reuter

hey when i put on my new head gaskets and want to reinstall the head, how should i prep the mating surface? it looks like trash now. it could be a whole lot smoother. what do i do to prevent the junk getting down in the cylinders? do i just use a gasket scraper to get off anything left on the surface?

BobRocket

use a flat edge razor blade to get the initial gunk off. You can stuff the cylinders with rags to help prevent crap from getting in there.

Once you get it nice and completely clean of old gasket and sealant, you can use good quality (autozone) brake cleaner and clean rags (lint free) to remove residue. When the rags are coming back clean (not black) after wiping down the surface, your ready.

I also use the shop vac when done to completely remove any junk that fell in the cylinders. Hope this helps!


ONE thing to keep tabs on ---- Make certain the coolant passages in the block are NOT full to the brim, because if you rock the car accidentally when your are putting the new heads on, water will get on the gaskets and you'll have to start over again. I always use my shop wet/dry vac on those holes to remove any excess water.

Bob

FastZinTennessee

I used Berryman Chemtool in a spray can to clean mine off, brake cleaner works too. I didn't have a gasket scraper tool, so I just used a razor blade by hand, took about 30 minutes but wasn't hard to do. Using a shop vac to suck excess garbage out of the cylinders is a good idea too.

amean94ta

Just a idea but we recomend you get them surfaced every time you tear them off. You can just have them skim them to make sure there true