Tim's Valve Spring Tool Now Available
Decadence,
I am pretty sure I know what happened. Before the use of the valve spring tool, you must use a deep well socket and hammer and smack the top of the retainers to loosen the keepers. If you do not do this before starting, the tool has to work 2 to 3 times harder to start compressing the spring. I see this time and time again with others who have not done this before using the tool. As crazy as it sounds, the tool did do its job as we use a special alloy steel that if the tool starts to get over loaded by the compressing force, it will start to bend. Think of it as an insurance policy because if the tool did not bend and you continued to compress the tool the next thing that will happen is the threads in the head could get damaged and then you are really screwed.
What I tell people to do when this happens, take the tool and straighten it back flat, and then take a deep well socket and hammer and go and hit the top of the retainers with a good solid blow, not a light tap. Once this is done make sure to oil or grease the stud threads and use the tool again and the tool will work fine. Our tool has been tested on every spring combo out there and worked great on all of them.
Hope this helps and if there are any other questions just send me a PM and we can go from there.
Thanks,
Tim
I am pretty sure I know what happened. Before the use of the valve spring tool, you must use a deep well socket and hammer and smack the top of the retainers to loosen the keepers. If you do not do this before starting, the tool has to work 2 to 3 times harder to start compressing the spring. I see this time and time again with others who have not done this before using the tool. As crazy as it sounds, the tool did do its job as we use a special alloy steel that if the tool starts to get over loaded by the compressing force, it will start to bend. Think of it as an insurance policy because if the tool did not bend and you continued to compress the tool the next thing that will happen is the threads in the head could get damaged and then you are really screwed.
What I tell people to do when this happens, take the tool and straighten it back flat, and then take a deep well socket and hammer and go and hit the top of the retainers with a good solid blow, not a light tap. Once this is done make sure to oil or grease the stud threads and use the tool again and the tool will work fine. Our tool has been tested on every spring combo out there and worked great on all of them.
Hope this helps and if there are any other questions just send me a PM and we can go from there.
Thanks,
Tim
The arbor press couldn't bend it so I took a hammer to it and got it as flat as I could and was able to get that second spring on no problem this time. Now on to the other 14, weeee. Thanks for the help Tim.
Im having problems getting the locks in because the tool pushes the spring in a little at an angle. Any tips? This is the first spring Ive ever done in my life, on or off an engine. I tried it with the end of the tool on the edge of the head, and I tried it as the instructions talk about using a 3/4 inch socket to flatten it out. Took me 3 hours to do 2 springs. I must be doing something wrong.
Last edited by bufmatmuslepants; Aug 26, 2012 at 08:01 PM.
Bufmatmuslepants,
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner as I was with my wife and kids on vacation the past 9 days and just got home.
As for the issue you are having I am not quite sure what is going on. There may be a need to adjust the spring/retainer some depending on the spring/retainer combo you are using as you are compressing the spring to align the valve stem into the retainer hole. Once the spring/retainer is compressed there is usually no problem putting in the retainers. We have found that the easiest way is to install a keeper is at either the bottom or top (12 O'clock, and 6 O'clock positions) first and then push or pull the spring up or down alittle and then install the second retainer.
Below is a youtube video that a customer made a couple years ago of him using our valve spring tool to show the simple process of the tool in action. Again this is NOT my video, but one that a customer made. You can see there was a little issue installing the keepers but when he went to the top (12 O'clock position) it went right in.
Not sure if this helps but I cannot really think of anything else right now
Tim
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner as I was with my wife and kids on vacation the past 9 days and just got home.
As for the issue you are having I am not quite sure what is going on. There may be a need to adjust the spring/retainer some depending on the spring/retainer combo you are using as you are compressing the spring to align the valve stem into the retainer hole. Once the spring/retainer is compressed there is usually no problem putting in the retainers. We have found that the easiest way is to install a keeper is at either the bottom or top (12 O'clock, and 6 O'clock positions) first and then push or pull the spring up or down alittle and then install the second retainer.
Below is a youtube video that a customer made a couple years ago of him using our valve spring tool to show the simple process of the tool in action. Again this is NOT my video, but one that a customer made. You can see there was a little issue installing the keepers but when he went to the top (12 O'clock position) it went right in.
Not sure if this helps but I cannot really think of anything else right now
Tim
Staging Lane
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 95
Likes: 0
From: MD
Well, I'm not having a good day. The tool got bent after the first 2 cylinders, and I hammered it out. No big deal, so I'm not sure why people were complaining. The washers got bored out by the 5th cylinder. I got some grade 1/4 washers in grade 8 from Home Depot, and was back in business.
Then I noticed that the bolt was bent. I searched every hardware store last night, and even Napa. No one has a bolt like that. Hell, I told them to give me one with a head, and I'll grind it off. No one has anything that long. Its an M8 1.25 bolt. Where can I get one asap?
I'm not sure why the bolt got bent. I used a deep socket. I threaded the bolt in by hand all the way. I'm mostly working with one hand, since a finger on my right hand is in a cast.
