installing b20b-- rust on cams

i opened the valve cover and there is rust on the cams and cam gears…can i run it??? what should i do???

Are you installing the motor? If the rust isnt bad you could clean it with some kind of rust cleaner. Was it like an old motor that sat for a while. Im just wondering how the rust got there.

its a new motor from hondamotorsonline.com…has less than 22,000 miles on it… its not a lot of rust…but enough that it is noticable…should i just run it?

See I dont know about that because you dont want the rust to get in the engine. If you still have it apart I would try cleaning it out first. If it isnt a lot you might could just run it but I wouldn’t be to comfortable with it. You dont want to f up the seals you know.

yeah…im not sure what i will do…maybe steel wool it…im just gonna get it in the car and deal with that later

spray everything with wd40, maybe a little brushing, then blow it out. spray everythign with carb cleaner, maybe a little brushing, then blow it out. especially put in new valve seals and clean those valve guides. remember to oil the valve stems. one of my valves actually got totally stuck cuz of that. on the cams/rocker arms i barely had any rust.

btw, you’ll need a valve keeper install tool, its such a pain in the ass to do it without one. as for the seals, i just took some pliers and twisted the crap out of them.

ummmm i dont think im gonna be doing that… its a low mileage engine and its just surface rust

im a little scared to start her up with the rust on there…i probably shouldnt use steel wool on those b/c of debris…what should i do???

Just use a rag with some cleaner. You could probably use one of those double sided sponges, you know the yellow and green ones, and some cleaner.

what type of solvents wont hurt the engine??? and what about the debris???

I think you could use any cleaner because they will probably be flamable so any left over will burn out. I dont think it will hurt the seals, just spray it on the rag or whatever you use and then wipe the rust out. As for the debris I’m not sure. I think a lot of the rust will be on the rag but what doesn’t end up on the rag you might want to try using air and blow it out after you clean the head.

spray the cams with WD40 and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Then take a dry terry cloth and try to rub the rust off the cam lobes. They will rust if oil is not kept on them. As long as it is just a little surface rust I would not worry. Just try to rub off what you can and change the oil about 100 miles later just to make sure all the debris and WD40 is out of the engine. Don’t go crazy with that stuff though cause I think it would hurt your seals… or if you are really really worried just call the people you bought it from.