How to Remove, Revive and Decoke Your Engine Cylinder Head

Name: How to Decoke an Engine Properly
Author: Skill Shack

Ed Hughes

Class Preview

In-depth Instruction; over 89 mins
On-demand video access anytime
Bonus downloadable PDF resources
Access to class Q&A

How to Decoke Your Classic's Engine - Introduction

1:58

In this four-class video course from Skill Shack with Practical Classics, you’ll learn to diagnose the engine on your classic car to determine if it’s in need of a decoke. To help you complete the job, we’ll teach you how to decoke an engine by dismantling the cylinder head and assess its condition.

How and When to Remove a Cylinder Head - Top Tips

18:01

There are multiple reasons why you’d need to remove the cylinder head from the engine of your classic car. Ed Hughes teaches you what to look for when deciding whether to remove the head, and then demonstrates the proper technique for doing so.

Dismantle and Assess Your Classic's Head - Step by Step Guide

25:27

Ed demonstrates how to dismantle the head and correctly assess its condition. Ed then teaches you how to search for damage on the surfaces. He then takes the head apart to have a look at each of the components inside.

How to Decoke Your Combustion Chambers and Lap in Valves

18:26

In the previous class, Ed showed you how to clean the valves and prepare them for reinsertion into the head. Now, you’ll learn how to lap in the valves using grinding paste (and elbow grease).

How to Rebuild an Overhead Valve Head and Fit With New Gasket

24:27

In the final step of the engine decoking process, you’ll learn how to reassemble the head, replace on the block with a new gasket. Job done.

5 Lessons

1 hrs 29 mins

Overview
Instructor
Bonus Materials

Description

Any capable restorer of classic cars ought to know how to decoke an engine. Over time the engine on a classic car becomes backed up with carbon, which causes the efficiency of said engine to drop. When enough carbon builds up, it might be time to decoke the engine–but how do you know whether it’s the right time?

In this four-part video series from Skill Shack with Practical Classics, you’ll learn to properly diagnose the engine on your classic car to determine if it’s in need of a decoking. To help you complete the job, we’ll teach you how to decoke an engine by dismantling the cylinder head and assessing the condition of the components beneath it.

The Lessons

Throughout this course, Danny and Ed will teach you some of the basic tips any car restorer needs to correctly maintain cylinder heads and gaskets, focusing on how to decoke an engine once the head has been removed. Here’s what you’ll learn:

Removing a cylinder head

Assessing the cylinder head for abnormalities

Decoking an engine

Lapping valves in

Reassembling the cylinder head/replacing new gasket

The Methods

With these classes, we hope to walk you through the somewhat complicated process of taking apart your car’s cylinder head and inspecting the engine block in order to demonstrate how to decoke an engine. If you already know how to disassemble the cylinder head or you’re knowledgeable of any other techniques you’ll see here, feel free to skip to whatever you haven’t done before.

Because each of these techniques is demonstrated in order of the process, we recommend starting with Class #1, but it’s up to you whether you follow along or jump from video to video. That’s the beauty of our video instructions: you can stop, rewind and fast-forward whenever you need. So go ahead, select a class and learn something new!

Ed Hughes

Ed spent almost twenty years teaching Wood- and Metalwork, Science, Electronics and Mathematics in secondary schools while running an increasingly large fleet of obscure, Eastern Bloc cars. Those educational skills - plus years of scientific analysis of everyday motoring annoyances - mean that he has the ability to explain things well, guiding the hobby mechanic through complex tasks while identifying the possible pitfalls along the way.

Bonus materials available after purchase