Tool Makes Engine Clean Up Easier

Tool Makes Engine Clean Up Easier Engine repair goes a lot faster for Dale McLaen since he added a gasket scraper to his toolbox “The Snap-on CSSD1 gasket scraper with its carbide blade was a ‘best buy’ for me ” says McLaen “It’s machined perfectly flat on the end and square on all the edges I use it to remove the remains of gaskets from engine blocks and heads ” McLaen notes that because it is as flat as the engine head sealing surfaces it can shave off even the smallest and thinnest pieces of gaskets This eliminates a big share of prep time before reinstalling heads “The carbide blade is razor-sharp so you do need to be careful not to scratch or gouge the sealing surfaces especially on aluminum heads ” warns McLaen “However once you get the hang of using it you’ll find it makes removal of gaskets fast and easy ” Cleaning up debris is another time-consuming task whether removing gaskets or doing other repairs on an engine block with open cylinders For decades McLaen relied on stuffing cylinders with rags to keep out debris “Now I cut a disc out of a blue shop towel that is about 1/2-in bigger than the cylinder bore and coat the outer edge of this with a thin layer of motor assembly grease ” says McLaen “I place the paper towel grease-side-down on top of the piston and press down on the edges ” When finished working simply remove the towels from each cylinder and wipe the walls clean “Another trick to removing debris or traces of coolant that have gotten down around the edge of a piston is to use compressed air ” says McLaen “Hold a good-sized blow nozzle about 1/2-in above the center/top of the piston and direct a jet of air at it As the air rushes back out of the cylinder it creates a Venturi effect that will pull out almost everything that got into the gap and is lying on the top of the upper piston ring As a final step in cleanliness he recommends lightly oiling cylinder walls “Rotate the crank one revolution and then recheck for any last traces of crud before reinstalling the head ” says McLaen Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dale McLaen 13756 Hwy 11 Rutland N Dak 58067 ph 701-678-5232; mclaen@drtel net

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