Noob needs help 6.4L possible lifter and cam

[BurtShaver]

Hi Rick, I’m stressing about a few things, wondering if you have time if you could explain how you go about cleaning up all the mating surfaces, what you plug with towels? What tools you use? I have cleaned up this head using liquid gasket remover and the little brass brush you see in the picture, I followed that up with brake and parts cleaner and compressed air, I should mention I use shop towels each time after I spray the liquid gasket remover to wipe up as much grease and debris as I can before spraying the parts cleaner, then wipe again, spray blow, anyways I’m concerned that maybe I’m not getting all the liquid gasket remover out of all the oil and coolant galleys, am I stressing over nothing? Just curious how you go about cleaning up these surfaces, having what I’m guessing is aluminum gaskets in the head, there’s no actual gasket material so I’m also wondering if I’m spending to much time in them

 

[BurtShaver]

Maybe I should get a tub and pour some diesel fuel over the heads and blow them off as a final clean? Just an idea

 

[Wild one]

Maybe I should get a tub and pour some diesel fuel over the heads and blow them off as a final clean? Just an idea

I use my old syphon wash gun and either gas or diesal (which ever one i have handy) to wash everything down Burt.
A wash tub will work though,turn the air pressure down on your air compressor and use an air nozzle to agitate the diesal

My old wash gun is similiar to this one.

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[BurtShaver]

I use my old syphon wash gun and either gas or diesal (which ever one i have handy) to wash everything down Burt.
A wash tub will work though,turn the air pressure down on your air compressor and use an air nozzle to agitate the diesal

My old wash gun is similiar to this one.

Amazon.ca

Thank you, I will browse around tonight but I will probably just end up pouring some diesel over them and using the air to agitate and blow off

 

[Wild one]

Thank you, I will browse around tonight but I will probably just end up pouring some diesel over them and using the air to agitate and blow off

If you submerge the heads in diesal and use air pressure to agitate the diesal inside as many holes as you can get a air nozzle in,you'll be good.Other option i've used is my local coin-op carwash and their high pressure soap and rinse settings. Make sure you take a piece of plywood or heavy duty cardboard with you to lay the parts on that you want to wash if you run them through the carwash.

 

[BurtShaver]

Another stupid question that I think I know the answer to but… should the spark plugs come out before cleaning these heads with pressure washer? I’m thinking yes but hoping no

 

[Wild one]

Another stupid question that I think I know the answer to but… should the spark plugs come out before cleaning these heads with pressure washer? I’m thinking yes but hoping no

I'd pull them,but you could leave them installed if need be.They're easy to pull with the heads off though

 

[BurtShaver]

Just a little update, I took the heads, intake and valve covers out to the car wash, I used simple green and the soap from the car wash, simple green isn’t the best grease cutter but I’m 100 percent confident that I got any debris that may have been in the heads off. I have Castrol super Ckean but the directions on it say not let it sit on aluminum so I didn’t want to chance it damaging the aluminum. Heads are in my little shop here at home where there’s heat now to dry for a couple of days. I blew as much water off them as I could with the compressed air and then lightly misted them with WD-40. Just waiting on parts now from mopar parts Canada. They were supposed to be in yesterday, no sign of them yet

 

[BurtShaver]

This may not be good, I noticed this scratch on the cylinder head today while I was cleaning it, it’s between cylinders 4 and 6. And there’s a little scratch in the combustion chamber about 1/8” long. As for depth of the scratch on the one side I can’t catch a finger nail in it, but on the other side I can catch a nail in it, barely but I can. I can also catch a nail on the scratch in the combustion chamber. Not sure how it happened , I do know that since the heads have been out, they have never been set down without being set in cardboard or foam for pressure washing. However while taking them out I did have to set them down to move harness, deal with old head gasket that was half on the block and half sticking to the head, so if I scratched it, that’s when it would have happened. Will I need to have this resurfaced? Or decked? U don’t really know what I’m talking about, just using words I’ve heard before.

