I ordered new valves, didnt think they would be so expensive and i found a diy auto shop so i cleaned everything up i could and also grit blasted....top, brackets, cylinder looks much better. What would you recommend i use to clean the carbon...will i also be able to use your method to clean the crbon build up inside the ports of the head?
I am 62 and started working on Hondas in a dealership when I was 16.
That engine does not look that bad at all.
Sometimes you take a cylinder head off and there will be broken piston rings or even a hole in the top of a piston. One good reason to put rags under the pistons BEFORE you pull the cylinders all the way off the pistons so pieces do not fall in the crank case.
NEVER clean the top of a piston with a wire brush. It will ruin the piston.
You can scrape the top of the piston but just do not use a wire brush on it.
NEVER put the piston in a vice to hold it. (I have seen it done)
You always have to measure piston to wall clearances with the right tools BEFORE you can determine if you will be able to reuse the pistons. They have to be measured the right way. Most of the time you will not want to reuse the pistons because the ring lands get rounded off on the edges. Also remember the letters (T) on the piston rings face UP.
When you take piston rings out of a box do not turn them over or mix them up.
Many people play around with them and then cannot tell which is the top ring and 2nd ring.
I would never put photos on the internet and let people tell me if it is bad or good because many on the internet have no experience. You need to go to a machine shop and ask a trained engine builder about a piston.
You have to interface with the real world. Just my opinion.
Also this gives you the chance to become friends with a machinist that can teach you a lot of things. That is how I learned.
One more thing....
Mark all pistons positions, and which way faces forward. Wrist pins on Hondas may be offset.
