Cleaning the head gasket surface

[cheftay]

So the time is drawing a lot nearer for me to put the engine back together so I want to try and get everything ready ASAP.
What should I do about the surface where the head gasket goes, I know it's probably not a good idea to get any of that gunk inside of the cylinder.. so whatchu guys think?

thanks!

chef

 

[Bent13]

You should take the cylinders off and clean them seperately off the engine

 

[cheftay]

Does that involve any lengthy procedures or tools that I probably don't have?

you see my spring fever is starting to bear down on me pretty dang hard!

 

[cheftay]

Oh and welcome to the forum Bent13! Glad to have your first post on one of my threads

 

[inxs]

- good sharp gasket scraper...i use old wide wood chisels...work great, you can tap them if need be plus resharpen as needed...for really stubborn baked on gaskets a propane torch used carefully can soften them up or burn them off...spray gasket remover, eg, permatex, will work, but don't use it in an area where it can reach inside an engine...i shove a rag in the bore...have even used spray carb cleaner (eg, berrymans works good) to help soften the gasket then scrape it off...

 

[Sundie]

Put the pistons at TDC, get yourself a red scuff pad on a drill bit (they're in the auto body section) and go to town. I used mine in a die grinder, but a drill should work just fine. Wear safety glasses - the scuff pad will come off at high velocity occasionally. do the tops of the pistons too. You only want to do until you see aluminum.

When done, expend a can of brake cleaner on the pistons/top, then wipe off. Repeat as necessary. The red scuff pad won't bite into the aluminum (unless you hold in the same spot for a *really* long time) but will burn/remove the stubborn gasket remains.

Then bring the pistons through a few cycles, then leave them at BDC. You'll see a line around the top of the bores. Wipe this out with a clean rag. Then spray some brake cleaner all around the bores, run the pistons through a cycle, wipe off the ring. You'll probably do this a couple of times.

The nice part about this method is that you're in no danger of marking the seals of the bores (a la chisel) and you shine everything up, which will reduce carbon buildup when the engine is running again.

 

[inxs]

you're in no danger of marking the seals of the bores (a la chisel)

- ive never had a problem with chisels, keeping them sharp is important...also, i remove the cutting edge corners on my gasket chisel and keep the blade as flat against the surface as possible

 

[malloym]

I'm going to disagree with everyone on here. I'm a professional wrench and I never, ever, use sharp objects or a die grinder to clean/prep a sealing surface especially when alumium is involved. there are solvents out there that will break down the old gasket material and I use a brush (by hand) to prep the surface, finish off by wiping down with brake clean and the surface will be back to factory.

 

[WacoBrian]

I agree with malloym. get you some gasket remover spray bring pistons up or just pull the jug off. i use 3m gasket remover and a plastic 2inch scraper

 

[malloym]

I forgot to mention that loctite makes an aersol gasket remover. stuff works great and I use it all the time at work. spray on, wait 15 mins and get out the plastic scraper and nylon brush..

keep in mind these engines are old and the gasket material can be a pain to remove. I just rebuilt my motor and the head and cylinder looked worse than yours. i used a gasket remover to get the job done.. it took several applications but it go the job done..

 

[Bent13]

If this schematic is correct, you just need a rubber mallet to tap the cylinders loose
and pull them off. Once you have them off you can clean them on the bench without
the long bolts in the way or take them to a good machine shop for a good soaking and have them honed if you plan to install new rings. You can also inspect the pistons and rods.

http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/showschematic/m8268sch215792

 

[cheftay]

Lovin all this advice!

I think that's good enough to get me started.

Time to go make a new thread for some other subject......