 

[Wild one]

View attachment 558625This may not be good, I noticed this scratch on the cylinder head today while I was cleaning it, it’s between cylinders 4 and 6. And there’s a little scratch in the combustion chamber about 1/8” long. As for depth of the scratch on the one side I can’t catch a finger nail in it, but on the other side I can catch a nail in it, barely but I can. I can also catch a nail on the scratch in the combustion chamber. Not sure how it happened , I do know that since the heads have been out, they have never been set down without being set in cardboard or foam for pressure washing. However while taking them out I did have to set them down to move harness, deal with old head gasket that was half on the block and half sticking to the head, so if I scratched it, that’s when it would have happened. Will I need to have this resurfaced? Or decked? U don’t really know what I’m talking about, just using words I’ve heard before.

If the scratch catches a finger nail you probably should have them touched up.In my younger days i've used a long drywall sanding board with 320 grit and resurfaced them at home,but that was the brokeass kid way of doing things,i don't really reconmend it unless you're in a real pinch for time or money

 

[BurtShaver]

If the scratch catches a finger nail you probably should have them touched up.In my younger days i've used a long drywall sanding board with 320 grit and resurfaced them at home,but that was the brokeass kid way of doing things,i don't really reconmend it unless you're in a real pinch for time or money

I’ve been looking at different methods of decking the head at home, the one I remember the guy glued the emery cloth to a sheet of plexiglass and then moved the head over it. When you resurfaced them with the sanding board did you do figure eights? I guess the biggest concern of mine doing it at home would be finding something that is truly flat. I will make some calls and see what I’m quoted, and go from there. Doing it myself is an option. Do you know how much can be taken off without needing to change anything else like pushrod length? Gasket thickness?

 

[Wild one]

I’ve been looking at different methods of decking the head at home, the one I remember the guy glued the emery cloth to a sheet of plexiglass and then moved the head over it. When you resurfaced them with the sanding board did you do figure eights? I guess the biggest concern of mine doing it at home would be finding something that is truly flat. I will make some calls and see what I’m quoted, and go from there. Doing it myself is an option. Do you know how much can be taken off without needing to change anything else like pushrod length? Gasket thickness?

I've glued sandpaper to plate glass and sanded things that way,just never used it on a head though.You have enough leeway with lifter preload you should be able to sand out a scratch without any issues

 

[BurtShaver]

I've glued sandpaper to plate glass and sanded things that way,just never used it on a head though.You have enough leeway with lifter preload you should be able to sand out a scratch without any issues

my nail doesn’t catch on the scratch at the bottom but about halfway up my nail does start to catch. If I’m sanding I’m definitely going to try and sand the entire head surface down evenly, not just in that location or a low spot would develop. Correct?

 

[Wild one]

my nail doesn’t catch on the scratch at the bottom but about halfway up my nail does start to catch. If I’m sanding I’m definitely going to try and sand the entire head surface down evenly, not just in that location or a low spot would develop. Correct?

Yes,try and sand it as one whole unit,or as close to one whole unit as you can get. Try and use wet/dry paper and use WD40 or soapy water to lubricate it

 

[BurtShaver]

Yes,try and sand it as one whole unit,or as close to one whole unit as you can get. Try and use wet/dry paper and use WD40 or soapy water to lubricate it

Wet/dry sandpaper is ok? I thought it would be emery cloth? I will do some research and see what I come up with, on the video I watched the fellow had to glue down the sheets but there was a seam. That kind of worries me. I wish they just sold a tool that was flat and had a handle. Am I right in thinking figure eights? Only 320 grit or in stages, I will check out a bunch of video’s tomorrow and I’m going to make a few calls to see what it would cost me to have a shop do it. I will go from there. If will only decide to do it if I’m confident I can do a decent job and I think I can. I’ve definitely learned a lesson though and that lesson is to have another set of hands around when taking these out, just to move something that may be in the way, etc.

