Is there an easy way to remove old gaskets

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know of an easy way to remove old gaskets from engine side cases and other engine parts. Now, I remove with a sharp blade from an exato knife or similar. Some remove easily and others which have been on for 25 odd years are like petrified on the case and are a pain to remove. Any chemicals or such to use, let me know.

[Anonymous]

Permatex makes spray-on gasket remover. Be very careful how long you leave it on aluminum. It will soften the old gaskets up a lot.

Also, get a good, stiff putty knife and sharpen the edge of it on a grinder for scraping.....

[KW]

I use white spirit (or turpentine) on the bits that are stuck on and hard to remove. I removed my cam cover gasket yesterday which I think has been on for 27 years! I was left with loads of bits that just wouldn't come off. I dipped a cotton bud in white spirit and carefully wiped it over the gasket bits. Left it for 10 minutes then scraped it away easily with a blade.

[crc1214]

Sharp, sharp razor blades worked for me.


Chad
Columbus, OH 1978 GS550E

[jonr]

Be careful with blades of any kind. They are harder than the aluminum and can gouge it if you have a slip. I like to use piece of 1/4" acrylic or plexiglass that has a straight edge on it somewhere. Tough enough to take out gasket material, buit not aluminum. Some solvents may soften the plastic, so watch out.

-Jon

[Anonymous]

I had really good luck stripping the gaskets off my head last year with standard engine degereaser and a dremel tool fitted with SOFT steel wool, running at low rpms. Once the degreaser got into it, the dremel stripped off the gasket material pretty easily without damaging the aluminum.

[jimcor]

Beer.

[mcycle-nut]

Beer.

Could be messy if sharp tools are involved! 8O