Some may remember a few weeks ago a '98 Isuzu Amigo with ruptured coolant hose and temperature gage in the red line for an unknown time. Well, I finally pulled the cylinder head - block and head are well within warpage limits, but when I pulled the head I saw a lot of carbon on the pistons that is mostly soft - my finger nail easily removed a test swath.
Comments requested on cleaning the pistons in the block: Do you think it's OK to rotate the pistons to TDC and use a soft bristle brush to clean the carbon and vacuum out any debris.
Also, some cylinder head gasket material fell into the head mounting bolt holes along with some engine oil. I was thinking of using a turkey baster to remove the material and/or putting some kind of oil filter(s) on my shop vac to remove the debris before running a tap to ensure the threads are clean. Any ideas?
I'm sure the regulars will respond with sound advice and thank you in advance, but don't want to name names lest I forget a significant contributor.