so i bought a crane 10308 spring kit, that comes with the 99893 springs, retainers, shims, locks.

So the stock seats wont fit into the inner spring, so should I just use the shims as seats?? Will the spring walk around now, with no proper seat to hold the center of the spring?

Also I lost a valve lock (it didn't go into the motor) so I just used a pair of my stock locks on one spring. I compared them and they looked pretty much the same, the groove was in the same spot only difference was they were slightly longer, but that should not matter....I will be fine here right??

 

For years we used shims as spring seats but the shims tend to get pretty well eaten up by the spring action, especially if there's a damper inside the outer spring. All that junk from the shim has to go somewhere and it can become a problem. Look around for hardened aftermarket spring locators that will fit over your guide and inside the inner spring dimension. Crane lists these locators in several dimensions. Using these locators results in a much cleaner assembly.

If the spring has an "outer spring plus damper" configuration, it is a good idea to push the damper out of the spring and use a Dremel or other similar tool to round off the sharp tips that tend to dig into whatever metal that they contact. That tip is responsible for tearing up the shims. It doesn't have much impact on the retainer or the locator but it's a good idea anyway.

As long as the locks are of the same configuration as the originals (10 degree or seven degree) and they result in the same installed height for the spring, they'll probably be OK. Some locks are designed for +.050 or -.050 installed height. Be sure to keep the locks in matched pairs, i.e., use either both the Crane or the OEM locks as a pair instead of mixing them.

 

IMHO, always run a spring locator on AL heads. If the 10308 kit did not come with retainers, get them.

stock keepers are 7 degree same as the kit. Use 2 stock ones, don't mix as mentioned.

 

+1 How many of you guys are running the 10308 kit successfully with the shims it comes with as seats...?

 

curious about this myself. swapping with these springs in a month or so

 

thanks for the info! yeah I used the stock locks in a pair.

I think im gonna pull the springs for a piece of mind. I used the moroso tool, seemed to work good. But without locator's on the seats it was pretty hard to get the spring lined up on the valve to install the locks...

 

be sure to check your rocker to retainer clearence. when i installed my 10308-1's with my gmpp rollers they made contact. had to go to a .050 retainer with a 10 degree lock to fix the issue.

 

ok i'll look into that, I'm running crane rockers. so how close can they be to the retainer?

 

I have about 7k on mine with no problems so far. This is the first I've heard of needing a spring locator.

 

the gmpp rockers are made by crane, so check carefully. look at the rocker tip and make sure it doesn't touch the retainer. also check the edge of the retainer closest to the rocker. mine touched in both areas.

 

You sure they shipped you the right springs? I thought these Crane springs were supposed to be for the LT1, at least according to the paper I just pulled out of the box..... I'll be pissed if they don't install properly after all the recommendations I got for them. Hopefully there won't be any clearance issues with my 1.6 promags either.

 

The locator keeps the spring from rubbing against the valve stem guide casing. Spring metal is harder than AL. The "shim" only keeps the spring from grinding into the AL valve spring seat.

My $.02 is to use a spring locator on AL heads. Get a spring height tool ($20) and a adjustable PR tool ($12) and confirm your springs are set at correct height (1.750") for the 10308's. Adding the locator most likely means you won't need shims as well or certainly fewer of them since the thickness of the base of the locator makes up for that.

The PR length tool will help "IF" you need to adjust PR length for correct geometry and/or valve spring retainer clearance. stock PR's are 7.200".

You don't "NEED" to use a locator but it is something I do. At high RPM's the spring can "walk" around and rub against the valve stem casing. A "locator" does what it's name is, keep the spring centered and in place. Check with Crane or Comp for a locator size specific to you spring choice and size. At the very least make sure to use a hardened shim between the spring and AL head.