cleaning cylinder head

[admin]

colesm14 - 10/04/06 at 12:07am

i have just recently started cleaning up my old bike and need to clean the cylinder head out to prevent over heating. the inside is fine but the out side is covered in old dirt,oil,mud,etc. i used paper clips to try and scrape it away and it works but it hurts my hands and takes tool long. i tried pipe cleaners and ear scrubbers but those take too long and don't get enough dirt. i tried engine degreaser but now i cant get the stuff out even tho its lose. i guess what i'm trying to say is what can i use to clean the cylinder head out?

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Bullfrog - 10/04/06 at 1:37am

Have you thought about the car wash? I've used our local car wash to blast things loose AFTER doing some penetrating oil soaking on baked on grease/mud/etc. It's not as good as a steam cleaner or sand blaster . . . but you don't have to buy the equipment and it just a takes a few quarters to try it.
Ed
Keep the rubber side down

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Forum Admin - 10/04/06 at 9:20am

Great advise Ed !! Thanks for sharing that.
I soaked a head I am using on my ISDTRR bike in my parts washer overnight then hit it with air in the morning but I like the car wash idea better. My 1st head I was going to use was a really cool Zundapp radial that had the combustion chamber modified to be 11.1 cc's and had the combustion chamber shape of the late model Super rat. We have been testing this design on some of the MX bikes with very good response so I tried it on my radial.
Tried the bike in Vermont last weekend for a shakedown ride but when I started the bike it was making a ringing aluminum sound which I did not care for. I thought maybe I needed noise suppressors in between the fins or maybe the spring from the clutch cable that was fed through holes drilled in the fins was giving me this metal on metal sound. I also had a model 94A cylinder head holder which is the rubberized bracket that bolts to the two head bolts and helps to stop vibration.
I took the bike for one very easy lap around my property but the sound did not go away. But the dang bike was VERY responsive !!!! I called Harry on Monday morning and explained what I had done and what the sound was. He immediately asked what was my compression ?? Well I am not sure but I will check and call you back in ten minutes I told him. Oh boy was I in trouble after I checked. Being an ISDTRR bike or an enduro I was shooting for 150-160 pounds but could live with up to 175 lbs if I had to. So when I told him my compression was over 300 lbs I knew it was back to swapping heads with one from an 03 Wombat seeing I was using a 03 Wombat cylinder. As of last night the bike is done and my compression is 175 lbs cold.
Ed it is still not to late for you to fly out and jump on either one of my bikes to ride the ISDTRR with us

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Bullfrog - 10/04/06 at 3:46pm

Yikes! 300 psi!?
Isn't it amazing how detonation/pre-ignition/diesel ignition can sound like tapping on the cylinder with a small hammer?
Nope, it IS too late to hop a plane for the ISDTRR. I will be in a place where there are no cellphones, computers or electricity that weekend. But maybe there will be some Steelhead with a hankerin' to attack creations made from feathers and steel!
You guys have fun and ride well,
Ed

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Forum Admin - 10/04/06 at 6:54pm

Ed I thought it was worth a shot to ask again if you wanted to ride with us at the ISDTRR. I figured I knew the answer but... Have fun fly fishing that is one of the things I really miss in life. One of these days.
Paul

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Ryan_Wilson - 10/05/06 at 4:04pm

Paul,
I received the parts for my "new" Combat Wombat"
THANKS! I should finally have it ridable this weekend.
What is the ISDTRR that I see talked about here?

Ryan
Northwest of Seattle

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Forum Admin - 10/05/06 at 4:33pm

Hello Ryan Thank you for your order and I am very happy that the parts got there alright !
The ISDT Reunion Ride is one of the most fun events I do every year. This event is a kind of reenactment of the old ISDT qualifiers. The old qualifiers were 200 miles each day through woods, over rocks and down mountain trails. The reunion ride is 70 miles the first day and about 50 miles the second day. They have made it easier for everyone to ride , have fun and be safe. It still can be competitive if you make it so. At the end of the event you can possibly qualify for a bronze, silver or even a gold medal if your times are good enough. Here is a link to the event
http://www.ahrma.org/previews/isdt_reunion.htm

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