What is the Best way to prep the 6.0 DECK?

bluedevilslax · Feb 6, 2014

I recommend the roloc 07524, a large brass paint scrapper, and motorcraft metal prep that you can get at any ford dealership. Apply metal prep, let sit for 10 minutes, scrub of with rags, apply again in same steps, after second time, use brass scrapper to remove anything large still on the block, finally the roloc very lightly to remove any discoloration. That is exactly how we have to do it at the Dealership that I work for.

91turbogsx · Feb 6, 2014

:whs: That is what I do.

I have used the roloc with great success. Just use some common sense and you should be fine using it. They work great.

Snake · Feb 6, 2014

mcdaniel1991 said:
Sweet ill buy that. do you just use the fine side and run slide it up and down the block or circular?

Step 1 - Ford liquid metal cleaner x 2 applications (remove with shop towels)
Step 2 - brass scraper
Step 3 - Roloc 07524
Step 4 - liberally apply honing oil to the coarse side of the stone and lay the coarse side across the deck surface (standing on top of your tire and looking down at the engine, the stone should be oriented up and down. Not laying lengthwise across multiple cylinders). Using only the weight of the stone, run the stone from the front cylinder to the rear and back. Repeat. The long edge of the stone should be the leading edge as you're working, and you may have to angle the stone to get a full range of motion.

And don't go crazy with it. LOL

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HOOV3R · Feb 6, 2014

I don't use the roloc listed, I used the blue aluminum 3M rolocs. They are softer and will not damage the block.

mcdaniel1991 · Feb 6, 2014

How many of the 07524 green roloc do I need to get?

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Snake · Feb 6, 2014

Should only need one. But I'd buy a second as a back up. Just in case.

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mcdaniel1991 · Feb 6, 2014

Sweet. Will a drill work to do this or do i need to use a grinder?

Wayne · Feb 6, 2014

After reading this thread, I'm more nervous about letting other mechanics work on my truck. LOL There are good techniques mentioned here though. Ford liquid metal cleaner, & a straight edge to verify when done are important.

^^^The fat one of these (Item: PKNC300), brake clean, and red scotch brite to fine tune things is what I've used with great success; checking things with a straight edge when I'm done. Despite the claims of the roloc being safe, I will never use a power tool to clean a head surface. The MLS gaskets used in our 6.0's and newer require pretty tight tolerances when you add power, and any waves put in the surface compromise the gasket's ability to seal. When I'm done cleaning, I rotate the engine over, wiping out the cylinder bores & tops of pistons to verify no debris is hiding below the piston deck next to the rings. I make sure the heads are properly resurfaced to 0 warp as well. When you have finished cleaning a factory machined block, you should still be able to see the low spots in the machining. If you have cleaned it to the point where the marks left by the cutter head are gone, then I would be very apprehensive about the likelihood of that gasket job lasting.

mcdaniel1991 · Feb 6, 2014

I love the feedback but damn i cant decide...

Csilva187 · Feb 6, 2014

Wayne said:
After reading this thread, I'm more nervous about letting other mechanics work on my truck. LOL There are good techniques mentioned here though. Ford liquid metal cleaner, & a straight edge to verify when done are important.

^^^The fat one of these (Item: PKNC300), brake clean, and red scotch brite to fine tune things is what I've used with great success; checking things with a straight edge when I'm done. Despite the claims of the roloc being safe, I will never use a power tool to clean a head surface. The MLS gaskets used in our 6.0's and newer require pretty tight tolerances when you add power, and any waves put in the surface compromise the gasket's ability to seal. When I'm done cleaning, I rotate the engine over, wiping out the cylinder bores & tops of pistons to verify no debris is hiding below the piston deck next to the rings. I make sure the heads are properly resurfaced to 0 warp as well. When you have finished cleaning a factory machined block, you should still be able to see the low spots in the machining. If you have cleaned it to the point where the marks left by the cutter head are gone, then I would be very apprehensive about the likelihood of that gasket job lasting.

Wayne knows! Thank you again Wayne for the help in Montana.

