I can’t tell if someone put grey jelly all over the place here or if that was the factory, but either way that’s what I’ve got. It’s a bitch to remove. There’s also some corrosion outside of one of the ports. The bolt holes have jelly in them too I’m trying to remove. The gasket itself or some other sealant is on there good too. I'm using scotch brite and diesel. Any other advice for general cleanup and resealing beyond what the manual says? Hylomar, ultra black silicone, red silicone? I’ll put new front and rear valley seals on as well. I’m hesitant to use a metal scraper on it. There are some areas that aren’t perfectly smooth on the surfaces, minor nicks and whatnot. Hopefully it stays shut for a while after this. Anything else you’d do while this is open like this like lubricating beforehand?

 

A ceramic scraper a very hot cloth on top for about a minute then the scrape. The scrapers are aluminum safe, but test on a external surface 1st

 

I have "plastic razors" I use for aluminum surfaces like that, they get off the old rtv. A fresh "blade" usually gets that last thin layer of old rtv off very well
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The blue scotch Brite pads work really well if needed for crusties but using little if no pressure or sometimes in tight spaces I'll use those with no tool, just my hand

Usually anything with gel consistency I've run into is someone using some kind of stop leak snake oil, especially when it's built up in smaller passages for oil or coolant.


I get the bright colored ones so I can find them when they go flying haha

 

You have it torn down this far, are you going to replace the head gaskets? If so, do all of that cleaning on the bench. If not, why not? I'd never tear that far into something without checking or refreshing all of the known trouble spots.

 

Thanks everyone,

Would it be alright to use a heat gun to help loosen to crap or is it dangerous with the fuel pipe open so close to the heat source? I’ll get some more plastic scrapers. Had some but they’ve disappeared. I don’t want to take the metal scraper to it or razor blades. Hopefully the green scotch brite isn’t too harsh. It’s tough removing that corrosion. The gasket crud is very stubborn too.

I don’t want to take it apart further for the head gaskets right now - I planned to see how it is after this, compression test, check misfiring, etc. I figured it’s not that bad taking it apart again if I have to, but it was running alright before.

 

No.

There's a reason Roont specified blue Scotch-Brite.

It's the same reason there have been many, many posts on this and other Rover forums over the last dozen+ years I've been here advising against green Scotch-Brite pads. They scratch the aluminum too much.

 

Got it - I’ll get the blue type. Hopefully the new sealant and gaskets will seal everything up well and the PCV mod keeps the pressure down so those seals don’t leak as easily. Wish I knew of something that would help dissolve this stuff better. I can try acetone. Diesel only helps so much, better with oil than whatever adhesive was used to get the gaskets stuck on there, or they’re just burned on. Would the heat gun turned low be safe enough? When the gas line was detached, the gas fumes were pretty strong, definitely don’t want that to light up, but not sure how much heat it’s normally exposed to right there although that’s when the line is connected to the manifold.

 

Heat gun will be fine. I've had to heat hard plastic fuel line with a heat gun to put a splice in place. That's the normal procedure, heat then push in a metal barb coupler.

I've used green Scotchbrite for years with no issue. Surface scuffs won't hurt anything long as you aren't leaving any gouges. Honestly though with what you're dealing with, I think I would go for a steady hand with a razor blade.

 

The sticky crud might come off with Magic Eraser or HDX Easy Erasers....just remember you don't need the whole part to be perfect....just needs to be clean on the sealing surfaces.