 

[Wild one]

Wet/dry sandpaper is ok? I thought it would be emery cloth? I will do some research and see what I come up with, on the video I watched the fellow had to glue down the sheets but there was a seam. That kind of worries me. I wish they just sold a tool that was flat and had a handle. Am I right in thinking figure eights? Only 320 grit or in stages, I will check out a bunch of video’s tomorrow and I’m going to make a few calls to see what it would cost me to have a shop do it. I will go from there. If will only decide to do it if I’m confident I can do a decent job and I think I can. I’ve definitely learned a lesson though and that lesson is to have another set of hands around when taking these out, just to move something that may be in the way, etc.

A figure 8 pattern is good.Emery cloth works,but i usually have wet/dry 320 grit in big sheets,and my emery cloth is only 1" and 2" wide,so like you say if you're gluing it to something flat you'll have a seam.

I have something similiar to this but with no foam that i've used for flattening heads. It was actually my Dads,so the one i have is probably 60 years old now,lol
For all i know it might of had foam on it,and my Dad could of peeled it off.My Dad used to braze up old broken/cracked exhaust manifolds when i was a kid,and i usually got stuck using the board to sand them flat when he was done

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[BurtShaver]

A figure 8 pattern is good.Emery cloth works,but i usually have wet/dry 320 grit in big sheets,and my emery cloth is only 1" and 2" wide,so like you say if you're gluing it to something flat you'll have a seam.

I have something similiar to this but with no foam that i've used for flattening heads. It was actually my Dads,so the one i have is probably 60 years old now,lol
For all i know it might of had foam on it,and my Dad could of peeled it off.My Dad used to braze up old broken/cracked exhaust manifolds when i was a kid,and i usually got stuck using the board to sand them flat when he was done

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lol, that sounds better than what I got stuck doing as a kid, tarring the roof or painting, working in the hay lol. I have that tool for sanding, my worry with that would be if it’s truly flat or not. In the video I attached the fellow went and bought a scrap piece of steel, fairly thick, I can’t remember exactly how thick, and then paid to have it machined flat. I like the idea of getting a chunk of steel approximately 6 inches wide by 12 or so inches long, have it machined flat and maybe have 2 small holes drilled through it for a handle or have a handle welded to it, if it could be welded without warping the steel. Thanks for the ideas Rick, who knows what direction I will go after I get looking into it tomorrow

 

[Wild one]

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lol, that sounds better than what I got stuck doing as a kid, tarring the roof or painting, working in the hay lol. I have that tool for sanding, my worry with that would be if it’s truly flat or not. In the video I attached the fellow went and bought a scrap piece of steel, fairly thick, I can’t remember exactly how thick, and then paid to have it machined flat. I like the idea of getting a chunk of steel approximately 6 inches wide by 12 or so inches long, have it machined flat and maybe have 2 small holes drilled through it for a handle or have a handle welded to it, if it could be welded without warping the steel. Thanks for the ideas Rick, who knows what direction I will go after I get looking into it tomorrow

A piece of barstock,but it'd probably be cheaper to take the heads to a machine shop then buy a chunk of barstock big enough to sand a head with,lol

 

[Wild one]

Damn i just took a look at you tube and there's a pile of video's on DIY head resurfacing,lol.

Refinishing and Flattening Engine Heads at Home with Sand Paper

Resurfacing an engine head using sandpaper and a sheet of glass! About an hours worth of work and the engine head was looking much better! Twitch: https://w...

www.youtube.com

 

[BurtShaver]

Damn i just took a look at you tube and there's a pile of video's on DIY head resurfacing,lol.

Refinishing and Flattening Engine Heads at Home with Sand Paper

Resurfacing an engine head using sandpaper and a sheet of glass! About an hours worth of work and the engine head was looking much better! Twitch: https://w...

www.youtube.com

Damn it, I just took my son in laws friend out to my shop to look at that scratch and I realized I’m going to have to take the exhaust manifold off, either way to have it decked or to do it myself it’s going to have to come off. I was really trying to avoid that.