I'm doing the cam/spring swap. I have the cam already in, and tomorrow I'm doing the springs (Comp 918 and titanium retainers). Any tips I need to know before pulling these off? I have the air fitting to compress each cylinder so the valves won't drop. I also have the Thunder racing valve spring compressor. Any hints would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

buy some extra valve retainer keepers....you will loose a few...

...use a pen magnet when taking the Keepers off the valve.

...buy 16 pen magnets to keep your lifters up during the swap (most do not trust the plastic finger thing in the block that is designed to keep the lifters up while you have the cam out...

 

He already has the cam in so he doesnt need the 16 magnets, but the other tips are good.

Make sure your air hose fitting for the spark plug doesnt have a schraeder valve in it otherwise you'll hook it up and realize there's no air coming out right about the time the valve drops!

Its a pretty easy job if you have the right tools, and it sounds like you do.

 

Cool, thanks! I have the pen magnet for the retainer keepers also, so hopefully I won't lose any, since I don't have any spares. I'll line the area with a couple of white towels also, incase one does get away from me.

Oh, JmX, Great web site you have! Excellent write ups!

 

One thing that helped me was a 2 ft. flexible magnet. After I compressed the retainer I used the magnet to pull the keepers out. Also when you drop them (notice I said when) they like to fall down where the header tube and collector meet.

Good Luck

 

Put a dab of grease on the keepers when you're putting them back in, that way they'll stick to the valve stems when you're releasing the pressure from the spring.
When you say you're using the TR tool, is that the More Performance tool? If so, do all of the back ones first in case the tool strips. Once you get those out of the way, an overhead compressor can finish the job.