Cleaning Block for head gasket replafement
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Cleaning Block for head gasket replafement I have a 95 Firebird Formula, LT1 so as far as I can tell my block is iron. Any recommendations for cleaning the surface beyond scotch brite? There’s a lot of old gasket material stuck and a razor blade has not worked for all of it. A buddy told me to try 120 grit sand paper and work it up to 200 and then 400 but i’m worried about that not being level. Any suggestions or is the sandpaper a good idea?
scotch bright and sandpaper are horrible ideas, just going to leave low spots. Which may or may not cause you problems. Use a razorblade at 90* with lube and scrape the crap out of it. Makes a horrible noise. But it doesn't make flat spots and although it doesn't look or sound like the best option... it is. That's all you should ever need/use for a DIY home job IMO.
I'm a fan of lacquer thinner. Cheaper to buy it by the gallon and store in little applicator cans. Works just as well as brake clean on most things.
Last edited by Forcefed86; May 15, 2024 at 03:35 PM.
Get a carbide scraper. It will help a lot and not scratch the block.
I'll go against the grain here and say to prep the block flat for putting the head gasket on I use a flat hand sanding tool, a machinist straight edge and feeler gauges. I get it to within 1 or 2 thousandths of an inch in about 5-10 minutes of light sanding. I wouldn't try to sand off large pieces of gasket material though, you're going to have to use scrapers and razor blades for that.
If it's really stuck on there, parts stores do sell gasket remover chemicals but I've never had to use them.
I'll go against the grain here and say to prep the block flat for putting the head gasket on I use a flat hand sanding tool, a machinist straight edge and feeler gauges. I get it to within 1 or 2 thousandths of an inch in about 5-10 minutes of light sanding. I wouldn't try to sand off large pieces of gasket material though, you're going to have to use scrapers and razor blades for that.
If it's really stuck on there, parts stores do sell gasket remover chemicals but I've never had to use them.
