16 year old valve cover gasket residue

[bumperbozo]

I'm having trouble getting the 16 year old valve cover gasket residue completely off my cylinder head. You can see the pale white stripe along the mating surface in this pic:



I applied acetone, rubbed it with a cloth, rubbed brake cleaner on it. I also took a brass wire brush to it which seemed to be making it disappear until i put some more acetone on it and it magically came back! (maybe the brush was just polishing it and the acetone brought
back the matte finish)

although it's quite visible, it is so thin you wouldn't even know it's there if you only felt with your fingers. when i scratch with my fingernail i cannot tell a difference between it and the surrounding metal.

the mechanic on my block looked at it and said it looked pretty clean, but acknowledged that they didn't really have the time to get gasket surfaces immaculate. he said i could use sandpaper, but acknowledged my concern about metal dust getting in the engine, which would be hard to avoid with the way this is configured. I also understand that abrasives can make the mating surface uneven and cause leaks.

would gasket remover or paint remover make any difference at this point?

I have a hard time believing that this residue is going to cause a leak based on unevenness since it is so thin and flat. is there another way it could cause a leak?

what is the best way to proceed?

[BLUEMEANIE]

Originally Posted by bumperbozo

would gasket remover or paint remover make any difference at this point?

I have a hard time believing that this residue is going to cause a leak based on unevenness since it is so thin and flat.

what is the best way to proceed?

Nope. Acetone is stronger than paint thinner, turp or mineral spirits.

It probably won't leak if its as smooth as you say. Also, It is just a valve cover gasket.

I'd use a thin smear of Permatex Ultra Black or other quality gasket maker on both surfaces to seal the gasket. These days most auto makers including Toyota only use the liquid sealants with no gaskets.


I'm currently in the process of scraping 60yr old gaskets off my truck and going thru the same thing. Sept they used cork back then so its all rotted and crumbly.

[RobMilkshakes]

Yeah if it truely is that smooth, then I don't see any problem leaving it. If anything, it'll create a bit of a tighter seal, plus, like bluemeanie said, a little dab of ultrablack should take care of it just fine.