cod 116 #1 Posted March 22, 2015 Just in case it's time to clean the carbon from your heads, try some Easy Off Oven Cleaner. Had to do the heads on my Kohler M18 yesterday and this stuff worked great. I still had to apply some elbow grease and it took about 3 applications for each head to get it all off but it was much easier than trying to rub it off with a wooden or plastic scraper. Luckily the piston and valves were not too caked up and I was able to get them clean without the cleaner. This morning I read a post about using a layer of grease around the piston to trap any crud and loosening the mounting plate bolts to rotate the engine and both of those tips will be used next time as there isn't a ton of space to work on the rear cylinder without doing lots of engine yoga... Cod Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 7,276 #2 Posted March 22, 2015 Cod: I too have used spray on Oven Cleaner to de-carbon aluminum heads on several K161 and K181 engines. I find it works best if the head is warm before you apply it. Let it sit 20 minutes and rinse - any carbon left is easily removed with a Scothbrite pad. Bill 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cod 116 #3 Posted March 23, 2015 Hi Bill, I actually got the idea from another post in this section titled "DE-CARBON ONAN P216" by km3h. So please don't think I figured it out on my own as I'm just not that swift. It's a great post about how he cleaned the head and it really saves time. Next time though I'll try your idea about heating up the head first as one application is better than three. I'll just have to wait till the boss is out for the day as heating the heads in the oven may not go well. It's bad enough that I ocassionally use the dishwasher as a parts washer but her abusing "her" stove could get me crucified... Cod Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boomers_influence 106 #4 Posted March 23, 2015 cod you are my kind of guy. i first started using MY dishwasher in 1991, to clean my pro stock onan engine. i have also used MY oven many times. you could just clean HER oven while she is gone. just purchase an extra can of oven cleaner. you will gain some points with her, and get your heads cleaned. thank you. boomer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
