RUST!! help me

[muddstud99]

I'm rebuilding a 305 CI engine that has sat with no oilpan, valve covers, or intake for a year. The block is being dunked in a hot tank and cylinders are being honed. But the pistons have rust on the inside of the skirt of the piston. How can I get rid of this rust, short of purchasing new pistons?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Hopefully it's just surface rust, and not real rot. If they're not iron pistons, then you need to figure out if it's really rust and how it got there. (Check for iron with a magnet.)

To remove the rust, use a scotch-brite pad and some WD-40. Leave the WD-40 on there until it's time to assemble everything, as it will help keep water from getting at the pistons again. If the scotch-brite pad isn't getting the rust, you can try steel wool. This area shouldn't have any critical tolerances, so the small scratches the wool will leave shouldn't hurt anything.

--DD

[muddstud99]

cool, thanks for the info, this is the first time that im rebuilding an engine, i watch "Extreme 4x4 and trucks" so i pick up some tips there... but im a little confused about how i know where to just use oil and where to use moly grease. I have a 1966 chevy fleetside that im rebuilding or at least trying too (lol)