Oh yeah, the bolt finally broke this morning inside in the head. While I do not know why the tool bent, I imagine that its bending caused the bolt to bend and eventually break. I take responsibility for it breaking in the head because I saw that it was bent, but kept using it. Fortunately, it broke in the #4cyl, and it shouldn't be difficult to take out. I'm just glad it wasn't in the rear cylinders. I only have 3 springs left to do. Damn!
Then I noticed that the bolt was bent. I searched every hardware store last night, and even Napa. No one has a bolt like that. Hell, I told them to give me one with a head, and I'll grind it off. No one has anything that long. Its an M8 1.25 bolt. Where can I get one asap?
I'm not sure why the bolt got bent. I used a deep socket. I threaded the bolt in by hand all the way. I'm mostly working with one hand, since a finger on my right hand is in a cast.
Oh yeah, the bolt finally broke this morning inside in the head. While I do not know why the tool bent, I imagine that its bending caused the bolt to bend and eventually break. I take responsibility for it breaking in the head because I saw that it was bent, but kept using it. Fortunately, it broke in the #4cyl, and it shouldn't be difficult to take out. I'm just glad it wasn't in the rear cylinders. I only have 3 springs left to do. Damn!
Staging Lane
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 95
Likes: 0
From: MD
Update: I was able to get the broken bolt out of the head with a set of pliers, after trying to drill the bolt to tap it out. Drilling went nowhere. This was possible with pliers for 2 reasons: 1). I greased the hell out of the bolt before threading it
2). I threaded it by hand till it stopped, and turned it counterclockwise a fraction of a degree, if that's possible.
Now onto why all this happened. While working on the last 3 springs last night, I started out with a flattened tool. By the time I had taken out the spring, the tool was between 120 and 135 degrees. I then decided to grab the valve by hand. What do you know? I pulled it up about half an inch. I then held the valve and turned the crank counterclockwise until the valve came up to its maximum height. Since I was using the TDC method, this means that I was always off by a few degrees after the first pair of cylinders. Unbelievable!
So there you have it, I was compressing the tool too far. After correcting the problem, changing the last 3 springs was a breeze. The tool now bends to maybe 175degrees, from an initial 180.
As for the broken bolt, I searched about 13 stores and spent 3hrs with no luck. Every store referred me to one more until I just said f' it. Autozone, lowes, advance auto, homedepot, ace, a motorcycle shop, carquest, fastenal, and a bunch of other stores. Fastenal had a fully threaded M8 1.25, but it was a 3ft rod. I purchased it and cut a 3" piece from it. The bad news is that the rod was a grade 4.5, and so I knew it would bend. It became pretty clear when I compressed the first spring. After taking it out to inspect, the bolt was pretty badly bent. I cut out 4 more pieces and used a fresh one on each new spring and discarded it after.
So there you have it. Avoid my headache and do it right the first time. Remember,
1). grease the hell out if the bolt before threading it into the head.
2). Only thread it by hand, per the instructions.
3). If you begin to notice the tool flex more than 5-10 degrees, stop compressing, and check to make sure that cyl is at TDC.
4). Or just use an air compressor to ensure its at TDC.
2). I threaded it by hand till it stopped, and turned it counterclockwise a fraction of a degree, if that's possible.
Now onto why all this happened. While working on the last 3 springs last night, I started out with a flattened tool. By the time I had taken out the spring, the tool was between 120 and 135 degrees. I then decided to grab the valve by hand. What do you know? I pulled it up about half an inch. I then held the valve and turned the crank counterclockwise until the valve came up to its maximum height. Since I was using the TDC method, this means that I was always off by a few degrees after the first pair of cylinders. Unbelievable!
So there you have it, I was compressing the tool too far. After correcting the problem, changing the last 3 springs was a breeze. The tool now bends to maybe 175degrees, from an initial 180.
As for the broken bolt, I searched about 13 stores and spent 3hrs with no luck. Every store referred me to one more until I just said f' it. Autozone, lowes, advance auto, homedepot, ace, a motorcycle shop, carquest, fastenal, and a bunch of other stores. Fastenal had a fully threaded M8 1.25, but it was a 3ft rod. I purchased it and cut a 3" piece from it. The bad news is that the rod was a grade 4.5, and so I knew it would bend. It became pretty clear when I compressed the first spring. After taking it out to inspect, the bolt was pretty badly bent. I cut out 4 more pieces and used a fresh one on each new spring and discarded it after.
So there you have it. Avoid my headache and do it right the first time. Remember,
1). grease the hell out if the bolt before threading it into the head.
2). Only thread it by hand, per the instructions.
3). If you begin to notice the tool flex more than 5-10 degrees, stop compressing, and check to make sure that cyl is at TDC.
4). Or just use an air compressor to ensure its at TDC.
Last edited by Sir Harmony; Dec 7, 2012 at 06:38 PM.
Hello z2810inch,
Yes, I still sell the LTX valve spring tool kit for $60 shipped. Paypal ID is: ramair69gto@sbcglobal.net
Thank,
Tim
Yes, I still sell the LTX valve spring tool kit for $60 shipped. Paypal ID is: ramair69gto@sbcglobal.net
Thank,
Tim
