Compression test 01 Navigator

[Hamfisted]

Question about cleaning the surfaces on the block and head where the head gasket will be:

Of course the service manual recommends motorcraft metal surface prep which contains orthophosphoric acid. This stuff seems rather hard to find and really pricey. What do you guys use?

There are other cleaners that contain phosphoric acid such as naval jelly. Is the acid necessary? I have the surfaces nice and clean with no gasket residue left.

Honestly if the surface looks to be in pretty good shape I would just use a hand held wire brush to clean off any surface rust. Wipe it off with a rag and brake cleaner and call it good. That's all I did and it works fine. Especially if you're using Fel Pro Permatorque MLS gaskets. The Fel Pro head gasket kit comes with the proper MLS head gaskets.

 

[Fordgirl01]

Honestly if the surface looks to be in pretty good shape I would just use a hand held wire brush to clean off any surface rust. Wipe it off with a rag and brake cleaner and call it good. That's all I did and it works fine. Especially if you're using Fel Pro Permatorque MLS gaskets. The Fel Pro head gasket kit comes with the proper MLS head gaskets.

I gently cleaned it up with those synthetic steel wool pads. It easily removed the little bit of surface rust and everything feels nice and smooth. I originally planned on using brake cleaner, then I read the service manual and wondered if the brake cleaner was enough. Thanks for the reply! I will go with my original plan. I can’t even remember which head gasket I bought. I purchased all of the parts I figured I would need a while back. I’m thinking it was a Fel Pro-I’ll have to check.


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[The Shadow]

Hi Fordgirl! Just read this entire thread, and have to tip my hat to you! Great job so far...keep being really thorough.

Having replaced a few heads on 4.6 2v's, I thought I'd chime in with a tip...

Regarding head-to-block surface cleaning, the Multi-Layer Steel head gaskets require an extremely smooth surface to properly do their sealing thing, it's like twice the smoothness level of carbon-based gaskets. Having said that, I've done very gentle smoothing work to make things nice and bright, and have never had a problem with Fel-Pro gaskets.

One thing when using a Scotch-brite type pad...they are embedded with a fine metallic powder that does the scouring work, but also tend to be released from their plastic substrate, leaving a fine grit in places you do not want it to be. So, what I do is shopvac out and wipe out what may be left in the cylinder, and wipe the sidewalls down with an oiled towel, then repeat. Just to be safe...

It's a cast iron block, so it won't mind a few pieces left on the top ring...they'll be blown out through the exhaust soon enough. Just make sure the walls have some oil for hand-turning and startup.

For parts, I've used Tasca and RockAuto.com with great success. RockAuto also has 5% discounts all the time, easy to find and use.

 

[Fordgirl01]

Hi Fordgirl! Just read this entire thread, and have to tip my hat to you! Great job so far...keep being really thorough.

Having replaced a few heads on 4.6 2v's, I thought I'd chime in with a tip...

Regarding head-to-block surface cleaning, the Multi-Layer Steel head gaskets require an extremely smooth surface to properly do their sealing thing, it's like twice the smoothness level of carbon-based gaskets. Having said that, I've done very gentle smoothing work to make things nice and bright, and have never had a problem with Fel-Pro gaskets.

One thing when using a Scotch-brite type pad...they are embedded with a fine metallic powder that does the scouring work, but also tend to be released from their plastic substrate, leaving a fine grit in places you do not want it to be. So, what I do is shopvac out and wipe out what may be left in the cylinder, and wipe the sidewalls down with an oiled towel, then repeat. Just to be safe...

It's a cast iron block, so it won't mind a few pieces left on the top ring...they'll be blown out through the exhaust soon enough. Just make sure the walls have some oil for hand-turning and startup.

For parts, I've used Tasca and RockAuto.com with great success. RockAuto also has 5% discounts all the time, easy to find and use.

Thanks for your input! I did read about the green scotch brite pads leaving stuff you need to get out of there! The pad I used seemed even less aggressive (it was called some sort of steel wool alternative) than a scotchbrite pad and I really didn’t even need to apply any pressure. I will be sure to clean everything well and look closely to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind.

I checked the head gasket I got and it’s a motorcraft. Do you think I’ll be OK with that one, or should I take the loss and order the Fel-pro you guys spoke of? Returning the motorcraft isn’t really an option since I ordered it quite some time ago.

I’ve ordered lots of stuff from Tasca and Rockauto (I’m a big fan of the magnets)!

