Engine Gasket Removal Tips?

Ok whats the trick for removing old head and base gaskets? My gaskets are cooked on and I cannot get them off with razor blades, steel wool, and acetone. I still haven't even got to the cooked on crap at the base gasket on the lower end....

Don't use razors. I found that 3M rubber bristle pads that are circular which screw onto a power drill to work the best (there are different colors for hardness, I used yellow). I used brake cleaner then rub them off with the pad. It takes them off but doesn't mess up the aluminum. One bad nick with a razor can cause an oil leak. The plastic razor thing is good but not so good for baked on gaskets. Hope it works.

3M RoLoc (or Harbor Freight knockoff) green and read pad along with WD-40 and a 6 pack of Corona Light. Also had a sharpened piece of plexiglass for the big chunks.

Yes that's what they are called!

A heat gun can help too. If it's permatex, all bets are off.
Steve

Be very careful with the roloc discs, they can eat aluminum.

I like to use these things ; www.harborfreight.com/carbon-gasket-scraper-98507.html
Not necessarily from H.F. but this type of scraper,all the auto parts stores have them very easy on the hands.
They come petty dull so before I use one I take a file to the edge and get it real sharp.
Be real careful not to cut your self,
I like to do a side to side wiggle with it and an easy forward motion.
After your get most of the gasket off you can go to a razor blade and scotch brite to finish it off
JD

This is easily the most frustrating engine that I've ever worked on. I've worked on many other engines, large and small. But this one is the devil! I've never had gaskets stick like these do. Maybe I've just been lucky...

And it leaked too right? :whistle:
Steve

This Kawi leaked like crazy. My pants were always covered in oil. The last time I rode it, it lost a nearly a quart in 40 miles. I decided that was a bit much...

One point you should consider once you have a clean mating surface and are ready for assembly is how to prevent the gaskets from getting cooked on in the future. Myself, I have used copper gasket spray on some of my gaskets and a film of waterproof grease on my base cylinder block gasket. My hope is that if I have to go in again for any reason, removing old gaskets will not be an issue.

Yeah the O ring around the cam chain always leaked. I'd put in a new one, it would start leaking. Two years ago I bought a kit from Z1, I wanted a copper head gasket but was talked out of it. My fault, I knew better. :whistle: In less than a year it started leaking BAD. I pulled the head and it was hard and broken in three places! NOS rubber. This time I put in a one piece head gasket for a early Z1. Filled the O ring groove, NO LEAKS. I was concerned I might have detonation issues because of the smaller gasket. 1015 bore and a 903 gasket. About 10,000 miles, no problems. I have a copper one now, just waiting on a piston, STILL.
Steve