Gasket tips?

[Esilvester]

Hiya.

A few months ago I popped my surf cherry by doing a head replacement. The cuts and scars have barely healed and now the water pump has gone. Now I'm a seasoned expert (!), I got everything out in an hour but the state of the gasket surface has taken me four hours to clean up.

There has to be a better way!

I used a Stanley blade, some oven cleaner and a steamer. It was slow and painful. Got there in the end but I can't help feeling I'm missing a trick.

[slobodan]

I've seen people use a wire wheel in an angle grinder.

I prefer a good bearing scraper.

[Albannach]

Doing the head on a 2.4 and not replacing the water pump was stupidity.

Water pump gasket faces don't have to be clinically clean, just clean them with a scraper and use blue hylomar to seal it up.

[Esilvester]

I prefer - 'ignorance'....

[Andy Pandy]

That was my job for 6 months,8hrs a day,5 days a week,scrapeing bearings god it was soul destroying but i can still do a mean bearing.

[Esilvester]

Thanks chaps. I'll look into getting one for next time.