Best way to clean surface, remove old gasket.. before reinstalling heads, etc.

[dderek]

well.. just got my heads back tonight. already dark cant work today.

but the block is filthy.. the mating surface for the head. has residue n **** from the old gaskets i had to peel off the block. whats the best way to clean this up?

and also in other places theres parts of paper gaskets still stuck to the block (ex. water pump gasket). whats the best way to clean that up too?

i remember seeing some kind of buffing wheel or somethin.. that wont harm the block but cleans it up good. i dont remember where

if you guys can suggest some tips and stuff to me. itd be great.

oh yeah. my daily drivers tranny is dying horribly. so quicker this is running the better

Thanks,
Derek

ps. pictures of the heads are located here
My Twisted Wedge Heads

 

[sidewayzisbest]

what i use for my head gaskets and others put shop clothes were needed if ur doing the waterpump and dont want to get it in the oil pan....

But the tools i use is razor blade for the big stuff. Then different size grips of sand paper and a fine thing scotch pad..(think thats what its called a red sponge pad type deal). That usually works pretty good. Dont rush make sure you clean everything. Then use purple power to clean any junk and a shop vac to get rid of everything left over that u leave sanding everything..


btw.........AWESOME heads by the way =p

 

[Michael Yount]

Stuff rags/paper towels into as many of the oil/coolant ports as you can. I put a soft brass wire brush on my drill - and very lightly use it on the deck, and piston tops. Rotate each piston to the top, spray a bit of wd40 around the circumference (rings) and then lightly with the brass brush take the carbon off the top of the piston. Take a rag with brake cleaner and wipe down the top, then rotate that piston down in the bore. The wd40 will trap debris against the cylinder wall at the top of the cylinder. Just wipe it out with a rag once you've rotated that piston down.

 

[88stangmangt]

a razor and brake cleaner will do wonders..........

 

[5spd GT]

What I did a few weeks back...is get some brake cleaner and spray it on the block and pistons (after you block all those coolant ports and bolt holes with some paper towels)...and just had a actual gasket scraper from Summit...was just like $7 bucks so I got it with my other orders and it did excellent...you got a handle to use instead of using a small razor blade ...and just scraped away and it would just peel off...

 

[Michael Yount]

Be careful with a razor blade - it will definitely put a scratch/gouge in the top of the piston.

 

[dderek]

Be careful with a razor blade - it will definitely put a scratch/gouge in the top of the piston.

thats what im worried about. scraping up my block or whatever

 

[TheUser]

they make gasket remover too...spray it on, let it sit a min and it loosens up the gaskets...it works alright. I scraped the gaskets and used sand paper to get the surfaces smooth (not sure if that's the correct thing to do, but that's what I do), then I use some gas to clean the oil/junk off of the surfaces. I don't think you'll hurt anything if you're careful w/ the razor blade...