Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hey guys,

latest development in the 3VZE saga

Got the heads completely reconditioned by a place in QLD.
All completely cleaned with cams and valves rebuilt.

When we took the heads off we noticed alot of corrosion deposits
on the inside of the water jackets in the block, and also at the base of
the valley.
Today we have cleaned 99% (as much as is humanly poss) of this poo out of the water jackets, and we ran about 1000 litres of cold and HOT water through the jackets whilst dislodging the remainder of the poo with
screwys and coat-hanger wire.

So now that that is pretty much good to go, we are thinking about putting
the block and head back together.

We have done most other repairs, but never a head gasket...
What is the best technique for preparation of the head gasket surfaces
(both block and head) as well as what to do with the gasket itself.
We have all gaskets and parts required, just need to know the best way
to get it together.

Any replies are MOST appreciated as we need to get the car going by
Nissan trials.

Cheers,
Bart

Firstly, good luck guys.

Ok, Make sure the bolt holes for the head bolts are clean as a whistle and dry. Tip a little petrol or something down each hole and blow it out with compressed air. Alternitively if you dont have compressed air then get a bolt the same thread with at least enough thread to bottom the bolt out in the hole. Make two cuts (opposite sides to each other) in the thread of this bolt from the end all the way to the other end of the thread. The should be ono an angle like a shallow helix if that makes sense. The idea is when you screw it in the hole any crap is pushed up out the grooves you made.
Use a scraper to remove remnants of the old gaskets off the block and then some emmory paper to fininsh it nicely. DONOT use any sort of power tool for this job as you run the risk of dishing the block betweeen cylinders. Wrap your emmory paper around a smallish piece of RHS or something hard. NOT wood.
be sure all surfaces are clean and dry. Make sure head gaskets are on the right way and the right side. Donot use anything on the head gaskets to help them seal other than hylomar. it is not nec' to use anything but if you want to then this is the only product to use.
Make sure the head locating dowels are intact and inplace.
Carefully place head on top of gasket. Try to move the haed as little as possible when placing it on.
Lightly oil the bolts. both the thread under under the head. Engine oil or CRC will be fine for this. You want to lube them not drown them. If you use too much the bolts will "hydraulic" in the holes and feel tight when they're actually not.
Use a tension wrench and adhere to the torque specs. If they are torque to yeild bolts then replace them.

Good luck