Ok so my friend and I are porting his intake manifold on his 88 GXL. It is mostly ported and he just got the gaskets from Mazdatrix today. Thing is we can't get the damn old ones off. How the heck are you supposed to get rid of those things. Any hare brained scheme, idea, ancient potion, over the counter product, or thing that has worked in the past would be greatly appreciated so we can get his car back together. Thanks again.

 

when working on the irons I use a sharpened stiff putty knife and a hammer to peel off most of it, then go over it with a wirebrush/dirgrinder attatchment. The wirebrush works great.

You can try the putty knife on aluminum but be careful it is VERY easy to\tear up the mounting surface.Also you can try straight razor blades, but the same rule applies. The wirebrush is your best bet, but it takes a long time to cut through a full thickness of gasket.

 

I use 3m Bristle discs on the high speed die grinder. Works wonders.

The right tool: For the right job!

 

That sounds like a good idea, does it screw up the aluminium too much??

 

No the bristle pads were developed by 3M for FORD in response to the damage mechanics were doing to Al with the standard roloc pad. From 3M:
3M Roloc Bristle Discs are ideal for cleaning, finishing, blending, and deburring. Use on corners, welds, and other areas where extra conformability is required. The 1/2" trim version is for general surface conditioning applications and the 5/8" tapered product for rivet cleaning, welds and corners. Great for coating removal where loading is a problem.


Here is a pic:

 

1. Where can I buy that?

2. Coat the new gaskets in silicone grease so next time you don't have to scrape them off.

 

Try some gasket remover at your local parts store. I had the same problem. It felt like I was scraping for days with a razor and not making much progress. With the gasket remover I sprayed it on ..... let it sit a few minutes and the gasket came off a lot easier.

George

 

My local pep boys has never heard of any such thing!!!

 

This is what I used .....

http://www.carparts.com/parts/newsea...link=0-0-0-0-0

I got it at Auto Discount ..... if the above link doesn't work goto www.carparts.com and do a search for gasket remover

 

I get mine off the Snaop-on truck. They are available on the internet at MANY places!

 

Thanks y'all. Much obliged.