I did not expect cleaning of the heads to be this hard. I have already spend 3 days on one of them, exhausting all kinds of techniques available to a DIYer - from nails to plastic brushes to (OMG) Scotchbrite pads. I think I may have damaged the surface effectively ruining the entire project... So I need a second opinion.
This is the rear head, the one that was overheating, and therefore the gasket material on it has seriously welded in.
First, even after days of soaking and cleaning, there are still "dots" of the gasket material left. Second, there are "microscratch" spots - the brighter areas of the surface.
This one gives me hope. There is a clear casting imperfection, nice and deep, and it still was sealing without any problem judging by the lack of discoloration or black crud filling.
These two give a better look at the kind of scratching and dark spots.
On the pictures it looks actually worse than in real life. The "light" does not really show anything bad, meaning I could not see any light coming through between the surface and a metal ruler. Granted, there is no guarantee the ruler was precisely straight...
And the bad news is that there is really no material left to machine if I take it to a machine shop - the valves are VERY close to the surface.
My question - does this surface look good enough to seal or no? Just from your experience.
Thanks a lot for your responses!!!
...and happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
This is the rear head, the one that was overheating, and therefore the gasket material on it has seriously welded in.
First, even after days of soaking and cleaning, there are still "dots" of the gasket material left. Second, there are "microscratch" spots - the brighter areas of the surface.
This one gives me hope. There is a clear casting imperfection, nice and deep, and it still was sealing without any problem judging by the lack of discoloration or black crud filling.
These two give a better look at the kind of scratching and dark spots.
On the pictures it looks actually worse than in real life. The "light" does not really show anything bad, meaning I could not see any light coming through between the surface and a metal ruler. Granted, there is no guarantee the ruler was precisely straight...
And the bad news is that there is really no material left to machine if I take it to a machine shop - the valves are VERY close to the surface.
My question - does this surface look good enough to seal or no? Just from your experience.
Thanks a lot for your responses!!!
...and happy Thanksgiving, everyone!