Stuck Baked On Head Gasket Material. How to Remove? 99V70XC

[rrres]

Hi,

I got the head off the 99 V70XC with very little carnage. The head gasket did not just easily lift off like shown in the many tutorials. I had to yank and peel it off the block. When I lifted the head off the block, it made a peeling sound like the sound you hear from packaging tape. I think the previous owner overheated the car causing the gasket to be baked on and bonded to the mating surfaces. Now there's still a lot of gasket material left over.

What's the best way to remove this left over, baked-on, composite(?) material?

I'm thinking I now need to do it chemically. I started with a plastic scraper which did nothing, Moved to a razor blade which works on those that are not super bonded to the surface. Anybody use those 3M bristle discs? I'm tempted to try them but I've heard they eat into the metal.

[Sveedy]

Maybe try heating things up a bit with a propane torch and maybe a flame spreader. Then try scraping.

[erikv11]

The best gasket remover chemical I ever used worked really well for freeing up baked-on head gasket material. However AST subsequently removed it from the market and re-branded it as a varnish remover:

https://products.sealfast.com/item/anti ... er/17052-1

Obviously, be careful about where you spray it if you decide to try it, and use in well-ventilated space etc. I can walk in and buy it at a local machine supply shop.

In the interim before I found this stuff again I tried the Permatex gasket remover product and it was basically worthless - I never found anything else that helps much at all.

[rrres]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I tried the stripper/remover route. That AST product looks like good stuff, if I can only get a hold of a can.. Bought a can of Klean Strip Premium Stripper. Unfortunately, it (or any kind of remover on the shelf) no longer has the secret sauce (Methylene Chloride). Supposedly, it's been banned. The Klean Strip helped soften the gasket but by not a lot. I got some on my skin and it doesn't burn. What I did was apply the remover then scrape the softened top layer, then apply another coat of the remover, let it sit, then scrape again...apply then scrape, apply then scrape.

I also switched to a carbide scraper, which is many times better than the razor for the stubborn gasket material.

I asked the machine shop guy if they use any chemicals to remove stubborn gaskets, he said elbow grease and to just "scrape, scrape, scrape"

IMG_0737.JPG (459.11 KiB) Viewed 1024 times

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The glossy stuff is the remover.

IMG_0735.JPG (261.94 KiB) Viewed 1029 times

The stuff on the cylinder head was handled by the machine shop.

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After a total of about 2-3 hours of scraping. Scraping requires one to get "in the zone". Not perfect but just needs a little bit more cleanup.

IMG_0770.JPG (327.15 KiB) Viewed 1029 times

[scot850]

Not sure where you get this drill mounted tool, but looks promising, but he doesn't say where to buy it!:

https://www.google.com/search?q=gasket+ ... oYnsdyUURg

Then there is this:

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40064822/

Neil.

[wizechatmgr]

https://www.amazon.com/3M-Scotch-Brite- ... 104&sr=8-1

Use in a high speed drill or die grinder for best results. I've even seen one or two adventurous people make them work on dremels.

I can't condone it, but in the past working on large tractors I would use oven cleaner to clean cast iron blocks. You mask everything off first as you do NOT want it hitting anything you don't want it to corrode/melt. Used the apply, scrape, apply, scrape method. You don't want to let it sit needlessly.

[rrres]

Not sure where you get this drill mounted tool, but looks promising, but he doesn't say where to buy it!:

https://www.google.com/search?q=gasket+ ... oYnsdyUURg

Then there is this:

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40064822/

Neil.

https://www.amazon.com/3M-Scotch-Brite- ... 104&sr=8-1

Use in a high speed drill or die grinder for best results. I've even seen one or two adventurous people make them work on dremels.

I can't condone it, but in the past working on large tractors I would use oven cleaner to clean cast iron blocks. You mask everything off first as you do NOT want it hitting anything you don't want it to corrode/melt. Used the apply, scrape, apply, scrape method. You don't want to let it sit needlessly.

I found that the local Oreilly auto parts had the drill mounted brush.

I went with the 3M scotch-brite suggestion to do a final cleanup. Used the scotch-brite pad on a block instead of drill mounted. Just went easy so as to not create low spots. The surface felt pretty smooth afterwards. The previous head gasket, since it was badly overheated, did leave some staining that the scotch-brite couldn't get out. I didn't want to go more aggressive with the scrubbing so didn't worry too much about stains on the surface.

[Sveedy]

Well as I said, I think heat would have been a safer choice.
Google " Scotch brite pads for engine work ".

[rrres]

Just searched "Scotch Brite for Engine Work" and read a few forum posts about it. One was from the BITOG forum.

If I understand correctly, the two main problems with using Scotch-Brite is:

1) Using it too aggressively with it attached to a drill or a die grinder. The scotch-brite, if mounted on a spinning pad, can round off edges and create uneven surfaces, which can lead to head gasket sealing problems.

2) Apparently, scotch-brite contains aluminum oxide as the abrasive. Generating enough aluminum oxide dust from it, that ends up in the oil passages and eventually into the crank bearing, which, over time, gets abraded by the aluminum oxide dust. The abrasion will then lead to bearing failure.

But, as with anything on forums, there's always a flip side. I've also read people saying that they've used it or have been using it and have not had any problems.

Time will tell...

In this instance, I used the maroon scotch-brite very mildly. Wrapped it on a piece of rubber block and did the cleaning by hand. Prior to that, I've already scraped off the majority of the stubborn gasket with a carbide scraper. I used the scotch brite mainly as a final cleanup of smaller particles. I cleaned the surfaces afterwards with paper towel wetted with brake cleaner. Can't remember exactly, but I'd guess total work with the scotch brite was less than 15 minutes. As part of the cylinder head/piston re-ring job that I was doing, I also removed the oil sump and flushed it with degreaser and solvent. The pistons were removed and cleaned. New crank bearings and piston rings installed. I honed the cylinders (bottom of cylinders were covered with paper towel) and repeatedly cleaned each cylinder with paper towel until the paper towel came out clean. Before installing the pistons, I wiped the crank bearing surfaces.

I don't know. Many things can go wrong in an engine before, during, and after a rebuild.
I read an article that says that in order to detect aluminum oxide contamination in an engine, a microscope has to be used to see aluminum oxide embedded in the bearings. Would love to see pics. Lots of wear and tear are happening in an engine at a microscopic level and we just live with it.

My take away is that,
1) Avoid using it. If you have to use it:
a) Don't use it aggressively so that it creates divots and surface imperfections.
b) Reduce the amount of dust created by the scotch-brite and take care not to get the dust in the engine. If you do get some in the engine, clean it as best as you can.

[scot850]

I think the key here is to vacuum afterwards as best you can, only use it by hand and not on a drill. Then for a final clean wipe off with a cleaner of some sort to hopefully pick up as many particles as possible.

I'm sure it will be fine. Good luck with the re-install!

Neil.