zzpw3x

Can I use a green scotch brite pad to clean the gasket surfaces on the heads of me L98?

I don't feel good about using a razor blade since I could scratch the surfaces too much, and I don't know if the green scotch brite pads are too course as well.

Thanks,
Dale

dizwiz24

Yes you can....provided you are extremely careful not to get any of the aluminum oxide particles into your cylinder bore!!!!

I found some cardboard cylinder lids that exatctly fit the diameter of my cylinders and used these to 'mask' off each cylinder. They fit extremely tight making a good seal.

Even so, i was careful not to get scotch brite scrubbings into the gap between the lid and the cylinder.

Some people will tell you scotch brite is the worst thing to use - and it can be If you are sloppy.

But if you are careful as i have described above, it is the best thing.


Also:::

The stock gaskets are more forgiving vs. Any of the felpro, cometic or aftermarket gaskets....

I used stock gaskets from the dealer, even on my mild to mod boost stock bottom head lt1 vs. Any of the felpro or cometics

Lastly be sure to chase the bolt holes multiple times with thread chasers and brake parts cleaner! Get all the stock sealant remants out of there. i would hate to hear about you putting this back together and getting exhaust gas bubbles in your coolant.

I used a semi flexible loc-tite sealant on the threads of my new bolts.

Lastly...dont forget to pull a knock sensor to drain and flush out the brake parts cleaner that you got into your coolant jacket when you thread chased the head bolt holes.

If you dont do that, the stuff will circulate thru your coolant and eat/destroy your upper and lower radiator hoses. (Ask me how i learned the hard way when a shop goofed that up)

Good luck!!!

WW7

Whenever aluminum heads are removed, they should be checked to make sure they're perfectly flat/straight..If you don't know how to check them yourself, go to a machine shop and they will check them for you for a small fee...This must be done or all your work can be for nothing...You may already know this, but it never hurts to mention it........WW

Paul Workman

I'm kinda scratching my head over the avoidance of using a single-edge razor blade to clean the gasket surfaces... I've been using them "for ever"; starting with my modified stock car days in my early 20s. And, I have seen several other engine builders and racers use them too. So, I'm not at all convinced preferring Scotchbrite over razor blades isn't the result of some hyperbole maybe perpetuated by someone selling abrasive pads?? Scratching the surfaces has never been a problem that I've observed with dozens of engines. Razor blades = bad, but abrasive = good? You tell me.

ThatVguy

A Razor blade is going to provide a far more level surface than a soft abrasion pad like a scotch bright ever will.

Realistically you'd rather want a dip from a surface scratch only a few microns than a rise (from a SB pad not taking off the 'gunk') that may be a tens or hundreds of microns in size. Or even the sanding marks a SB pad will leave.

I can imagine he's afraid of nicking the surface and causing a rise or something. This can happen if you say, have some particularly encrusted left-overs and you're using cheap HF blades.

Tip:
Don't use cheap blades, and use a lot of them.

If it gets to the point that you can't get all of the stuff off cleanly and you're resorting to abrasive pads, you really need to stop and just have the deck planed. Your hand is not capable of evenly distributing pressure to ensure that when you're 'sanding' down the gunk that everything is as level as it needs to be to ensure maximum longevity.

Can you ignore this and do it anyway? Yes.

Will it fire-right up and probably be OK? Yes.

However,

You should ask yourself if you can realistically afford a new set of heads at a minimum in the future should something go wrong.