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Yes, you just read that correctly, you can use this tool to service the head in the car! Why is that so great? Well, if you need to change valve springs, keepers, retainers, or even valve stem seals and don't want to remove the head, you can do it! This is great for guys who work on cars for a living because now you don't have to charge extra labor, buy a new headgasket, or even go through the time of removing the heads. Saves the customer some money and makes you more by making your job easier and faster!
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| As you can see from the bottom, the two silver bolts come down and attach to the cam towers between the spark plug tube. You can also see that one of the bolt holes is oval. This is so that the tool can fit multiple heads. The four bronze, threaded ends screw down onto the modified valve spring buckets. |
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| Quick tip! Before removing the old valve buckets and shims, mark them! It's really hard to remember where you removed them from AFTER you have removed them! Doesn't matter how you mark them, so long as you don't damage them and they tell you where they go. |
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| Before twisting down on the knobs to compress the valve spring, you should take a brass drift and knock the keepers loose. Or, you can do like me and use a modified wood dowel, just be sure the end you are using on the bucket is tapered to fit between the edge of the valve bucket and the opening for the keepers and valve. Don't hit too hard either, as you can cause the keepers to come OFF the valve stem. Don't ask me how I know. |
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| Add a small amount of oil on the valve buckets to lubricate the threaded ends. This will extend the life of your tool too. Now you can twist the knobs to compress the springs. |
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If you're used to old school, rocker arm valve springs, you'll be surprised at how little force it takes to compress them. Why is that? Remember, the rocker arm multiplies the motion of the cam. Since the cam is riding the shim and bucket over the valve spring, it doesn't need as much force to keep the valve closed. That's also the advantage of a rocker arm over a shim-and-bucket style valvetrain. You can use the rocker arm to multiply the force and motion of the cam, can't do that with a shim-and-bucket, but there are ways! Photo: Jim Wolf Technology |
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