Preparing my engine for gaskets

[Patrick H.]

Hello All,

I'm getting my small block (1971 350/270) ready for a new head gasket, rear main seal, 1-piece oil pan gasket and intake gasket. I have just a couple of questions:

1. I've used a gasket scraper on the various cast iron surfaces to remove the old gaskets. A very small amount of trace material remains in some places. Should this be removed with another method (Scotch Brite or ?) or have I done a good enough job? I'm a little leery of spraying gasket remover on the block and possibly sending some down the cylinders.

2. From the rear main seal leaking there is some oil inside the bellhousing on the inner bottom suface. Can I use brake cleaner to clean this area out without harming the clutch assembly? I would, of course, try to avoid spraying the clutch.

3. A recent article in Corvette Fever showed them using gasket sealant with the Fel-Pro one piece gasket. I though that one of the benefits of this gasket was that I didn't have to do that. Which is correct? And if I seal, what is the preferred sealer?

Thanks as always,

Patrick

[Dennis F. King]

Re: Preparing my engine for gaskets

Patrick
#1. Cleanleness is next to Godleness. Sharpen the scraper, clean everything, stuff rags or paper towels in the cyl. to catch the stuff, or have some one with a small vac suck it up as you go.
#2. Protect the clutch with appropriate covering and clean, brake cleaner works.
#3. I haven't used a one piece, but make sure the rail, (surface that mates to the block) on the pan is true/level, us a straight edge or lg. carpenters square to check each bolt hole. If they are pushed up use a small ball peen hammer to lower them.Re-check as necessary. If you don't leaks will occur.Follow the specs in the book to torque all your bolts.
Hope this helps. Dennis

[Ed Jennings]

Re: Preparing my engine for gaskets

I frequently use a cup type wire brush on an electric drill to finish up. Seems there are always little spots the gasket scraper wants to skip over and the brush does a pretty good job on them.

[Joe L.]

Re: Preparing my engine for gaskets

Patrick----

You want the head gasket surface to be absolutely clean. I usually use a 3M abrasive wheel on a drill. This wheel will remove just about anything but does not remove metal. Ed's method with a wire brush works well, too. I'd recommend trying that first.

I saw the article in CF regarding the application of sealer to the one-piece gasket. I disagreed with it when I saw it and I still do. You absolutely DON'T want to use sealer on this gasket like folks apply it to traditional gaskets. It's totally not needed and will cause more problems than it will solve. If this gasket is used without sealer and leaks ensue, the same leaks would have ensued WITH sealer. Notwithstanding this, it's not a bad idea to apply a SMALL amount of silicone sealer to the left and right CORNERS of the pan-to-front cover and the left and right CORNERS of the block-to-rear main cap. This would be a THIN bead of sealer about 1" long that overlaps the CORNERS. That's it.

[Duke W.]

Re: Preparing my engine for gaskets

Scrape it as well as you can with a gasket scraper, then a razor blade scrapper. Final step is to wipe it well with acetone. This will remove any remaining organic material. There is usually some microscopic erosion on the head and deck (the stains you typically see), which is why shops like to take a cut, but a composition gasket should seal everything up as long as the surface is reasonably level and clean to the touch.
Follow the gasket manufacturers instruction on sealing. If it's a Felpro there is probably a notice inside the package not to use sealer with their comp. gaskets. Follow their instructions. I don't like to use wheels because there's no way to effectively keep all the tiny grit out of the cylinders.

You can squirt paint thinner into the bottom of the bell housing and just let it run out. It's cheaper than carb cleaner and should do just about as good a job. As long as you don't TRY to get it on the clutch disk, you should be okay. The bottom of the bellhousing is a bit below the bottom level of the inspection cover, so it helps to jack up the rear end to get it to drain out.

Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after every shop session, so your patients don't think that you have some kind of skin disease.

Duke

P.S. I used to know a dentist who liked to garden and asked him how he kept his hands clean. He said he just had to scrub a lot.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Preparing my engine for gaskets

Duke,

Between the dry winter environment and washing my hands 30 times daily it already looks like I have a skin disease. It gives a nice rough texture for the grease to climb inside and stain.

I wash and scrub a lot during and after car sessions, too.

Patrick

[John H.]

Re: Preparing my engine for gaskets

Patrick -

I use single-edge razor blades for final detail cleanup before cleaning the surface with lacquer thinner and installing the gaskets - the paint section at the hardware store has several kinds of handy little plastic holders for single-edge blades that makes them a lot easier to use.

[Patrick H.]

Follow-Up Question

Thaks for all the advice.

I assume that I also want to run a thread chaser in the holes for my head bolts. What do I do about the old sealant that will inevitably fall down those holes? I don't really want sealant down them, do I? I can use a shop vac alongside the chaser while I use it, but there's a limit to how well that may work.

Patrick