Cleaning gasket surfaces

jos51700 said
I recently acquired a Neon that has broken a timing belt. I had the head surfaced, and was cleaning the remnants of the coating from the old MLS head gasket off the block. This stuff was like baked on carbon.

I finally resorted to a Scotch Brite pad to get everything clean. I'm concerned about the fibrous junk left behind. I washed the oil drainage ports with brake cleaner and I'll flush the cooling system and change the engine oil before i install the water pump and start it up.

The next time I do this, what are you guys using when you have the block in the car and can't do a full machine shop treatment? I can't imagine anything aggressive enough to remove that junk that wouldn't leave at least a little bit behind to get circulated in a motor.

Sorry to say this but many years ago GM found that many bottom end engine failures were caused by 3M Scotchbrite residue from prior warranty repairs like resealing intakes or head gaskets. If you are using anything in a rotary tool, use a Bristle disc. They have plastic fingers that don't produce harmful grit. They come in different diameters and grits. Scrape the most of the gasket with a razor blade scraper.