1986 F-250 XLT 6.9 idi C6 switch to 300 4 speed

[FuzzFace2]

There is brake cleaner and BRAKE CLEANER. Brandon/Bruno2 brought some big name brake cleaner over and it wouldn't touch what I expected it to melt. I pulled out my favorite, O'Reilly's house brand, and it melted the stuff.

Anyway, good luck!

I am with Gary that not all carb cleaner is made the same and why I go for the non-planet safe stuff.

Now if you find nothing really works what if you try and back it off / out?

I dont think most of us have ovens in our garages and you dont want it in the house oven. It will stink the oven & house and really piss off the wife.

So how about the grille you cook your burgers & dogs on?

Full tank of gas and let it cook!

Dave ----

[nic55kel]

I am with Gary that not all carb cleaner is made the same and why I go for the non-planet safe stuff.

Now if you find nothing really works what if you try and back it off / out?

I dont think most of us have ovens in our garages and you dont want it in the house oven. It will stink the oven & house and really piss off the wife.

So how about the grille you cook your burgers & dogs on?

Full tank of gas and let it cook!

Dave ----

Hi Gary & Dave,

I agree on the brake clean, the old chlorinated was way more aggressive than the modern environmentally responsible replacement. I have both and only tried the newer stuff. Even if the brake clean worked I would need cans of the stuff to clean everything I need to clean. Hopefully I can find something that will ease getting most of this stuff off and then finish with the good brake clean.

I know that the machine shops used to use a hot caustic soda solution for hot tanking engine castings. Maybe they still do. So my thought was that is the active ingredient in oven cleaner which is readily available and cheap. I have also heard of washing soda and electrolysis but not sure if I want to try that on a cylinder head or how well it would do the internal passages.

In my first post I asked the question is the diesel fuel system compatible with gasoline?

I think I have found the answer, further thought on this makes me think that this is some kind of tank residue getting picked up by the gasoline. I did a bit of a flush but? I think part of the clean up will involve dropping the tank and inspecting.

Oh Well!

[Gary Lewis]

Hi Gary & Dave,

I agree on the brake clean, the old chlorinated was way more aggressive than the modern environmentally responsible replacement. I have both and only tried the newer stuff. Even if the brake clean worked I would need cans of the stuff to clean everything I need to clean. Hopefully I can find something that will ease getting most of this stuff off and then finish with the good brake clean.

I know that the machine shops used to use a hot caustic soda solution for hot tanking engine castings. Maybe they still do. So my thought was that is the active ingredient in oven cleaner which is readily available and cheap. I have also heard of washing soda and electrolysis but not sure if I want to try that on a cylinder head or how well it would do the internal passages.

In my first post I asked the question is the diesel fuel system compatible with gasoline?

I think I have found the answer, further thought on this makes me think that this is some kind of tank residue getting picked up by the gasoline. I did a bit of a flush but? I think part of the clean up will involve dropping the tank and inspecting.

Oh Well!

I'd be tempted to prop the head up and pour the passages full of something like acetone or lacquer thinner to see if it would cut the yuk over time. Go back and swirl the liquid every once in a while, and maybe pour it out and put new in if it starts cutting it.

My understanding is that most oven cleaners work best with heat. And as Dave said, if you don't have an oven in the shop your wife may not appreciate the smell and smoke that is generated if you use the oven in the house. So if you go that way his suggestion of a grill might be an option, but a 300 six's head is looooong.

[Gary Lewis]

I'd be tempted to prop the head up and pour the passages full of something like acetone or lacquer thinner to see if it would cut the yuk over time. Go back and swirl the liquid every once in a while, and maybe pour it out and put new in if it starts cutting it.

My understanding is that most oven cleaners work best with heat. And as Dave said, if you don't have an oven in the shop your wife may not appreciate the smell and smoke that is generated if you use the oven in the house. So if you go that way his suggestion of a grill might be an option, but a 300 six's head is looooong.

Oops - Forgot the fuel tank. It would be reasonable to expect there to be some residue in a diesel tank, so I do believe you'll get "stuff" letting loose.

But my experience in cleaning tanks is poor. I spent about half as much as a new tank in gasoline trying to wash one out. So if you can't catch the stuff with a filter or two then I'd seriously consider a new tank.

[nic55kel]

I'd be tempted to prop the head up and pour the passages full of something like acetone or lacquer thinner to see if it would cut the yuk over time. Go back and swirl the liquid every once in a while, and maybe pour it out and put new in if it starts cutting it.

My understanding is that most oven cleaners work best with heat. And as Dave said, if you don't have an oven in the shop your wife may not appreciate the smell and smoke that is generated if you use the oven in the house. So if you go that way his suggestion of a grill might be an option, but a 300 six's head is looooong.

Little bit of progress today. Thanks for the lacquer thinner suggestion Gary.

It is the best thing I have tried so far. It will cut the tar and I found that putting some on the valve stem of the stuck valves makes it much easier to remove them. Mixed with a bit of ATF it seems to liquefy the tar a bit.

