Engine Cleaning

[cbass]

Ok, we have both a disco and a d90. I was working on the disco today because it has had some lifter noise for a while now. I took off the valve covers to see if I could see anything. Well, what I found was a ton of sludge and bad oil buildup. The d-90 has always been well taken care of and has always had regular oil changes. The discovery was my dad's and for a good part of it's life, it did NOT have regular oil changes.

My question is: How can I easily clean out the valve/camshaft area without hurting the engine?? I have cleaned the valve cover itself and dug out quite a bit of the sludge already, but I am afraid that much of the sludge has gotten down into the oil passageways. Is there anything I can do with the valve covers off that will help clean all of that out? After I get it all back together, I am going to run some marvel mystery oil through it and change the oil/filter again after about 1000 miles.

Is the only way to get that area really clean just taking off the heads and say, steam cleaning them??

Any help is appreciated!
TIA!

[kellymoe]

Seafoam. You can find it at NAPA. Follow the directions on the bottle. I have used it with good results on my Disco and used in on my Defender with no change, but then again it wan't running bad to begin with. After using it I would suggest cleaning your Steppor Motor. My suggestion for cleaning the area under the valve cover is don't. Especialy don't use water. I recently put on a new intake manifold and carb on my Defender. When I took of the valve cover there was a fair amount of build up but as I tried to clean it up I ended up knocking more crap loose. I cleaned up what I could and left well enough alone. Runs fine. Anyway. Try the Seafoam.