Found Rust in Cylinder Head 3B (1 Viewer)

[guenther65]

Hello All,

So I found rust in one of the cylinder heads of my 3b that has been sitting out side wrapped in plastic and covered with a tarp. We have had a wet and windy winter and summer and I think some water made its way into the engine. It is only in one of the cylinders.
What needs to be done? Do I need to pull the cylinder head and check for more? How do I get rid of the rust?


Thanks

 

[Dieseler]

How did you discover rust in the cylinder with the head still intact.
You are going to have to pull the head to figure out if it's a cracked head or just the head gasket.

 

[gerg]

I'd get a can of engine fogger which is an anti rust spray designed for engines that don't run for long periods of time and spray down the cylinder from the glow plug hole and change the oil and turn the engine over by hand to move the rings around. If the rings do get rusty you can use brake fluid to eat the rust but much better to stop it from rusting in the first place. You could also use tons of wd40 before the fogger as it is specifically designed to displace water. Water doesn't get into engines easily at all. Your injectors or glow plugs were out I take it. If you leave it out in the weather, make sure you plug all the holes. A tarp can't replace the injectors or plugs. When they are tight no water can't enter as it will hold several thousand psi of combustion pressure.

 

[guenther65]

I found the rust when I removed the intake manifold. It looks like water got in through the Venturi, into the manifold and drained into the 3rd cylinder. The whole chamber and valve are covered in rust. I think I'm going to go the route of least resistance.

1) Douse it with a WD-40 or the like. Engine fog it and let it sit for a day or two.

2) Change the oil and try to hand crank it.

If that doesn't work, then I pull the head and go from there.

Thanks everyone.

 

[gerg]

Ahh I forgot about the intake, duh. Sorry for the criticism. Your plan sounds good. Only thing I'd be worried about is cylinder scoring from the rust, wonder if you Could use the brake fluid to dissolve the big flakes. That stuff eats rust like crazy. I got a cheap cylinder bores scope from amazon that is 5.5 mm that fits barely into the glow plug hole but easily into the injector. Then you could take a look inside. Might save you pulling the head if it's not bad inside. I paid like 90$ for mine. I use it all the time.

 

[Diesel42]

Hummm,
Since you have easy access at the motor, coupled with what you found, maybe the best bet would be to just pull the head and get the benefit aof reassurance at this point. Plus you'll get the opportunity to examine the pre-cups. The thing that bothers me about rust is that it is carbon. Carbon is HARD. If any is on the cylinder walls, your rings are no match so wear and scoring could result. Washing it away with chemicals will only send it down the cylinder to the rings and/or oil pan to be recirculated throughout the engine. I could be over thinking this, but might considered it anyway.