best way to clean the heads

[PunishedC10]

I pulled the intake off and the gasket is gone and theres trash and dirt. Hows the best way to keep this out of the heads?

[GasGuzzler]

What engine?

I have a shop vac I use to pull the crap off. I usually powerwash the engine 1st then blow it off with compressed air BEFORE pulling the intake but practices differ depend on platform and engine.

Hose the heads down with WD40 if it's an LS engine and the intake is already off. There are enough solvents to break down the grime and it's greasy enough to "hold" minor debris. You then have to gently and carefully wipe it off

Don't sweat it too much and don't drop any tools in the holes and what little dirt gets in usually blows out the tail pipe.

HTH

[PunishedC10]

its the 350 it failed compressin test. i washed the crap out of it. but to my surprise no gaskets. i used a shop vac but some of it needs to be scraped off. will it still be fine to spray done, scrape, try not to get any inside the heads and the little crap that falls will be good to go.

I've never pulled an intake off and found it that dirty underneath.

[GasGuzzler]

Crap....350? If so there should be no gaskets stuck or in need of scraping unless it's a pre-96 K engine TBI or older. The Vortec's are flimsy plastic (remember when magazines said those are reusable like they say about LS engines now ) and do not stick.

[PunishedC10]

no vortec heads. its the 350 gm goodwrench motor. looks like he swapped intakes off his old 305. and he added a holley carb. i bet he got it as a longblock no accessories. the intake looks a ton older then the rest of the motor. the intake was missing half the bolts lol. anyways it ran fine before i pulled it from the parts truck. So will it still be okay to let a little bit of the crap fall into the heads???

[GasGuzzler]

Ooooo....paper gaskets. Yuck. Soak them in WD40 or get some gasket remover spray. You'll have to scrape them off with a razor blade. Stuff paper towels in the ports to block them off. Clean the surfaces with alcohol just before resealing it. Don't use the rubber end seals, use silicone sealer instead. Also use some spray adhesive on the head and gaskets to keep them in place during installation. Let the glue tack up a little before putting the gaskets on.

[PunishedC10]

thanks. yeah he didnt replace the gaskets look like he tore the old ones off. left pieces on and replaced the intake.

Thanks for the info.