Cleaning Gasket Surfaces

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2007 Suzuki XL7. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

Use care to avoid gouging or scraping the sealing surfaces.
Use a plastic or wood scraper in order to remove all the sealant from the components.
Do not use any other method or technique to remove the sealant or the gasket material from a part.
Do not use abrasive pads, sand paper, or power tools to clean the gasket surfaces.
- These methods of cleaning can cause damage to the component sealing surfaces.
- Abrasive pads also produce a fine grit that the oil filter cannot remove from the engine oil.
  This fine grit is an abrasive and can cause internal engine damage.