Head gasket replacement

[jukes23]

Hi All,
I decided to check the internal diodes on my 2002 115 XTRA. This required me to remove the heads. Upon opening, I noticed some corrosion in the heads , that I scraped off with a flat head screwdriver. I cleaned out all of that gunk and any I can get to in the water jackets in the power head.
I have the gaskets, but still have some items to address.

1. I still have some gasket residue. How do I remove the gasket material and/or any corrosion that is sitting on the gasket surface? I have read 400 grit sandpaper, but want to know what is the best option.

2. I read not to use any kind of gasket sealer, but to use anti sieze on the bolts. Any particular kind?

3. What is the torque settings for the head bolts?

Any tips/insights is greatly appreciated.

[boats.net]

Use a solvent to get residue off, can use sandpaper as long as its in a sanding block. Torque to 11 ft lbs first torque and 22 ft lbs second torque.

[jukes23]

Use a solvent to get residue off, can use sandpaper as long as its in a sanding block. Torque to 11 ft lbs first torque and 22 ft lbs second torque.

Thanks for the reply. Is 400 grit ok or should I something more or less gritty? As far as solvent's go, anything in particular?

[bumperfood]

If I might make a suggestion. Although a sanding block works well, most people have a tendency to either lift up on the edges or round off the edges, leaving the surface no longer flat.
Get a piece of flat glass (preferably laminated-the type they use in industrial applications)
Remove all the gasket residue (important), by soaking it with a gasket removal spray ie. permatex, CRC or VersaChem.
Place a sheet of 200-400 grit wet or dry sandpaper gritty side up on the glass, put enough fluid (penetrating fluid, solvent, even water) on it, to cover the surface.
Place the head on the wet surface and move it about, keeping an even pressure on it as you do so.
After about 30 seconds or so, check the surface, you should have an even grey surface across it. Any deep scratches or untouched surfaces will show up.
Go to a progressvly fine piece of wet and dry as you get closer to a smooth surface.
If there are deep scratches, removing them might affect the compression ratio, so you will need to decide if the scratches might cause a coolant leak.
Most of the time the gasket will prevent this though.

[jukes23]

If I might make a suggestion. Although a sanding block works well, most people have a tendency to either lift up on the edges or round off the edges, leaving the surface no longer flat.
Get a piece of flat glass (preferably laminated-the type they use in industrial applications)
Remove all the gasket residue (important), by soaking it with a gasket removal spray ie. permatex, CRC or VersaChem.
Place a sheet of 200-400 grit wet or dry sandpaper gritty side up on the glass, put enough fluid (penetrating fluid, solvent, even water) on it, to cover the surface.
Place the head on the wet surface and move it about, keeping an even pressure on it as you do so.
After about 30 seconds or so, check the surface, you should have an even grey surface across it. Any deep scratches or untouched surfaces will show up.
Go to a progressvly fine piece of wet and dry as you get closer to a smooth surface.
If there are deep scratches, removing them might affect the compression ratio, so you will need to decide if the scratches might cause a coolant leak.
Most of the time the gasket will prevent this though.

Thanks Bumperfood,

so you are saying start with 200 and work up to 400? there are a couple of scratches, but nothing really deep..seem mostly surface.

[99yam40]

Service manual gives this info on cleaning/truing head surfaces and cover plate surfaces, but you will have to use a scraper, file, sanding block, or some other method to do the block surface.

It will also give the specs and pattern for bolts.

Do not use any anti-seize that contains copper on aluminum

[bumperfood]

It is a judgement call on which grit to start with, but as the scratches are very light, I would start with a 400 grit, sand for the 30 seconds and check the result. If the results are what you are looking for, (material removal shows no low spots) then I would carry on with the 400 grit.

[bumperfood]

When you are cleaning the block surfaces, keeping particles of gasket and grit out of the cylinder bores is very important. The grit will score the cylinders and any pieces of errant gasket material that gets into the ring lands could cause a hot spot that could damage the piston. Clean lint free cloths, and cleaning the bore often are the order of the day here. It also helps if you can do your work with the bores tilted so that gravity will assist in keeping debris from entering the bore.
Any scrapers you use should be made of a material softer then the material the block is made from (aluminium alloy). Hard plastic is fine. I would suggest you do not use a file at all. After having removed the gasket material, I would lay a straight edge across the block in several areas to check for any obvious gaps that would indicate warping. If you feel you need to use a sanding block, get the longest one you can--the type used in body shops for sanding filler (about 16-20 inches long), and go lightly, holding the sander in the centre, and not on the ends.

[jukes23]

When you are cleaning the block surfaces, keeping particles of gasket and grit out of the cylinder bores is very important. The grit will score the cylinders and any pieces of errant gasket material that gets into the ring lands could cause a hot spot that could damage the piston. Clean lint free cloths, and cleaning the bore often are the order of the day here. It also helps if you can do your work with the bores tilted so that gravity will assist in keeping debris from entering the bore.
Any scrapers you use should be made of a material softer then the material the block is made from (aluminium alloy). Hard plastic is fine. I would suggest you do not use a file at all. After having removed the gasket material, I would lay a straight edge across the block in several areas to check for any obvious gaps that would indicate warping. If you feel you need to use a sanding block, get the longest one you can--the type used in body shops for sanding filler (about 16-20 inches long), and go lightly, holding the sander in the centre, and not on the ends.

Thanks for the reply, it really means a lot.

What is the best way to remove any grit that might get in there?