Quote:
Originally Posted by reclino
I don't have any great pictures to share because cleaning stuff really isn't much fun to photograph.
Remember the rule of engine building, all parts are dirty and shall be cleaned.
The new Mahle motorsports pistons and cylinders looked and felt clean, however using some clean lint free lab wipes and high proof isopropyl alcohol (IPA) one wipe of the ID cylinder shows black on the wipe.
Let's think about this for a minute, they are plated with nickel with silicon carbide particles plated into the surface, then honed with a diamond home to size and surface finish. That black stuff I wiped off is likely laced with ground up bits of silicon carbide. So your nice new rings are going to take there first trip on that $hit.
So after the IPA wipes came out clean I switched over to automatic transmission fluid on the wipes. Then hung all the cylinders in the smoker and warmed them up. Wiped them down again at 125 deg F and again at 250 deg F. There was a bit of smoke rolling off then at 250 deg. Double layer of nitrile gloves under a pair of clean kevlar cut resistant gloves kept the burning of my hands to a minimum.
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We have an engine in the workshop that's got considerable ring wear and cylinder scoring thanks to insufficient cylinder cleaning. Yes, that residue from the honing is still trapped in the oleophilic cylinder wall, and it rapidly wears out the parts that come into contact with it.
It's not just Mahle: one of our techs went through a brand new GMPP crate engine, adding a few more go-fast parts.
"Hey Mike, do you think you should wipe down the cylinder walls before reloading the pistons?"
"No. Why would I, it's a brand new crate engine."
Wiped it down with clean room wipes and MMO, and you wouldn't believe how much residue came out of the honed cylinder walls. Just awful.
It bears repeating: even if it's new -- clean it.