Hitchcocks Forum

Hello All,
the head on the 2003 Bullet 500 has been weeping oil and after a long haul yesterday I decided that it's the weekend to take action. I stripped it down this evening and had a look my composite head gasket, which has given up on me, to be fair it's been in there for a lot of miles. Anyhow parts of it have stuck themselves to both the head and the cylinder. Was looking at it trying to decide the best course of action for cleaning it off. Not the place for sand paper. Might the raid the razor blades.

Actually it's getting colder maybe I should be looking for a cheap car for a few months.

Anyone out there got any bright ideas or tips ?

Cheers

Your cylinder barrel is cast iron, you can attack that with most anything scraperish but stick to brass or copper to be safe, (a piece of plumbers pipe hammered flat and ground or filed to an edge), final cleaning can be done with scotchbrite pad or wire wool, an alternative is a rotary brass bristle brush in a drill at fairly low speed, cleans it up a treat.
The head being ally is softer and more care has to be taken, as long as the scraper is softer than the item being scraped though, you're good to go, a nice sharpened scrap of hardwood for example is ideal for cleaning old gasket off alloy, a razor blade in one of those decorating glass scraper doodads is good provided you're careful and don't get carried away and dig in, often scraping the blade backwards, (with the edge facing away as if you're cutting forward but dragging backwards if you can visualise that), can shave the gasket off bit by bit.

Hi JFW --------- yes, they tend to split in half when the head is removed. It's why a lot of folk prefer the copper type---- you can anneal and re-use them several times. As to removal of the stuck-on bits, I use a rotary wire brush on the iron barrel , and to a lesser extent on the Aluminium head as well BUT !!---- have been doing this for over 40 years so have developed the "feel" so to speak. For you then a blunt scraper of some description (various wallpaper types)-- Pieces of broken piston rings can be used ---carefully !!----for smaller,stubborn bits. A pre-soak in hot water can help as well...... As to a cheap car??, try this }----- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peel_P50 --------

Hi. I would use paint stripper on the barrel. As has been mentioned cast iron isn’t easily damaged apart from rusting if left to long in contact with water…(Dish washers can rust them quite severely!) For the head I would use wet and dry; around 240 grade. I spread the sheet on a surface plate and rotate the head…it soon gets the surface perfect, plus it there is a bonus of getting it flat if you start with 120 grade first. You don’t have a surface plate?...I recommend using a granite kitchen chopping board…I use this type of board for all my surfacing, at around £12 quite a cheap essential part of the workshop I think: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Premier-House ... 2ebba9611f

I guess you used a compound on the gasket? Try the next one dry, the composite type seal really well dry. I use a 2p coin for cleaning the concave head and that might help with the sealing face as well but make sure its an older coin as the newer ones are steel with only a copper plating. Use a magnet to make sure its the softer type.

Got it all cleaned up and had a copper gasket sitting around in the box. I've actually a collection of various types as I had serious problems with oil Leaks out of it when I bought it years ago. Till I found out that I'd a porous cylinder barrel. Anyhow I've not had the head off in years as I replaced the barrel and stuck in the composite gasket. Can't remember if I added something to it at all but might have. Ill use it fry next time.

Anyhow I'd a copper gasket in the box which seems to be a composite with a paper layer in between two thin layers of copper. I've put that in but like I say I've not had the head off in years and it's got a bit of carbon in there. (I've a new jet around here somewhere as I'm meant to go to the smaller size) I'll have to deal with that but I'm not too confident of my head gasket so I'll try it and if it works grand but if not I'll have the head off again in a few months. Probably due checking out the valves and lapping them into place again.

Thanks for all the posts

HANG-ON MATE !!!-------------- thats NOT a copper gasket you have there !! If it's sandwiched then its an earlier form of composite (which literally means a "mixture" of parts etc...). A copper gasket is made of COPPER ONLY and is about 1-2mmm thick....With the one you have DON'T try to anneal it---- you'll get a surprise AND be disappointed as well !!. Hi LES H--------- yes , those granite kitchen blocks are the Bees-knees, aren't they ?? Also stainless steel dog bowls come in handy--(stainless steel dogs ???)--------------