So I took my plenum off because my gasket was blown. My hughes kit will be here Thursday. In the mean time what do I use to clean off the old gasket material? Brass wire brush? Also what do I need to do to clean the oil off the plenum inside and out?

 

Use a razor blade and scrap off the old gasket material. Take the plenum to a shop that rebuilds heads or maybe a radiator shop and ask if they'll steam it. Chances are, they'll do it for a couple of bucks and it'll come out looking great.

 

No one in my town will do that. I can pressure wash it? Also can I use a brass wire brush to clean up the gasket surface? Dude your in Norman? I'm in Grove. 4 Hours away lol.

 

Yes, you can pressure wash it. Soaking it with a good degreaser first will help. And yes, a brass brush will be fine with cleaning the gasket surface.

 

Okay will do. Also to the right of the thermostat housing there is a sensor. What is that sensor called? It broke when removing the plug. It's to the right of the thermostat housing looking at the front of the engine.

 

degreaser and a pressure washer works... I started mine out like that.. I wasn't happy with the results, so I made a nice paste with laundry detergent and water and smeared it all over it with heavy concentration on the nasty spots- and put that biyatch in the dish washer when nobody was watching (the keg, not the biyatch)... it came out looking anew... well, almost anew...

I also got some alcohol for the gasket cleaning... don't waste the good stuff (Beam, Daniels, or even SkyBlue) use the stuff that comes in a can from the paint department of your local hardware store... the gasket surface on the heads, the intake, and the cross-block were perfect when I put it all back together... they didn't stay that way long, but that is another story..

anyway, it's hard to hurt that thing... hit it with whatever you would any metal material you want clean but wouldn't want to destroy... you may find razor blades near the ports beneficial too- but be somewhat careful not to gouge..

good luck!

 

Should I remove the fuel inj. before I spray the plenum with degreaser?

 

dude, if you're going to clean that thing proper the fuel rail along with the injectors and everything else need to be stripped off.. the only thing on mine when I did it was the alternator brace arm, which served as a nice handle at times...

make sure you don't leave one of the fuel injector o-rings in it when you pull them all..

personally, there is no way I would allow anything even mildly corrosive to come near my injectors... I'd pull those rascals and put em' in a baggie... I just left my fuel rail in the engine compartment w/ injectors still attached... you really don't want to dry out the rings, and you don't want them lost... it makes all kinds of sense to polish the bosses while you have that thing apart anyway..

 

While you're at it, replace the injector O-rings. It's cheap insurance against an engine fire due to torn rings. Take care to install the new ones after having lubricated them with a bit of clean oil.

 

Yeah I figured I would do that. Also, what can I use to get the rest of the oil and dirt off the plenum? And can I use a wire wheel (not brass) to remove the old pieces of gasket that is left on the plenum anywhere?