Removing old gasket material from head

Mr.G

Mr.G

Club Member
Guys I need some tips in removing the old head gasket material from the head.

The block was easy, i used a gasket scrapper and had no problems, since the aluminium head is a lot more delicate I planned on using some gasket remover spray and a plastic scrapper - it doesn't work :rolleyes:.

What I did use was a new blade from a stanley knife, even though I was extremely careful i still managed to lightly scratch the head in some places, so I stopped and here I am..

Any other ways of doing it? Should I worry about some light scratches?

Thanks in-advance for any advice.
 
MrG240Z said:
Any other ways of doing it? Should I worry about some light scratches?

Thanks in-advance for any advice.
Click to expand...

The long and short is no. get the head skimmed anyway as going to all that effort and then to find the gasket leaks because the head is slightly distorted would really p*ss you off.Just check to make sure there is plenty of meat on the head before doing this.
 
There is no distortion of the head, the head gasket never blew in the first place - I think skimming is used when you warp the head or really gouge it?

So then I can ignore light scratches? Is there any other way to remove the head gasket material from the head without using a blade or is "light" scratching inherent and i should just continue?


Thanks.
 
It's fine to use a scraper and yes you will get some light scratches but you should still have the head checked with a straight edge,if you dont have access to one a machine shop will check it for you for peanuts. Just because you never know. Do a job once!
 
Thanks Paul, good advice. I have a metal ruler, will check it with that and some feeler gauges.
 
Grolls,

Having a father who is a toolmaker I agree with you completely here - shame he is in the midlands - as I'm sure he could have helped, but MrG240Z if you ask around your local garages they will probably have an engineering place they use to skim heads nearby. If the head is off already for a couple of hours trouble and probably less than 50 quid (dunno if that is dead accurate - my Dad always did mine for free :)) they would be able to strap it to a machine and check it, and then if needed skim it...

Mike
 
Thanks guys for the insights, I will try and find someone with the right equipment to check the flatness for me and take it from there.

How much can be skimmed before you need to use shims on the cam towers?
 
Advice to 'skim' the head would be fine if George wanted to completely strip his cylinder head and then rebuild it afterwards.....

But he doesn't.

He has a completely assembled cylinder head which he simply wants to put back onto his engine block, with a new cylinder head gasket and new head bolts / studs.

George - as I advised before, simply scrape all the old gasket residue off the head without making any 'digs' in the aluminium and you will be fine. Light visible marks are OK as long as you do not gouge the surface in an important gasket sealing area. If you are careful you should be fine. Use a solvent such as cellulose thinners to loosen up the old gasket material.......
 
george, welcome to the world of mechanics. Advice will come from all angles and be varied. All will stem from the believe that they are right. The best you can do is sift through and see what suits your application. Skimming the head can be drastic and reduces the thickness of the head on the wrong side bringing the cam closer to the crank which in turn means that the timing chain tensioner will have to run further out of it's housing to tension the chain. There are ways round that but unless the head is visibly warped then no need to go there. If your local machine shop has a surface grinder then it is possible to REFACE the head leaving it completely assembled. This will remove any imperfections in the head surface and give the gasket a better chance of sealing whilst removing minimal head surface material. This will have no noticable effect on compression ratio or cam to crank distance. One school of thoughy in engine world is that an aluminium head should be refaced when removed from the steel block as a matter of course.
Another way you could look at the advice given is yes all the advice is very good and correct but we are giving you advice without having seen the engine first hand. Now if you had been lucky enough to have someone look at the engine that you trusted and they have offered you advice then that could be the way to go at this stage.
 
Ben,

funnily enough I have been lucky enough to have someone kindly come and look at my head, I trust his opinion and he never mentioned anything about skimming and now he has just confirmed that too.

I am in the learning stages of mechanics (I have never got my hands dirty before now) and it's good hearing what other people would do as it all adds to the knowledge base but like you said you have to sift through it and choose what's best for your particular circumstance. I can see for myself that what people have said so far is 100% correct and there are many ways to skin a cat (horrible expression, sorry) and I appreciate their info and I take it for what it's worth.

Thanks all. :)
 
George.... Dont forget ! a cup of tea in between your preparation,always
works wonders.........................................DJZ 60.:)
 
A straight edge run along the head will tell you if its warped slightly.As Albrecht says, dont skim a head that doesn't need skimming but whilst it is off it would be crazy not to atleast check as you would be gutted if you had to remove it again after a few days running.:D
 
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