DIY Valve Spring Removal

[boostdelinquent]

I'm in the process of porting a head and had to remove the valve springs to do so. While I was at it I decided I might as well take some pics and do a DIY for anyone else who may have to remove/change their valve springs for a build or more agressive camshaft. N/E how, here it is.


Materials Needed

valve spring compressor
phillips head screwdriver w/ magnetic tip

Note: If removing the valve springs while the head is still on the engine, be sure to either put compressed air into the cylinder or rotate the crank so that the piston is @ TDC to hold the valves in place.



Step 1: The first thing you want to do is position the valve spring compressor towards the bottom of the valve spring. If you look at the spring compressor you will notice that one side is longer than the other.



You want to position the long end towards the outside of the head and have the short side facing towards the middle of the head like so:



After you have properly positioned the spring compressor, begin to tighten the compressor until the spring begins to compress:



After the spring has compressed, what I also do is push down on it so that you get the spring as far down as possible exposing the valve keepers:



Once the valve keepers are exposed, take the magnetic tipped screwdriver and pick out the valve keepers:





After you have removed the valve keepers on both sides, unscrew the spring compressor to decompress the spring. You can now remove the valve spring and retainer:



There you have it. Removing valve springs really isn't hard at all although it seems like my palm likes to cramp up after a few so I normally take a break after the first 8 to have a smoke and do a write-up like such as the one before you.

[AbsurdNY]

Good write up. You should also add that if anyone is changing the valve springs without taking the head off the block that they need to put compressed air in the cylinder to keep the valve from falling in.

[Shag Wagon]

Nice I will be referring to this soon!!

[Luna92]

you really into the NA thing arnt you man?

[boostdelinquent]

More or less. Early in my days as a tuner I discovered that even the most daunting task aren't that difficult to do once you start getting grease under your nails. At that point, you either figure it out or pay someone else to advertise their work. With that being said post like this are a reference to my fellow tuners who like getting grease under their nails, more than they like writing checks.

[GenDBlade]

awesome. im going to rebuild my head so im going to need this.

[Luna92]

More or less. Early in my days as a tuner I discovered that even the most daunting task aren't that difficult to do once you start getting grease under your nails. At that point, you either figure it out or pay someone else to advertise their work. With that being said post like this are a reference to my fellow tuners who like getting grease under their nails, more than they like writing checks.

yea thats the truth. and im all for that just really need to get myself out of debet to starting buying tools again.

[scudweiser]

hmm, is it possible to replace valve seals with the head on the block?

[Granite CB7]

^Yes it is possible to do, only diff. is you need to pressurize the cyl. to hold each valve up in position. This can be done w/ an air compressor or you can also feed some string or rope into the cyl. (when near BDC, then raise to TDC to compress) to fill the chamber. I will be doing my valve seals when I install my camshaft on my F22A6, head stays right where it is!

[boostdelinquent]

yea thats the truth. and im all for that just really need to get myself out of debet to starting buying tools again.

Harbor freight FTW. Granted the tools aren't name brand, they still come w/ lifetime replacement and do the job just fine for me. If I were to open up a tuning shop where I was using the tools all day every day, I would then drop the coin on some nice tools.

[phantomcow2]

Outstanding, thanks! Pictures are worth a lot.

[benjerman112]

when i took my head to the shop the used what looked like a spark plug socket and a hammer. no shit dude had all of them out in a couple min!

[boostdelinquent]

when i took my head to the shop the used what looked like a spark plug socket and a hammer. no shit dude had all of them out in a couple min!

That way does work pretty well until you go to try and find the keepers.

[jdm_inspired]

Good write up. I will save this for when I do my camshafts.

[Luna92]

Harbor freight FTW. Granted the tools aren't name brand, they still come w/ lifetime replacement and do the job just fine for me. If I were to open up a tuning shop where I was using the tools all day every day, I would then drop the coin on some nice tools.

oh no doubt i know what you mean. i wish i had my old bosses tool box! that thing had very thing to take a car a part and put it back together! so you thinking about starting a shop?