It was also suggested to me to leave a thin coating of oil on the top of the pistons and on the cylinder walls since it will still be a while before it’s running. Ok-never mind that question-I just re-read your post and see you suggested this too!

Thanks again for everyone’s helpful tips. I greatly appreciate it!


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[The Shadow]

Another thing...(as senility strikes!...) when initially cranking to build up and circulate the oil, I always disable the fuel supply to avoid spraying raw fuel into the cylinders, and washing all the oil off the walls. Pull the fuel pump relay, or hit the collision cutoff switch til the button pops up, then you're good to crank.

And before setting the head in place, make sure all the pistons are down somewhat in their cylinders. That will avoid any piston/valve contact. All the timing gears should have a dimple in them for lineup when setting up timing. Sometimes the timing chains are not set up with different-colored links. That's when I have to count links, and get each side from the crank gear to the inboard cam gear the same number of links between the dimples. Don't forget the crank turns twice as much as the cams.

I'm sure I'll have more to say, but I can't remember it right now!!

 

[Fordgirl01]

Another thing...(as senility strikes!...) when initially cranking to build up and circulate the oil, I always disable the fuel supply to avoid spraying raw fuel into the cylinders, and washing all the oil off the walls. Pull the fuel pump relay, or hit the collision cutoff switch til the button pops up, then you're good to crank.

And before setting the head in place, make sure all the pistons are down somewhat in their cylinders. That will avoid any piston/valve contact. All the timing gears should have a dimple in them for lineup when setting up timing. Sometimes the timing chains are not set up with different-colored links. That's when I have to count links, and get each side from the crank gear to the inboard cam gear the same number of links between the dimples. Don't forget the crank turns twice as much as the cams.

I'm sure I'll have more to say, but I can't remember it right now!!

My fuel pump relay is still out from when I did the compression test (I will be sure to double check though).

The whole timing chain situation will make me nervous as I was not able to get it to TDC when I took it apart. I did mark everything I could with a paint pen and zip tied what I could. I am hoping to be able to get it all back to where it was when I took it apart. The piston closest to the top is still down maybe an inch or so.


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[The Shadow]

I've replaced timing stuff with the crank at about 9 o'clock and the cam gear dimples about 90* from the valve cover surface. If that's where you're at, keep the zipties on and go.

If the cams are 180* out, you'll have to turn the crank one more revolution. I've never done it with zipties on, but I imagine it could be done very slowly, bit by bit. Just move the zipties in accordance with the chains, and keep the chains tight! You don't want to skip a tooth and have to take off the passenger side valve cover (I wouldn't want to!).

You might want to make sure Bank 1 sparkplugs are out for this (they might already be), cause you'll be fighting valve springs at a few points, and you don't want to slip when they want to go backwards.

 

[Fordgirl01]

I've replaced timing stuff with the crank at about 9 o'clock and the cam gear dimples about 90* from the valve cover surface. If that's where you're at, keep the zipties on and go.

If the cams are 180* out, you'll have to turn the crank one more revolution. I've never done it with zipties on, but I imagine it could be done very slowly, bit by bit. Just move the zipties in accordance with the chains, and keep the chains tight! You don't want to skip a tooth and have to take off the passenger side valve cover (I wouldn't want to!).

You might want to make sure Bank 1 sparkplugs are out for this (they might already be), cause you'll be fighting valve springs at a few points, and you don't want to slip when they want to go backwards.

I didn’t want to take the passenger side valve cover off either, but I had to when I took the engine cover off! It was an SOB to wrestle out from that canister that’s wedged in beside it. I’m not looking forward to putting it back on and not ruining the new gasket.

All plugs are out of it as well.


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[The Shadow]

Ahhh...the ol' front cover vs. valve cover war...

You know, you could've cheated by loosening all the VC bolts and lifting the front enough to clear the front cover when you rotated it off...instead of removing the whole darn thing...
One good thing about that method...you'd end up with a decent assortment of brand new inspection mirrors!

But if you had done that, you wouldn't easily see where the timing marks are, so d***ed if you do...you know the rest.

 

[Fordgirl01]

Ahhh...the ol' front cover vs. valve cover war...

You know, you could've cheated by loosening all the VC bolts and lifting the front enough to clear the front cover when you rotated it off...instead of removing the whole darn thing...
One good thing about that method...you'd end up with a decent assortment of brand new inspection mirrors!

But if you had done that, you wouldn't easily see where the timing marks are, so d***ed if you do...you know the rest.

Trust me-I tried to cheat! It wasn’t working so I got PO’d and yanked that thing right out.


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