I'm putting on a set of heads this weekend and am wondering how clean does the block have to be? The heads have been surfaced and look great. I have cleaned the old gasket off but the graphite is hard to clean off. Can I scrub the surface with a scotchbrite? Will small scratches cause problems? Thanks in advance for any help.
Dale

 

Im not sure I'd use scotch-brite. I always use this set of plastic "scrapers" that they normally sell cheaply to apply spackle to a wall. The plastic scraper gets the graphite off well enough (not crystal clean, but it doesnt have to be), but it doesnt hurt the block surface.

Good luck!

Chekc out http://ls1.fbody.com for more instructions if you need them.

chris

 

Just use a razorblade and some brake cleaner. Ger as much off as possible. Took me like an hour. You'll be fine from there.

 

Many thanks, I ended up using an aluminum scraper that I could easily sharpen and it worked fine. I'll follow up with some brake cleaner before I do the install.
Thanks!