Clean stage when swapping heads ??
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On The Tree
Joined: Apr 2003
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Clean stage when swapping heads ?? I got her all ripped apart now i am doing the clean up stage ... I am using a plastic ice scraper to clean the gasket off ... However i cant seem to get this black film off ... It feels pretty smooth but a black film remains ... is that normal or does that have to come off too ? also its gonna be another week or so till i get my heads , should i oil the cylenders down a lil bit ?
The black stuff is graphite and will come off use a little more elbo grease I used a regular metal scraper, but you have to be careful to not dig into the sealing surface. I also used a razor blade to scrape across it in the thicker areas,after that I used brake cleaner on a rag to wipe the extra off. Just the way I did it you could let some more people chime in ETC... Just take your time it is a pita to have to do it twice. I used a shopvac to suck out all the trash from the block ETC...
I just used the razor blade it came right off on work at all and the used the brake cleaner on the rag again. You can spray the cylinders with WD40 or something but I would not get carried away as long as there is not too much humidity ETC... You'll be fine. The carbon on the pistons will be right back when you run it for a day or so. So don't let it bother you too much or spend to much time on it ETC...
I used a plastic ice scrapper, took me f'n FOR EVER. Just use a lot of elbow grease, and make the whole surface smooth. After I was done the ice scrapper looked like crap and was so warn down. Make sure you get around the studs good and make sure you use paper towels to get a lot of the liquid / gunk out. We also used some compressed air and a shop vac to get gunk out, put the compressed air tube town the bolt hole, put the shop vac over it and spray and suck at the same time, got a lot of gunk out fast that way. Also make sure to thread your old bolts down each head bolt hole to get the gunk out of the threads.
I always use acetone to clean off any gasket surfaces. Put a little on a rag, and wipe down any place a gasket touches. Acetone can be found at any hardware store.
Be careful, as it is highly flammable, and will eat the finish right off of any painted surface. Most professional engine builders like to use it for a final clean up before installing new gaskets. It works, and will get rid of unseen adhesives, and gasket material. Use a white cloth, it will show what your eyes don't see.
Good luck!
Be careful, as it is highly flammable, and will eat the finish right off of any painted surface. Most professional engine builders like to use it for a final clean up before installing new gaskets. It works, and will get rid of unseen adhesives, and gasket material. Use a white cloth, it will show what your eyes don't see.
Good luck!
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i always use a fine grit sand flap wheel on my air powered die grinder, no elbow grease involved and it zips the surface clean fast and easy. then use compressed air and rolled up shop towels in the bolt holes and finish by using a cleaner bolt i made with my bench grinder like the one on ls1howto.com and run it in and out of all the bolt holes a bunch of times with the air ratchet.
time consuming as any method is but pretty painless that way, works for me.
time consuming as any method is but pretty painless that way, works for me.
