sr20det rebuild need help

[jamesszlatenyi]

Hi everybody, I recently purchased a sr20det red fin top and before putting it in the car I was going to replace all the gaskets and seals. Well I removed the head and had the sent to the machine shop and came back with flawless results. No bent valves no warpness to the head or anything. Well now im stuck at the point of removing the head gasket. Ive searched online and I found out theres really no easy way about this but also the newest post was from 2009. Was just wondering if anyone has found out a better way since. Ive tried the 3m white roloc disc with the bristles, Permatex head gasket remover and a plastic scraper and I really haven't had any good luck. Any input would be great. Also im a bit worried of the dust or anything else in that matter that could of made its way into the oil or water jets. Was just wondering if there was anyway to I guess you could say flush out the system. Once again all help is greatly appreciated and thanks in advance.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

Is it actual gasket material still or is stain/blemish from it?

[jamesszlatenyi]

id say gasket material because you can feel it when you rub your hand across it.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

I think I have heard people having luck using a heat gun to get it real hot and using a flat blade razor carefully. I have always used the yellow bristle roloc with good luck. You do have to be careful if you are not doing anything with the bottom end. Dont want that stuff in your cylinder walls.

[jamesszlatenyi]

Yea i have paper towels in them to make sure i dont get anything in them. I dont think i want to try the razor blade theres not that much on there for me to want to take the risk.

[kouki munster]

FYI, anything abrasive(I.E. roloc, steel wool, scotch bright pad) will remove material from the surface of the block and cause low spots, but shouldn't be an issue if you are running a stock head gasket and don't get to aggressive with the removal process. If you are going to be running a metal head gasket I would use a fresh razor blade with some brake cleaner, just make sure that you keep the razor blade flat against the block surface with steady even pressure, and be mindful of edges.

Also, to clean the cylinders out once you are done, just turn the block upside down(cylinder bores pointing at the ground) and hose them out with brake cleaner. Once you are satisfied that everything is clean and the brake cleaner is dry turn it right side up and dump a little oil in each bore making sure that is gets around the edges of the pistons, rub it on the cylinder walls, let it sit a few min. and then turn the motor over by hand a few times.