OK. So Ive got the head off and took the intake manifold off. As I stated before the intake mani is absolutely caked inside with grime from the EGR. Any tips on cleaning it? I sprayed it down with brake parts cleaner and used a method close to the Intercooler cleaning process (fill shake pour, fill shake pour, etc.) and its still caked inside. Is there something that would be better for cleaning this gunk off? Im gonna see if I can find a long brush of some sort and scrub it out. Anything else I should clean up while Ive got the head off? Would it be safe to spray the head to block surface down and scrub it a bit? Can I scrub the cyls off a bit? Thanks for the info!

I would just take a brush or some kind of scoop and dig as much out as ya can. As for the head to block mating surface, i used a wire brush on a drill to clean mine up. you have to remove all remaining headgasket material for a good seal. As for the cylinders, you can clean it i suppose, but dont put any scratches in it, maybe use a soft rag or something.

I dont want to clean the cyl walls. I just want to clean the piston heads off a bit as there seems to be a small amount of grime on them.

In order to clean the intake completely, you really need a barrel of cold parts cleaner. It's basically a really acidic mixture of oil based fluids, gasoline I believe being one. Most machine shops have one but if you can't find one or don't have the money, I suppose maybe something such as a toilet bowl cleaner (The Works, or Comet) would suffice.

I almost ofrgot that its a DSM. I will probably just open up my veins and pour some blood in there. That should do the trick. Ha! Really though, i just remembered we have some super acidic industrial cleaner. I'll try that stuff.