Piston soak with Kreen

[4D-56]

So I think i have finally talked myself into doing this on my old van. Terrible plug access has put me off up until now, yet the potential gains are now inspiring me..

It has excessive blow-by, the rings could be totally shot BUT they could also be partially or completely gummed and stuck in place, unable to freely move. that makes me feel that it is a very worthwhile procedure.

I have used Kreen a few times already in the oil and fuel, no soak as yet though. Have more Kreen on hand, itching to use it!

my questions, since i have never done a piston soak before, are, what is the most quantity of any fluid that i should use for an overnight soak?

Because its such a pain in the butt to get the plugs out on these vans, I only wanna do this once, hence i wanna make sure im doing it right, add to that that im often very overkill in the way i do things....if a piston is at the top of the stroke, how much am i gonna get in there, what is my limit?

then i just turn the engine over the next morning to blow the excess [censored] out of the plug holes right?..

put plugs back in and start 'er up??

any advice or comments are welcomed! thanks.

 

[sasilverbullet]

If you're going to leave the plugs out for an overnight soak, just fill up each cylinder - but don't forget to crank the engine over before putting the plugs in to get all the leftover out.

 

[friendly_jacek]

There are actually directions for kreen piston soak on the kreen container. But, I'm not sure I want to follow them. I posted about it before.

 

[4D-56]

i guess im concerned that since kreen is pretty thin, it will just find a gap and sink down it rather than sitting and soaking, i see this as a disadvantage on a V engine.

from my last shipment, i have 1 Qt of kreen to play with.

do I heat engine up first and then take the plugs out so that the rings are a tighter fit in the bore?

thanks for the reminder, there are directions on the kreen can...DOH!

 

[demarpaint]

The key to a good piston soak is time, motion, and topping up the cylinders. Fill the cylinders, and rotate the engine by the damper pulley if possible and refill. Maybe about 8 hours later rotate the engine again and refill the cylinders. Do this over a few days, then cover with rags whatever you don't bathed in Kreen, and crank the engine via the starter with the plugs out. Reinstall the plugs go for a drive and change the oil. You want a product like Kreen to get into the rings etc, and the way I mentioned will do just that. Go for it.

 

[Jeff_in_VABch]

This sounds like a fools errand.

I have disassembled many Chevy engines and have never found one that has the rings "stuck". If they were, you would have extremely low compression. Maybe that is where you are now.

Do you have major air blowing out of your valve cover PCV hole?

In the past I have tried to clean some pistons I wanted to save in the varsol parts washer. The type of deposits that form in the piston ring land area are very stubborn. I dont see how a quart of anything will have any effect.

Let us know how it works out.

 

[hate2work]

OP, since the plug access is so bad, why not just pour some cleaner down the vacuum line, then turn the engine off and let it sit. Maybe even do that several times, who knows it might help.

 

[4D-56]

this is why i love this forum, great ideas, perspectives, experience and knowledge.

Jeff, your words are good food for thought, but the thought of pulling those plugs make me cringe!

I have lots of vapor comin out the oil fill tube at idle, it even comes out of the PCV intake hole

Im feeling that my lonely qt wont be of that much use to me, need more!

i just thought that doing the soak would help to reduce the fuel contamination. best combo so far seems to be 20w50 and engine restore additive.

shes tired, bless 'er...prob best to save my $ for the next vehicle.

 

[FL_Rob]

On my Astro years back,the easiest way to access the plugs was from the wheel wells ...just pull off the flap it'll have plastic push tabs, with a few extensions you'll have almost total clearance.
You can even lean on the tire, too.
I found this gem of an idea by getting frustrated myself.Sorry this post may be alittle too late to help.