How to Remove, Revive and Decoke Your Engine Cylinder Head

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:

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!