Stokestack

Hi all.

Finally got the driver's side head off my '96, to fix a failed helicoil repair for the ol' blown-out-plug defect. I need to ream out the hole and put a Time-Sert in there.

Meanwhile, though, would anyone like to weigh in on the condition of this engine? Obviously the surfaces are caked with carbon and gunk, but I'm intrigued by the differing condition of the cylinders. The front two have flaky deposits in the center of the pistons, whereas the back two are more evenly coated.

The #6 cylinder (second from the left here) is the one that stopped firing.

What's a safe way to go about cleaning these surfaces?

Thanks for any insights.

08'MustangDude

Can spray them down with carb cleaner, kerosene, or even parts cleaner.

Dab a rag in kerosene and wipe everything down, then spray with parts cleaner.

If stubborn, let the stuff soak in Marvel Mystery Oil, then wipe and spray.

Stokestack

ZEN357

Yeah, it will be safe. I sold my Mustang because I bought a Challenger and didn't want to deal with the whole spark plug blow out issue.

Derf00

Looks like the valve stem seals are/were leaking in the oily cylinders.

08'MustangDude

Also looks like the head gasket was about to fail on those first two cylinders
as well. Unless that ran down after taking it all apart...

Still, yeah, you can clean that all of with an assortment of things, as long as you
do not scratch or score the cylinder walls. Hell, you can pressure wash it with
scalding hot water. We have a pressure washer with a propane heater on it we
use.

Stokestack

Thanks guys. I did notice those breaches of the gasket under the front cylinders. No opinions on the different conditions of those cylinders vs. the other two? I wonder if both the color and gasket leak are the result of high temps. The engine got very hot (but didn't technically overheat) a couple years ago.

The #6 cylinder has stuff in it that needs to be cleaned out (most likely powdered glass from a broken borescope lens). Fortunately, it's the one at the top.

Given the way this looks and that I now want to take the passenger-side head off, I'm revisiting the idea of putting the 2003 tumble-port heads on. But so far I haven't seen a definitive guide on what I need to do to adapt them to a '96.