So I am finally getting my rebuilt head back next weekend and I will be reassembling the engine. Obviously, most of it is going to be done in the reverse order that it all came apart in, with special consideration for the head bolts. The piston crowns are pretty carbon'ed up and there is some silver flaky residue crap on the block deck from the old head gasket. Anyone got good tips for cleaning that stuff off? I was thinking of using a plastic putty knife to knock the carbon off of the pistons, with a shop-vac in the other hand to keep any crud from getting between the pistons and cylinder walls. Same sort of idea for the flaky gasket crap. When done, I'll probably give the crowns and deck a good wipe with a lint free rag and some MEK.
As far as putting the head back on, are there any special tips or tricks? I assume that the head gasket goes on dry / no sealers or anything? Talking to Metric Mechanic, they recommended that I put a VERY small amount of oil on the head bolt threads so that they all torque evenly. MM said to go up to 64ft-lbs over 3 passes with the bolts that they are providing. All of the timing case gaskets and the profile gaskets will be sealed with Permatex Ultra Grey RTV and allowed 24 hours to cure before I start the engine up.
I guess that I am just a little paranoid about all of this and I really just want to put it back together and do nothing more than change the oil and some belts on my shiny new engine for the next 10 years. Despite being an E30 guy for over a decade and pulling the timing case 4 times, this is the first time I have needed to reinstall a head, due to a combination of luck in terms of reliability (until a year ago) and never quite having the money AND motivation to do a rebuild until things aligned and I paid MM to do it for me lol.
Thanks guys!
As far as putting the head back on, are there any special tips or tricks? I assume that the head gasket goes on dry / no sealers or anything? Talking to Metric Mechanic, they recommended that I put a VERY small amount of oil on the head bolt threads so that they all torque evenly. MM said to go up to 64ft-lbs over 3 passes with the bolts that they are providing. All of the timing case gaskets and the profile gaskets will be sealed with Permatex Ultra Grey RTV and allowed 24 hours to cure before I start the engine up.
I guess that I am just a little paranoid about all of this and I really just want to put it back together and do nothing more than change the oil and some belts on my shiny new engine for the next 10 years. Despite being an E30 guy for over a decade and pulling the timing case 4 times, this is the first time I have needed to reinstall a head, due to a combination of luck in terms of reliability (until a year ago) and never quite having the money AND motivation to do a rebuild until things aligned and I paid MM to do it for me lol.
Thanks guys!
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