cleaning old 574 loctite from case and cam tower

[john schlemmer]

Hi Everyone, any one there have some tricks on how to do this in a timely maner, thay are willing to share? thanks in advance john

[JohnJL]

scotchbrite pads on a dremel or air grinder. then run them through the dishwasher when the wife isnt looking. Be sure to flush out the spray bars after to get any debris out.

[OldTee]

This is an old post. Has anyone found a chemical that cuts 574?

[Tom F2]

Originally Posted by OldTee

This is an old post. Has anyone found a chemical that cuts 574?

Gasket remover, but be careful around magnesium.

[Henry Schmidt]

M.E.K. and a small stainless tooth brush.
Be careful it is highly toxic.

[MrPerkles]

loctite chisel worked best for me

[dtw]

[mike the snake]

Maybe try Hexane.

[OldTee]

Thought I would share with all how I did it over the last few days. I used several methods. First there are two very different tasks. One is the cam towers the other is the heads and the same techniques were not used exactly on them.

First I am on the East Coast and the temperature is a low of mid 20s to highs averaging no more that 35F. It makes a difference.

I started with towers that had just come from a commercial parts cleaning, which basically rid them of excess oil. Did nothing to the 574.

The first thing I did was bring the cam towers inside to warm up to room temp. I put them in a turkey baking pan with isoprol alcohol for over night. My thought was that this would loosen the 574 and it did. The next day, and this is important, I sent the wife on a shopping trip with instructions not to come home for a whole day. The I began scraping with a sharp razor blade and scrubbing with scotch pads, washing in the kitchen sink as I was going with hot water. Slowly I was gaining on it and by the end of the day they were pretty clean. I also used my Dremel with a fiber polishing wheel. Did not use M.E.K in the house.

For the heads, I heated the garage and put lamps over the side I intended to work on. My thought was to warm up the stuff and it would be easier to remove. I shoulda run for President, I would have had more of a chance for success. Here I used Henry M.E.K., a stainless steel brush and scotch pads of various grades, plus a sharp razor blade or two. As I went along I washed with Varsol, air, alcohol and more air. I would let it sit for an hour and hit em again. The heads are not as clean as the towers, but they are pretty clean.

Some observations: This is not a winter job. I had trouble finding good scotch pads. It seems Lowes, Home Depot don't carry them anymore, at least not in the grades I was used to finding. Also the Dremil exhibits in both stores did not carry the little tool with the pads. Something is going on in China.

There were no real short cuts to scrubbing, cleaning, scrubbing ......

I am sure some out there, except the crickets, might have some thoughts......

[Walt Fricke]

Old Tee

Here is a short cut for next time: don't worry about the old orange Loctite. The later (e.g., 993) factory manual says the new coat will soften the old one. I heard that from an engine builder 15 years ago, too. So I knock off the big chunks (where it was squeezed out, and easily to do) physically just in case they might cause some trouble, and call it good.

On assembly of the heads/cam carriers I do save some trouble by applying the sealant only where it is needed - a ring around each valve area and its associated studs.

Wayne's book and other sources show painting all the flat surfaces of the base of the carrier, lengthwise as well as crosswise. But some of them don't even touch the head, and the middle parts can't have any oil getting at or on them, so no sealing is needed. Why put sealant there?

Walt

[OldTee]

Walt,
just wondered if the same advice holds when you are changing to Yamabond 4 (1194/1104)?

[Henry Schmidt]

Any advise that suggests that there is NO benefit to cleaning EVERYTHING as well as possible is just silly.

[Walt Fricke]

Old Tee

I've never used anything but the orange Loctite. I bought a large tube of it several years back, and have plenty left, so I'm not changing.

So I don't know about Yamabond.

Color me and Porsche silly, I guess. I can live with that company.

Walt

[bullethole]

Loctite makes an industrial sealant (574 i think.. the tube is in the shop). Its a two part process. you spray the surface with an aerosol primer (if you do both, it comes apart easily). It comes in a caulk tube so it will last a long time. I got mine from a friend who uses it on 8000 HP turbines used to move natural gas through the pipeline. When i re-did my motor, I used the orange stuff on the case, but used this on the cam towers. I've also used it instead of the gasket on the bottom of the transmission. Neither places are leaking. What is nice, if you prime both surfaces, it just peels off without any fuss. I figure if it can be used to seal turbines then it should be fine for a 911

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by Walt Fricke

Old Tee

I've never used anything but the orange Loctite. I bought a large tube of it several years back, and have plenty left, so I'm not changing.

So I don't know about Yamabond.

Color me and Porsche silly, I guess. I can live with that company.

Walt

Wow, there's an argument, Porsche does it so there can't be a better way.
That's logic is tantamount to Al Gores claim that "the argument is over, Global warming is fact."
Sight an authority and ignore the dissenting expert opinions.

"Porsche does it and I'm not changing" as he stamps his foot in child like defiance.

[OldTee]

I'm sealing the cam towers tomorrow. It is supposed to be cold (late 20s outside)so I brought the towers inside with the sealant. My aim is to prep one side, clean, organize the hardware, then put the sealant on inside, then torque it down. Then will do the same thing for the other side. The work area will be about 40F, but the heads are still cold. Yamabond 4 takes about an hour to set up so I should have time. I hate that it is cold but the Man I talk to about the weather doesn't think He can help just now, so I'll just have to make do.

[lindy 911]

Anybody try a good gasket scraper? I did and 574 is not that big of a deal to get off. I've seen a lot worse. Try Permatex aviation gasket maker; now that's a bee-och! As I go through my rebuild I see things that are certainly not up to "state-of- the-art" with regards to Porsche design. Valve guides come to mind, among others.

Lindy

[OldTee]

I would think a gasket scraper carries some risks of gouging the (relatively) soft aluminum. I use a very sharp razor blade, very carefully and work hard not to scratch the surface of either the head or the tower.

[lindy 911]

I've used a good gasket scraper on aluminum for thirty years. I've also tried razor blades in a scraper holder; it is far easier to gouge the aluminum with a razor blade than with a good gasket scraper. Sharp is good, too sharp is not.

Lindy

[Henry Schmidt]

A little known fact about Porsche is that 4% of all engines built in the factory in 1991 failed the dyno test due to oil leaks.
This is with band new parts using Porsche's "finest" assembly techniques.