Demolished a valvespring :(

It's been 30K miles since I put the Crane duals in and I was planning on changing these out in 3 weeks (how ironic; I even had the new Crane duals sittin' on the kitchen counter for a month and a half now
).I was juuuuust backin' into the garage when I heard it go . . . I was Reversing in neutral goin' about 2 mph at idle when it happened. I panicked and shut Her off. I had another 8 feet to go to get Her in the garage so I cranked it back up.
Obviously idle was NOWHERE to be found and I rushed it into the garage as quick as possible before I shut it down finally.
Pulled off the valvecovers at the shop and saw #1 was broken . . . in THREE PLACES
. Also, the inner safety spring was split in half
As I said at the beginning . . . drag-racer God was lookin' out for my engine and saved the Valve from dropping
Question: I was at idle and split both the outer and inner springs . . . is this normal

I dodged a biiiiiig bullet here
Oh well . . . at least it's turd easy to swap in new plugs and wires
The actual failure of the spring probably occurred during the time that you last ran the engine and the time that you started it up again. It's the heating/cooling cycles that really stress the metal. Like has been said already...you were very fortunate that this time it decided to let go when you were just starting...buy lotttery tickets!
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The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
That would explain why he noticed a different tone for the past few weeks: Inner one broke first... imo
Been awhile bro! We are both a couple of lucky sumbitches.... I did a # on one of my Crane Duals last month....

I had 20K on them, center spring was intact, kept the valve up as well.
Are you with everyone that says a dual spring is best?
That way if one brakes..the inner will keep you from dropping a valve. 
Hence my query; too bad you didn't have anything technical to reply
That would explain why he noticed a different tone for the past few weeks: Inner one broke first... imo
In hindsight, this is probably exactly what happened. Been awhile bro! We are both a couple of lucky sumbitches.... I did a # on one of my Crane Duals last month....
I had 20K on them, center spring was intact, kept the valve up as well.

That's pretty much the way my outer spring looked . . . just the inner was snapped in half
After thinking about what AdamSS replied I'm certain this is what happened to me . . . and what you might be facing
You should seriously pull those covers and/or replace the springs right away. Much cheaper than the alternative
I've been down that broken spring/trashed motor a few times. Not much phases me anymore
I just had the covers off two weeks ago and the springs weren't damaged. But about the only fluid I don't burn is wiper fluid
I got 35K out of my last 918's before selling them with many caveats about their use. Of course that was a 218/226 cam, and this is a 228/228 but I don't know the ramp rates as the block was used.
It's probably simplest to just get the AFR 205's milled and pre-assembled
Years ago I had an appointment to have my valvesprings replaced the following morning after a spring broke and caused major damage. The springs had been waiting for me for a few weeks. While it's a pain to replace the springs, the jury is out on how far to push them.
Years ago I had an appointment to have my valvesprings replaced the following morning after a spring broke and caused major damage. The springs had been waiting for me for a few weeks. While it's a pain to replace the springs, the jury is out on how far to push them.





