Cleaning A Gasket Surface: Tips and Tricks 

Great video! The bloopers give it an A+ lol. Very good info, thank you

Getting ready to put headers on my daughter's 1991 Jeep YJ and I found your videos. Bookmarked a couple of your videos for when I actually do the header job. Really enjoy them, very informative and not too long so easy to watch. I'm a big fan of your outtakes, shows your humor and the time and talent to make these videos for us to watch. If it were easy, we'd all be doing them. Thanks a lot and keep up the good work!

Cleaning gasket surfaces can be a real pain, and you showed a great step-by-step here. Nice video!

Your RU-vid Channel combined with my Haynes manual have literally taught me tons of great stuff on how to do everything on the Jeep by myself these past 4 Years. Please keep it up :D

Honestly, I would skip the wire brush and sandpaper. Even if the head is cast iron rather than aluminum, any kind of abrasive can damage the surface by creating gouges and/or low spots. Not only that, but there is the possibility of getting abrasive particles in your ports. Even if you try to block them with wads of cloth or paper towel. Remember, a gasket surface does NOT have to be shiny clean. As long as all the gasket is removed and the machining marks on the metal are apparent, you are good. It does not have to be a mirror finish.

You sound like Micky mouse after puberty, great video man

Great tutorial for a guy like me who has never worked on cars. I love soaking up these lessons and how to videos. Thank you so much for doing these.

wish i found this 4 gaskets ago.. lol first ever rebuild. shortcuts are a fast way to where i'm at now. measure twice cut once.. Thanks for the vid!

Yet another one of your videos that have helped me a ton! Thanks!

Love your videos. Wish I had a channel like yours back when I had my 94 yj. I would probably still have it! Now to get another one.

Great vid, really helped men gotta do exhaust manifold gasket. Thanx a lot.

Watched when you made this and now I'm using the information you provided in this video to do the same

Very helpful and informative. Keep the videos coming.

Good video, great to show different cleaning options...thanks.

I can tell you this I have been working on my own cars and trucks motorcycles boats whatever has an engine since the '80s. I could not even guess how many times I had to put a water pump on twice just because I did not prep the surface correctly. This was happening so frequently I always bought an extra gasket whenever I purchased a water pump. Back in the late '90s I was getting ready to go on a scuba diving trip off of North Carolina. It is almost a 400 mi trip one way. So I changed the oil in my mustang I was checking the fan belt and for some odd reason I decided to spin the water pump since I had the belt off. it hadn't start leaking yet but you could hear the bearing and there was slop in the bearing also. This was on a Sunday afternoon so I grabbed my pickup truck and ran to the store for a water pump and a second gasket. As I was finishing it was just getting dark. After 10 minutes of running sure enough there was a leak. I was so frustrated that I think I could have removed every one of the bolts with just my fingers. So now I had to get my stadium lights out and take everything apart again. As soon as I remove the water pump I could see three different spots that I just plain and simply missed. Put everything back together and it was perfect. Now after that incident I never had to do the water pump twice ever again. I make sure that I have plenty of light so I can physically see any spots and I take my finger so I can feel any spots. I can tell you one thing I prefer working on cast iron heads over aluminum. Aluminum scares me. Everybody's been talking about these new disc that you can attach to your air power side grinder. They come in different colors and each rubber piece is about an inch to 2 in. They're supposed to be safe on aluminum I just haven't had the chance to buy a set and play with it. Thank you for your video I enjoyed watching it and I look forward to watching more of your videos. Again thank you for sharing.

Great video keep them coming

Jeep solid. , Could you tell me what's the best way to clean some carbon deposits in the motor ? And valves ?

Great video

Awesome video. Thanks

This is a forgotten and overlooked part of a lot of repairs. Doing a bad job at this part can ruin or make a repair ineffective, so it's really important to not gloss over this.

thanks for the useful vids !! thumbs up !!

Dude, I have a 94, the guy who owned it before me took horrible care of it. Your videos are saving me heaps of money! You’re my hero.

Great video thanks

Damn man, good job!

"Hoh hoh...wipeout!!" "Hoh hoh" *mickey becomes a mechanic*

There's two studs on either end of the head, bottom row, for holding the exhaust manifold on. One of mine was broken off and had to remove it. I noticed that when I inserted a wire in the hole that it goes all the way in and touches the head bolt. Should I use a sealer on the new bolt or if not, in your opinion would you think oil or coolant would leak from it.

Great video! 1988 YJ 4.2L six. Just put a harmonic balancer on ,and now my (belt) on the water pump/fan clutch pulley is slipping off towards the engine? its hanging off the edge about half of the belts width. Ever heard of this? Any help would be appreciated. Torqued the H.B. to 80 ft/pounds that pushed it in closer to the timing chain cover. But it doesnt line up with the water pump pulley... Anyway thanks great channel!!

When sanding (you pros out there can correct me if I'm wrong) I think it'd be ideal to use sticky sand paper stuck to a wood block so the sanding is even as possible thus creating little to no beveling of the head surface. Thoughts?

Where did you get a blue yj

Tip for taking a broken brittle piece of valve gasket that accidentally fell in the piston hole?

Use a shop vac when you’re scraping not after! How do you know that valves aren’t open allowing debris chunks into the cylinder?

I was taught to not use sandpaper because it will ALWAYS remove tony amounts of head material no matter which metal... Those fiber sanding disks work GREAT...(scotchbrite surface conditioning disks)

You should also use an autobody sanding block when sanding flat surfaces never use just your hands always sand using a block.

What about the aluminum intake , ho do you clean that

600 grit with a longish sanding block for heads lower grit to take more material out and level the mating surface with out taking to much material away dark spots are low area's and could have poor mating contact.

I wish you had told us how to do the aluminum ones. Since, they are softer!

God i love yjs

what if you add 500lbs and you have auto i have 3.,73 with 33s 4 door added about 600 lbs what gear should i get

sir, Do you have a need to put a silicone in a gasket?

Thanks bud

Wow. That's horrible. My TJ is 5 years older than yours and my ports were nothing like yours when I replaced my exhaust mani this summer. You did a pretty detailed job of cleaning everything out though. Unmatched, from what ive seen. Id just be worried about the rest of the engine

Nice. But I've been searching all day, and why does *no body* ever address how to clean and prep the aluminum intake manifold??? Mine has rtv and crud stuck to it, and I have no idea how to safely get it off without damaging the soft aluminum. ????

So I take it you dont know anything regarding the end bolts holes leading into the water jacket?

Cookie disks work good on iron

Thanks kermit frog 🐸 😂 nah man jokes thanks for your help

"This is ok for iron"... so what's ok for aluminium?

i wouldn't use sandpaper on any engine component, you will NEVER get all the "sand" removed afterward, not good when it travels into a valve seat and cylinder wall.... at my shop i use a roloc wheel on my die grinder, cover all ports before doing any cleaning & gasket removal.

project farm guy?

Steel wire wheel on a drill. Thank me later

No need for the dumb music