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Hello,
I have seen conflicting information about cleaning the block deck for replacing cylinder heads or head gaskets. Many have talked about using the maroon scotchbrite pads with success, and others say never to use it because the particles get in the engine and destroy the bearings. This makes sense because the maroon scotchbrite has aluminum oxide fiber in it.
What about the white scotchbrite?
It says that it has aluminum sulfate instead of aluminum oxide.
Should this still be avoided?
when i worked for one of the big 3 , i had a nice talk with an engine development engineer ( actually worked with him for a short while) he would come unhinged if you got near a gasket surface with a scotchbrite pad or wheel. he said the last thing you want is slick polished surface , and thats what those pads pads do , especially when driven by an air or electric tool. i know lots of people use them all the time with no problems , but since our little talk i have never used scotchbrite of any kind for gasket surfaces
Thanks for the advice!
I dont have a die grinder, but I saw those in a youtube video and they seem to work for aluminum blocks and heads as well (the white one).
I can only assume that these discs don't release particles the same way the pads do, right?
I'd imagine the discs have the same aluminum oxide or aluminum sulphate embedded in them, right?
Thanks for the advice!
I dont have a die grinder, but I saw those in a youtube video and they seem to work for aluminum blocks and heads as well (the white one).
I can only assume that these discs don't release particles the same way the pads do, right?
I'd imagine the discs have the same aluminum oxide or aluminum sulphate embedded in them, right?
They are plastic....different durometers....the green is for cast iron....white for aluminum.
They do not scuff or mar the host metal.....
The white ones were actually developed around 2000 for the 100% failure rate Dodge Neon 2.0l head gasket repair.
Get a $40 90 degree grinder and the adapter and use these....they are the bomb dot com.
when i worked for one of the big 3 , i had a nice talk with an engine development engineer ( actually worked with him for a short while) he would come unhinged if you got near a gasket surface with a scotchbrite pad or wheel. he said the last thing you want is slick polished surface , and thats what those pads pads do , especially when driven by an air or electric tool. i know lots of people use them all the time with no problems , but since our little talk i have never used scotchbrite of any kind for gasket surfaces
A slick polished surface is EXACTLY the best sealing surface known to man....in fact, if it is flat and shiny enough....you can use no gasket at all!!!
If I would have had to work with a guy like that....one of us would have to depart....
just telling you what he said , are you that way where you work ?
If somebody want to argue about the wrong way to do something....yes, I am....there is no time in my line of work to guess or make claims about what you believe.....it can be costly and unsafe. Especially some guy that was hired as an "engineer" on a engine development team......
Not only that....you chose to not use products after listening to him and not making deductions off your own research......
Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Jebby
Last edited by Jebbysan; Dec 20, 2018 at 05:44 PM.
the "engineer " i refereed to built race engines as a sideline , had a machine shop in a barn behind his house. i guess with some expert guidance he may have built better engines. since i don't know every thing there is to know on this subject i will refrain from commenting any further and assume you do know everything there is to know on the subject and you are 100% right
3M bristle discs AOK ... I use a yellow bristle disc on iron & white on aluminum.
*place rags in bores ...cover rest of openings as you should with any build.
First, Clean decks with gasket scraper ... then, with a light touch, clean the remainder off with bristle disc.
I don't think I've seen a surface roughness spec. for any Engine Gasket sealing surface, maybe there are some, I'm always interested in learning though. For the original poster, anything that has an abrasive property (Scotchbrite, Sandpaper, the rust etc. that your are removing) needs to be kept away from any moving/internal parts of your Engine. Just because the Abrasive is encapsulated in something doesn't mean it stays encapsulated while you use it. If you are doing this with Pistons installed, cover everything and for sure don't let anything get in the Bores. Wide Masking Tape inside the Bores and sticking above like a stove pipe along with the Rags suggested will catch the fine stuff. Oh and a helper with shop vac.
Last edited by suprspooky; Dec 20, 2018 at 07:30 PM.
I don't think I've seen a surface roughness spec. for any Engine Gasket sealing surface, maybe there are some, I'm always interested in learning though. For the original poster, anything that has an abrasive property (Scotchbrite, Sandpaper, the rust etc. that your are removing) needs to be kept away from any moving/internal parts of your Engine. Just because the Abrasive is encapsulated in something doesn't mean it stays encapsulated while you use it. If you are doing this with Pistons installed, cover everything and for sure don't let anything get in the Bores. Wide Masking Tape inside the Bores and sticking above like a stove pipe along with the Rags suggested will catch the fine stuff. Oh and a helper with shop vac.
There's an RA number for it.....have fun. Somewhere around 250-350 grit falls into the RA range
Thank you, I will try doing some investigative testing this Winter (I actually have a tester that came with a Granite Surface Plate, I only wanted the Surface Plate but the auction was for both)
Agree completely with Jebbysan on this one. Been using the Roloc pads for a couple of decades. They are excellent. Scotchbrite pads came on strong and we loved them at first, until we got the bulletin from engine manufacturers in the mid 90's. Their issue was that they removed too much material (generally on aluminum parts) and distorted gasket surfaces. So we switched to Roloc.
White Scotch Brite - Block deck cleaning
