98camaro28

iTrader: (21)

So I did my cam swap about a month ago. Within maybe 15 mins of having it running, I was burning a LOT of oil. I put maybe 50 miles on the car and decided to do a compression check. I was at 175-185 on all 8. All the plugs were fouled from burning so much oil. So today I decided to tear it down to check out the valve seals. When I got the first spring out, I realized the culprit... massive scars in the valve stems. Scars that are actually CUT into the stem. The seals were no match. I got to looking at the valve spring compressor that I got off here (Tim's Tool) and it seems that it doesn't line up right. It never did seem to work that well, but it was getting the job done so I never thought to investigate further. Here is a pic:



Is that the way it's supposed to look and install on the retainer? I would assume with 39 pages of good feedback and hundreds of positive reviews that the tool would have been made properly. When I compress the spring, it pivots in a way that scrapes the valve stem. With 150psi in the cylinders holding the valve up, Im assuming it wasn't enough to open the valve, so I never noticed this until now. So now the heads have to come off, which means new seals, bolts, gaskets, etc. In my opinion, either the tool is poorly designed or I got a lemon. I have used probably 10 different spring compressors before and never had a problem with any of them. (My compressor from Thunder Racing was lost in a fire this past winter.) To sum it up, should I be pissed or am I missing something? Any input is appreciated!

TurbopigB4C

iTrader: (5)

The tool looks fine in the pic. I do not see it lined up wrong. Maybe you had a bad valve guide that caused the valve stem to wear like it did.

98camaro28

iTrader: (21)

Its definitely not a valve guide issue. The way the compressor sits it's VERY hard to line up everything and, like I said, doesn't seem to "pivot" right. The damage was caused on every valve the exact same way and it's because of the way the spring is being compressed.

HotWhipT/A

iTrader: (31)

Every thing looks fine to me. Yeah the retainer on the right looks a lil scarred up, but they do nothing but lock the valve in place. Scratching the spring seat is okay as well. The tip of the stem looks fine in the picture. I doubt you scarred the valve seat.

HotWhipT/A

iTrader: (31)

See what I mean.

trey1010

iTrader: (3)

About how much oil are you burning? Jw

98camaro28

iTrader: (21)

The seat is fine. The retainer is fine. The tip of the stem is fine. I don't have any pics of the actual damage, but something is not right. The valve stem itself right where it would be sliding through the valve seal at max lift (about 6/10ths of an inch above the seal when the valve is closed) is what's messed up.

98camaro28

iTrader: (21)

Enough to burn up both o2 sensors and foul every plug in 50 miles and cause knock at WOT. Its a steady blue smoke.

HotWhipT/A

iTrader: (31)

I gotcha now. I miss read that you had taken it all apart again to inspect. I don't know what to say man.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

First, the tool plate is on upside down, and second, I have used a Tims about a dozen times and it has been great. Be careful bashing a tool that you don't even know how to use....You won't be dragging the Tim's tool through the mud unless you have some solid proof.

98camaro28

iTrader: (21)

No **** it's upside down. It clearly says "TOP" written on the TOP side of the tool. Taking that picture was a spur-of-the-moment thing and I simply ran out to my car and slapped the tool of the easiest valve (which is why its installed on the FIRST valve on the head) and snapped a shot with my cell phone with it on hand tight. I'm not retarded as you seem to think. In fact, if you look closely to the pic, you can see the marks on the tool where it had been compressing against the retainer, which would be the RIGHT side. The point of the picture was to simply show the location that the tool was aligning over the valve. Whether its upside down is irrelevant to the purpose of the picture. I'm not dragging his tool through the mud. In fact, I said:

AND


I am actually against the idea of his tool's poor design and am leaning towards it being a lemon, which is why I am ASKING FOR HELP. So feel free to take off your asshat and put forth some input that will actually HELP instead of stating the obvious. Thanks!


Can anybody that has one in their possession install the tool and see if it aligns the way mine does and post a pic? To me it seems that the elongated hole for the stud needs to be another 1/4" higher to allow the part of the tool to fit on the retainer in a better manner. Any ideas?

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

You asked if there was something wrong. I pointed out there was. The tool is hitting the spring retainer fine. If it damaged anything it was user error. I don't know how much clearer I can possibly be about this. And on that note, there is nothing further to discuss here.