head?

Thanks

the valves... try a wire wheel on a bench grinder... for the head itself... I find it far easier to take it to your local cylinder head shop and get it tanked... about $40.

OR you can try some less than ideal home method in the family dishwasher and ruin the dishwasher BEFORE you bring it to the shop and spend $40

If Berryman's doesn't touch it, nothing really will.

The best you could hope to do at this point is the old hammer and chisel method, or maybe a highly oxidizing flame from an oxyacetylene rig.

What engine is it? New valves might end up being the better option.

1991 Honda Civic Si D16A6 Valves would cost to much overall. (+$200 for ex valves) If I went down that road a reman'd head would be better. ($368)

ATF dip.

Wire wheel. I've been doing it that way for 40 years. It really will be worthwhile to have the head checked over and cleaned at a reputable machine shop. If they don't ask what type of head gasket you are using, find a better shop- the finish is critical if you use a multi layer steel gasket.

Scrape off what you can, then a wire wheel. For the ports, scrape what you can, then spray it with one of the purple cleaners, and use a small wire brush that will get in the ports.On the outside, purple cleaner and a scrub brush, followed by lots of water, sprayed as hard as you can. You can soak it overnight in solvent to soften it up.

We used Berryman's to clean pistons. Carboned up gunk with the rings siezed in the grooves would sit in the pail overnight, and the next day they'd be spotlessly clean, even behind the (now free) rings. Rinse with solvent, pop the rings off, slip the new rings on, throw engine back together.

IME anything that Berryman's can't touch will also laugh at a wire wheel. Or a sandblaster.

boil in water. It will soften it up nicley then wire brush

That Mopar cylinder cleaner stuff would probably take it right off.

I suspect the current Berrymans isnt't what the old Berrymans was. The old stuff had methylene chloride, puls other goodies. I did a bit of a google search on this the other day.

How about oven cleaner?

chuck it into a drill press. with a scraper softer than the valve, you can get most of that off. Aluminum should work fine.

oldeskewltoy wrote: the valves... try a wire wheel on a bench grinder... for the head itself... I find it far easier to take it to your local cylinder head shop and get it tanked... about $40. OR you can try some less than ideal home method in the family dishwasher and ruin the dishwasher BEFORE you bring it to the shop and spend $40

It takes 3 cycles in the dish washer to remove the oil smell.

Never found a carboned up valve that a wire wheel couldn't clean up. Didn't have fancy smanchy chemicals back in the day.

Easy Off over cleaner Just don't get it on aluminum...,