Dzchey21 · Feb 6, 2014

Not that its 6.0 stuff

But how we do it at work is razor blades, and then a flat scotchbright pad with the really course black pads, and do it by hand with mineral spirits. Cleans and lubricates well

I'm personally with wayne on this one that you really shouldnt do it with power tools at all, i just dont feel comfortable with it. The thing you have to think about is the head gaskets most important surface is the 1/4 inch surounding the cylinder itself, It is very easy to cut this down enough to where you will get a blow gasket between cylinders.

On the cat engines we do, its easy to tell most of the time, if you get done cleaning and cannot see the factory machining marks on the top of the block then its not going to hold, now granted this is with a wet liner, but its still gotta seal.

The other thing is its really hard to measure that close to the cylinder wall to make sure your within the spec specified by ford, and this is the most critical part.

I have also on 6.4s used a good old block for sanding cars, with 320 grit paper to ensure flatness, its more of a check than antyhing i dont really clean it with that, you run the sand paper up and down and check your sanding marks to make sure its contacting all the way around the cylinders and the block deck.

Little long winded but i hope it helps, doing a 6.0 stud job here soon and this is how im going to do it.

Mdub707 · Feb 7, 2014

What's hilarious about this is when I pulled my heads to do gaskets myself, I had found that the Ford tech's who had previously been in there definitely had a roloc of some sort on the block...

91turbogsx · Feb 8, 2014

Have any of you guys who disagree with using power tools on the block surface ever used a green roloc 07524 on any metal surface? They were designed to not remove metal, only things on the surface of it. They work well. Try them sometime. Scotchbrite pads are more abrasive than those wheels.

And as always...common sense goes a long way. Obviously if you're sitting in one spot for 2 minutes straight will probably remove material or using excessive pressure.

Cutting-Edge Diesel · Feb 8, 2014

I do it all by hand. Just my personal preference. I spend a lot of time on block prep. Razor blade and scotch brite to finish up. I can tell when it's clean. I run my finders over it as I go. You don't have get rid of the stains on the block. Just remove the extra material.

Wayne · Feb 8, 2014

I used the green roloc on my first 6.0 stud job back in '06 ( my own engine in Murphy, when it was a '71 bodied single cab), and even being careful, it took off more than I'm comfortable with. Never again. It's not that much work to do it by hand, and I'm 100% confident in the end results. On something that involved and expensive I like to leave nothing to chance. BTW, the red scotch brite is on a hand pad, not a wheel.it's the same pad auto body guys use to scuff a surface for primer prep, and in many cases, paint prep. Think 500 grit sand paper range. The green roloc will rip a painted surface to bare metal almost instantly by comparison.

mcdaniel1991 · Feb 8, 2014

Can someone post a link to the scotch bright i should order.

91turbogsx · Feb 8, 2014

I may try to test the green rolocs on a steel block I have to see how much if any material is removed. I'm curious myself.

Gary · Feb 8, 2014

Over the years I've seen threads about somebody that has done their head gaskets and they failed in a short time. I have wondered if it was because they didn't have the correct finish on the deck, (20-30 RA from what I understand).
When you have the heads done they have a fresh finish on them, but the deck probably never gets the same finish, just cleaned up with roloc's.
So I have just pulled a set of heads because the head gaskets failed, I can see on the heads and deck that somebody has been there already, you can see the marks from a roloc or disk grinder of some type. Now I'm thinking that the deck and heads need to have the correct 20-30 RA finish so this doesn't happen a third time. The truck is a stock F350 dump truck. So I call my buddy that does my machine work, and he says you absolutely have to have the correct finish on the heads and deck for the head gaskets to seal correctly. Well we know what that means, the short block has come apart.
So have any of you guys had the block decked before? IDK, anybody have any thoughts about this???

wiseguy · Feb 8, 2014

320 grit on 24" long board & foamy engine brite wipe clean. Rinse with water blow dry. yes this process sucks takes minimum of 1 hour but, 320 will provide Ra<20, long board ensures deck surface is flat or at least you don't make it worse, foaming engine degreaser helps clean oil an grease also cheap 3 bucks a can. When done you will see factory machining marks. It is NOT necessary to remove any staining on surface just make sure it is clean. Removing staining will remove material!
Engines that had roloc wheels used can easily be identified by all the groves left in the deck surface. Any imperfections over .001 can/will leak