how to --- BEST METHOD For Cleaning Head Gasket Surface 

Always learn something new watching your videos, thanks for taking the time to share!

Also you can use a flashlight behind your straight edge to look for low spots along with your feeler gauge.

Thank you. I'm doing a garage rebuild on a 383 and this has helped tenfold.

Good information always good to watch a knowledgeable technician

Thanks for this I've watched many youtubers and I'm convinced now to surface my heads and block at a machine shop

Keep it up cutterup! I love learning your tips and tricks even from decade old videos. Just wanted to say thanks! I would like to see a comparison between the sanding block and the mill maybe with and without warpe/twist and die like the bent valve video. :D

Thanks for the videos when I was a mechanic for gm a long time ago I had a truck in the shop where the owner had wire wheeled the block and managed to get a lot any is to much the little wires in the engine . I use the wire cup brush but I damn carefully about them ... yea those rolok or what ever you call them on a die grinder can take some materal.

Right on, redoing my top end along with a head gasket for the first time and I'm pretty paranoid on how clean the mating surfaces should be without having it machined

0:50 Just about learned the hard way with these. Didn't know if I needed scotch brite pats or grey pads. Tried both on a piece of test scrap metal I had and the scotch brite threw sparks. Yeah no, that went back in the box.

Trying to sand a deck like this will remove more material from the middle of the block between cyl 2 and 5. Doing it by hand you are kind of limited to using that repeating pattern going from the front to back and back to front, never going fully off the block and back on. It will help side to side flatness or small low spots, but only the middle 70% or so of the deck sees the entire surface area of the sandpaper - the very front and back only sees part of the sand paper surface. When I considered doing this to my Cummins block I actually couldn't find sheets of sand paper big enough to cover a piece of 30" long glass or granite. I just pulled it and got a proper deck by a good machine shop (like Rob's). Unless you're desperate, I'd save the sand paper routine for smaller blocks and heads lol.

Hey man, I just tried the wire wheel on my cast iron block and it was WAY more aggressive than the Roloc sanding disc. It literally took out chunks of the block and left gouges in the metal. Thanks for the bum advice.

Dont listen to this guy people....Anyone who cleans a deck surface with an aggressive wire wheel has no business giving how to advice on motors

Definitely with you on the machined sandpaper backer plate

I see a lot of people starting to use those Nylon abrasive wheels on a drill bought a couple myself to clean up the deck surface on my 5.3 build but haven’t used it yet, do you think those would be fine then resurface it with 220 and 400 grit sandpaper?

I find the 3M Roloc Bristle Disc Grade 120 to work best for cleaning the top of engine blocks.

My block in my truck. After. Wire wheel the heads and block surface do I still need to use a steel block and sandpaper? Afterwards or can I continue putting it back together thank you for the great video

So if doing this with engine block still in the vehicle do i worry about the sanding material getting in coolant and oil ports?

Is there a type of wire brush that should be used? Because there are many different types, stainless, brass, steel, etc. I would think you want to use a wire that's softer than the iron block or head you're working on, so you don't literally start removing metal from the surface, and jack the mating surfaces all up?

Best buy a spray can spray the head and let it dry then do sanding with block if something left after that you hove to do it more respray and sanding more untill all color went out with sanding

I ONLY have ever used a block with sandpaper, start with 100, and then 220, 320, then 400. Will never touch a block with anything rotational.. ever.

I totally agree with the machined sandpaper plate, but do not agree with the file or the course wire wheel

Great video! I love to learn new and some of the best tips!

I should’ve watched this before but I used a die grinder and a 3M roloc wheel and I didn’t put any rags or anythin in the cylinders. I can see that there’s dirt and crap in the cylinders what’s the best way to remove all that? I also don’t have the Cummins Barring tool to spin the motor (not sure if that’d be good to do anyway) I tried using a blowgun already but still looks like there’s some stuff in there. Should I use a shop vac?

What would you use of aluminium head? Mines, gasket material is sticking and its hard to remove. Can i use a brass wire brush?

Is the scotch brite so bad on a steel block? Or is it mainly aluminum blocks that are the huge concern? I used it on my steel block to remove gasket material only taking off what was absolutely necessary

How do you fix some minor pitting around the coolant passages or do you surface anytime there’s imperfections? My block is completely flat just some pitting

What is the approach for getting all gasket material off of aluminum Honda Civic upper barrel surfaces? The head is at a machinist shop for resurfacing, but the block upper barrels mating surfaces are still not bright aluminum in color. Options with engine in the car working outside of my garage?

Best wire wheel to use is an Osborne ss .006” knotted wire wheel (3/4” - 1”). Learned that right at cummins when I worked there

Is there any concern of a piece of wire coming off that wheel and dropping into the cylinder?

Hey man, looking to do a pretty complete reseal on 1999 5.9 cummins 24v with a p pump swap. Most likely pulling motor and knocking everything out. Any recommendations on what gasket kit to buy? Tried to find oem everything but seems some things are hard to find. What source do you use and what kit would you use. Big thanks!

What size an material is the block toy built.. I have a new head an gasket on my 12v an it's spitting oil out the exhaust side I'm hoping I can clean it up some

So what is the sanding disc that you said not to use at the beginning.... Roloc disc?

Thank you .very good

An you use a wire brush? As well?

Hi Andrew 👋

Great video man! As a machinist is there any webpage or forum you recommend

Any advice on cleaning aluminum blocks? I've heard that fine sandpaper and plastic scrapers are the only way to go.

Excellent video..... thank you

Can't I just use a razor blade and red scotch bright ? Thanks

Been a mechanic 30 + years and used all methods of cleaning a deck and head and all gasket surfaces for that matter and the most efficient way is with a right angle grinder and a abrasive wheel. With the exception of aluminium surfaces you would have to work pretty hard to mess up a surface so bad the gasket won't seal it. And with aluminum you just use a lighter touch. Don't buy in to all this bullshit I have built over 100,000 engines in my time and zero gasket surface failures

Is there any parti way you pull the alignment dowel pins out when they are stuck?

Would you skip the file and wire brush when doing this for an aluminum block?

Will this not affect the connection between the head and block? (new to this, sorry if its a silly question)

Really good video thanks man

what grit of sand paper are you using?

What grit paper do you recommend for this? Sorry you answered it after I commented

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Apprentice - "But I used the soft grinder pad"... Me - "...., ill get To to fix it..go organize the bolts again.'