Posted by Matt Wilson on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 10:21PM :
Well, I've got the cracked head off my 230 flathead 6, so I can replace it with a good one. I noticed that there is quite a build up of carbon on the tops of the pistons. The engine only has about 800 - 1000 miles on it since the rebuild, but the carbon is visibly very thick and in some places it easily flakes off.
To me, the spark plugs show that the engine is running a little richer than it should, but I don't think they look that bad.
Anyway, I was wondering if I should try to scrape off the carbon from the piston tops. The carbon feels gritty, and if I loosen it up more, I'm concerned that I'll never get all of the loose pieces out from the tiny clearance between the pistons and cylinder walls, and I'm afraid it will scratch the rings, pistons and cylinder walls. Of course, as I mentioned, some of the carbon is already flaking off. I can just touch it and my finger comes away with some gritty pieces.
Would I be better off cleaning out the carbon by pouring something into the carburetor after I get the truck running again? It seems like I've heard of products that do this, but I don't know if they work, or if they would do damage rather than good.
Finally, do you have any suggestions regarding what I can do to correct the rich carburetor problem? The carb I have is a one-barrel Carter Ball & Ball (model D6G1), and I've been told that there are no alternate jets that I can install in this carb. Would a hotter burning set of plugs help? One of these days I plan to install a Crane electronic ignition system. Maybe the higher voltage spark will help burn the fuel more completely?
Thanks for any help you can provide,
Matt
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