I made up a valve compressor, nothing pretty but it works. The guides so far seem to be in good shape and so do the valve faces and seats.

The weather is getting cooler and not sure how much more I will get done on this before I shut it down for the winter.

But I will keep plugging along until the snow comes.

Last picture makes it easy to see why the valves were sticking.

[Gary Lewis]

Little bit of progress today. Thanks for the lacquer thinner suggestion Gary.

It is the best thing I have tried so far. It will cut the tar and I found that putting some on the valve stem of the stuck valves makes it much easier to remove them. Mixed with a bit of ATF it seems to liquefy the tar a bit.

I made up a valve compressor, nothing pretty but it works. The guides so far seem to be in good shape and so do the valve faces and seats.

The weather is getting cooler and not sure how much more I will get done on this before I shut it down for the winter.

But I will keep plugging along until the snow comes.

Last picture makes it easy to see why the valves were sticking.

Glad you found something that will cut it. That's really ugly looking stuff, so getting it out of there is vital.

I hope you can get it done before the cold sets in. I hate leaving projects unfinished.

[grumpin]

Little bit of progress today. Thanks for the lacquer thinner suggestion Gary.

It is the best thing I have tried so far. It will cut the tar and I found that putting some on the valve stem of the stuck valves makes it much easier to remove them. Mixed with a bit of ATF it seems to liquefy the tar a bit.

I made up a valve compressor, nothing pretty but it works. The guides so far seem to be in good shape and so do the valve faces and seats.

The weather is getting cooler and not sure how much more I will get done on this before I shut it down for the winter.

But I will keep plugging along until the snow comes.

Last picture makes it easy to see why the valves were sticking.

Man, that’s nasty! I like the tool you made!

[nic55kel]

Man, that’s nasty! I like the tool you made!

Dane, Gary,

Yes it is pretty nasty but it will come out with some effort. Thanks on the valve compressor, strictly low budget around here.

I made a little progress today and got a couple of the ports fairly well cleaned up.

Work it and soften it up with a toothbrush and lacquer thinner and then work it with a scotchbrite pad. The pad soaks up the tar as it cleans it off, messy but best way I have found so far.

Still thinking about the intake manifold.

If I don't get it back together before the snow flies, it just means I will come back to it in the spring with renewed interest. My mind is already moving on to winter hobbies, electronics and ham radio, but I will keep working on this until it is too cold to enjoy it any more.

[Gary Lewis]

Dane, Gary,

Yes it is pretty nasty but it will come out with some effort. Thanks on the valve compressor, strictly low budget around here.

I made a little progress today and got a couple of the ports fairly well cleaned up.

Work it and soften it up with a toothbrush and lacquer thinner and then work it with a scotchbrite pad. The pad soaks up the tar as it cleans it off, messy but best way I have found so far.

Still thinking about the intake manifold.

If I don't get it back together before the snow flies, it just means I will come back to it in the spring with renewed interest. My mind is already moving on to winter hobbies, electronics and ham radio, but I will keep working on this until it is too cold to enjoy it any more.

Looking good, Bob.

Electronics and ham radio used to be high on the list for me as well. Got my license in '63 as WA0FFF. Knew my way around radios and TV's back then. And it makes sense that they'd be "winter hobbies" up north.

Anyway, hope you can get the head to a good stopping point. But surely the intake has the same stuff in it? Wonder if you could seal the carb opening on the intake, turn the runners vertical, and fill them up with lacquer thinner? In cold weather it might not evaporate very quickly, and you could come back every once in a while to stir it and top it up.

[nic55kel]

Looking good, Bob.

Electronics and ham radio used to be high on the list for me as well. Got my license in '63 as WA0FFF. Knew my way around radios and TV's back then. And it makes sense that they'd be "winter hobbies" up north.

Anyway, hope you can get the head to a good stopping point. But surely the intake has the same stuff in it? Wonder if you could seal the carb opening on the intake, turn the runners vertical, and fill them up with lacquer thinner? In cold weather it might not evaporate very quickly, and you could come back every once in a while to stir it and top it up.

Thanks Gary for the encouragement.

I have sprayed everything down with rust check and covered it all so it will be waiting for me in the spring. I have too many other things I have to get done before winter. Trees to cut back etc.

Wow you became a ham in 63 back when you had to study hard for the license. This was more of a bucket list thing for me, I didn't get my ticket until 2018 after I retired. Electronics has been a life long hobby but I never knew any ham operators until later in life.

You are right it is a good winter hobby, I prefer the technical side of it, fixing radios that don't work and homebrew.

I am working on my morse code and up to making slow speed contacts, call sign is VE4RTH.

I have the winter to think up what to do with the intake. I think I will have to figure out some kind of hot tank, if I could simmer it in a drano solution I think that would probably work. I have some ideas on how to do that. Good for the cylinder head too.

I should probably contact a machine shop and see if they still hot tank and how much they would charge, but I think that was cast iron era and too aggressive for aluminum and also all the environmental concerns.

I will check in every now and then over the winter.