valve spring removal

[Braden]

hey guys i just spent the last 1.5 hours removing the valve springs and valves from my l20 head. wow what a total pain in the ass. i cant image what kind of frustration i am in for when i install them again. anyways i used an overhead valve spring tool and it proved to be hard to use especially since the cam towers were in the way. my question to you is what kind of tool/method do you guys use to remove and install valve springs, surely there is an easier way!!!!

[datsunaholic]

I used one of those parts-store valve spring compressors, but they don't fit very well on the L-series (work OK on a NAPS-Z). So what I thought of making (if I could weld, which I can't) is a lever device. Has a "cup" in the middle that fits over the valve spring retainer "top hat" but has a hole that the valve stem and keepers can pass through. On one side of the "cup" is the handle, the other side is a "hook" that goes under the camshaft. Hook it under the cam with the cup over the valve, push down (with the valve held in place of course) and remove the keepers. We use something similar to pull the valve keepers from the Allison and Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engines I work on occasionally, though in those cases the valves are huge and a standard valve spring compressor doesn't work.

[KELMO]

'73 1600 factory service manual lists a "valve lifter ST12040000" tool but I would be at this point in time it would be easier to find hens teeth. Maybe you could cross reference the special tool #? Sorry man, thats all I got.

[Skib]

I use one of these types

 

 

 

and one of these magnet things to grab the keepers

 

[Braden]

I use one of these types

 

 

 

and one of these magnet things to grab the keepers

 

lmao skib!! thats exactly what i did, i had a little magnet and even a microwave magnet!!

[datzenmike]

When I was about 12, I would do anything to be near motors. My next door neighbor was always tinkering with them and would do a valve job on his car every 2 years. He would climb on top of the head and push down with two wooden hammer handles to compress the spring. I would reach in and snatch the keepers out with my fingers.:lol:

[hogboy52]

On flat-head Fords we would use a scissor-type hedge-trimmer to pry down the springs.

 

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[hang_510]

i use a pneumatic version of this...

[Braden]

borrowed one of the c clamp style compressors today from my boss, gotta lap one more valve then a final scrubdown of the head then im gonna try it out!!!