Originally posted by Jeff_99gs
Make sure you take a razor blade and scrape off every single bit of the stock head gasket from the block and head or you will not get a proper seal. Since you are getting the head decked, you only need to worry about the block surface, but make sure it all comes off. For a newbie, you might want to plan on it taking longer than an hour to remove. You have to remove a ton of stuff from the engine, especially if it is the first time the head has ever been off. Good luck. Follow Vfaq and you will be fine. Oh and make sure the torque wrench is ready!