Best way to clean head after DIY port job??

[stroked'73]

I just finished my home port job!! Now I need to know the best way to clean the head before installation. Is simply blowing it off/out thoroughly with air sufficient? Or do I need to get it cleaned at a shop? The head was recently gone through when I rebuilt the motor, so when I pulled it off to port it and finally upgrade the valve springs, it was still very clean. I'm only worried about all the metal dust, etc.
What would you all recommend?

[TurboTom]

soap and water, 3 times

[Cheromaniac]

soap and water, 3 times

I washed mine first with gasoline to remove any remaining oil and iron filings, then again with detergent washing up liquid and water, and finally rinsed it with a garden hose before drying it with compressed air.

[stroked'73]

Interesting.......... I'da never thought of ol' soap and water!! That's great!
Will something like brake-clean work instead of gas?

And of course I assume the same for my intake manifold as well?

[TurboTom]

YES
Gasoline is not for cleaning parts.
Clean the head before you assemble it.
While assembling it remember....Oil is your friend

By the way I'm digging the Q-Jet...Built alot of fast Q-Jets in my day.
Had one on my 6 cylinder chevy years ago.

[stroked'73]

Thanks!
I like the q-jet too - alot of folks think they're junk but I disagree. Do need to know how to set them up though. Closest to FI you can get with a carb!

[5-90]

Soap & /hot/ water.
Soap & /hot/ water.
Soap & /hot/ water.
Rinse in shower with /hot/ water.

By /hot/, I mean the very hottest water you can stand to put your hands in. The hotter the water is that you wash/rinse with, the faster it will evapourate and dry, and the less likely you will get any rust.

If you're going to install the head any later than "immediately after it dries," protect it from atmospheric corrosion: spray with light coat of WD-40, rub with a rag soaked in /clean/ engine oil, or with a rag soaked in /clean/ cutting/tapping/light machine oil.

Remove coating with a rag soaked in acetone before assembly.

[amcinstaller]

maybe ill sneak this in here i dont mean to hijack, but if youre going to be storing an item like a head or block for longer than a day or two (maybe a month or more), whats the best plan for that?

[IH 392]

STEAM clean it and use "Evapo-Kleen" (http://65.18.215.171/Evapo-Kleen.htm) and a brush down the guides.
And yes, LOTS of oil on the stems, guides and seals during assembly, built heads all day for 5 years this way and had no failures due to contamination, a few came back COOKED!!! but no scored stems from contamination.

[5-90]

maybe ill sneak this in here i dont mean to hijack, but if youre going to be storing an item like a head or block for longer than a day or two (maybe a month or more), whats the best plan for that?

If you're going to "bag" it (plastic bag, sealed,) rub it with clean engine oil, put it in a bag (preferably with some variety of dessiccant,) and seal it up.

If you're going to store it in the open, spray it down with WD-40 about once a month. The WD will 'get under' any moisture on the surface and displace it - that's what the "WD" stands for - "Water Displacer."

I keep my shop project stock (the mild steel stuff) clean the same way - then I just wipe it off right before I use it. It should be just wet enough with the stuff to /see/ it's wet, but it doesn't need to be dripping off.

[amcinstaller]

what about a rub down with clean new oil and wrap it up with shrink wrap? also, my machinist told me wd40 tends to cause pitting if left for long periods. is this true?

[Muad'Dib]

I thought wd-40 was also a good pit preventer... so that doesnt make much since to me.

[5-90]

what about a rub down with clean new oil and wrap it up with shrink wrap? also, my machinist told me wd40 tends to cause pitting if left for long periods. is this true?

???

Hasn't been for me - and I've got some steel stock that I've had sitting around for a couple of years (leftover from another project, and just didn't need a piece of that size yet...) without any trouble. I probably spray everything down every 2-3 months - since i'm not trying to preserve a machined surface.