Dragaholic

iTrader: (180)

I used a crappy valve spring compressor from Autozone I believe to do my last cam swap and it was a pain in the butt! Im sure there is others out there, but what is the best valve spring compressor to use with the heads being in the car? Also, I used pin magnets from Autozone as well, but it was nerve wrecking because its kinda trickly telling if you got it or not. I think one of the lifters kept catching and finally I got it. The magnet thing was just too risky, I mean...its either gonna hold or its not. I would hate to drop one and have to pull the heads, so is there any way around that or is there any tools out there that hold the lifters up while you pull the cam out? Thanks.

AZ Power & Sound

iTrader: (2)

I use a Snap On compressor and it works great! I think its about 60 bucks on their website... far as the lifters the pen magnet thing works great for me... keep in mind the windage trays WILL hold the lifters fine, the magnets are just insurance against them! Ive also picked up 1 lb ratchets with a pen magnet before... they are VERY strong

HumpinSS

iTrader: (1)

Pen magnets or lifter holding tool or 5/16" rod from home depot as far as thebest VS compressor I am gonna have to go with this



4 springs,seats,seals,retainers in approx 15 minutes using the TDC method. The tool is from Vinci and was 106 shipped to my door

Dragaholic

iTrader: (180)

Lifter holding tool, 5/16" rod from Home Depot??? Can you explain how the tool in the pic works? Thanks.

HumpinSS

iTrader: (1)

The tool bolts to the rocker arm bolt holes the plate on the top of the tool compresses the spring. When the piston is at TDC the compressor compresses the spring and the valve untilit contacts the pistons and pops out the retainer locks

Black Z

I used the More tool and it worked great. The back 2 cylinders on the passenger side were a little tricky. I also used 5/16 wooden dowel rods from just about anywhere and sawed them off so they were a little longer than the cam and slid them in the 2 holes after I spun the cam several times and that worked great.

P Mack

iTrader: (6)

I used the larry tool with an air ratchet and all the springs were easy, even the last 2 on the passenger side. 3/16 metal rod with some self adhesive velcro wrapped around it works great for a lifter holding tool.

Mike K.

go to the tool section of this site and get a larry spring compressor. its like 8 bucks from what I remember and outperformed my snap on compressor 10 fold. The new crane one also looks good but is gonna be more expensive than the larry tool.

SMOKIN01TA

iTrader: (10)

i love the more performance tool that thunder sells. i borrowed one and it works great. the easiest way to hold up the valves is with a air attachment in the spark plug hole.

SSean

The more performance tool was a good idea, but seemed a little difficult to use. If you use and extention, it wasnt to twist, making it difficult to line up the spring/valve. On my most recent cam swap, I used the Larry tool and the Crane tool pictured above and both worked great! Springs are no longer one of the hardest parts of a cam swap

Inspector12

iTrader: (29)

Yeah I just used the Crane dual spring compressor and it worked great. I have also used the Napa tool and it works good just a little more time consuming.

Dragaholic

iTrader: (180)

I dont mind paying if its going to be worth it. As I said before, I used the tool from autozone and it was junk. When I do my next swap, I dont plan to rush it at all, I might drag it into 2 days. I just want a good tool despite the cost. So where about do you put these rods and whatnot to hold up the lifters and if you go that route, are the pen magnets necessary? Thanks.

P Mack

iTrader: (6)

The pen magnets are not necessary if you use the rods. The holes you use are underneath the cam retainer plate. Look at ls1howto.com under cam & valvespring swap for a picture.

pdd

iTrader: (3)

i went to there site to check out the vinci tool it was 120bucks. did u get it on sale??