Yes it's home made. I used a porta-band and a hand drill to make it. The socket piece I made years ago for my regular store-bought valve spring compressor that works when the cylinder head is off the car. If you had a dremel and patience*, you could make one with that and a hand drill.

*lots of patience....

 

/shrug, I was bored on the train and there was nothing new in your thread. Plus look at all the good discussion that came from it!

I could totally make that tool, how much do you think people would pay for them? Or maybe we make a nice one and have it as a loaner kinda like the pan tap?

 

My head needs valve springs, so I would have a use for that tool.

--Ian

 

I like all of these ideas. You even have a spare head in your garage that we can test it on! (if I don't steal it)

Between Gesso and myself I think we stoleborrowed most of your fancy tools already. The least we could do is hook you up.

 

If you build one anything like the one I made, I can reccomend a few design changes to make it easier to use and work better.

Make it taller than I did. Gives you more room to work without the tool being in your way.

Build a piece that connects the two outer hooks together at a second point. That prevents them from ever being able to slide off the cylinder head. My setup, you had to get the tool tensioned against the valve before those little hooks would stay exactly in place.

If you use a nut/bolt assembly to turn to actuate the tool as I did, weld the nut to the upper frame so you don't have to use a wrench to stop it from turning.

Other than those faults it worked well. Even with the problems mentioned above, it only added to the frustration of getting it going, once it was installed and on the spring it was easy, just turn and watch it do its thing. And I have heavy double valve springs, so it was worst case on loading for the tool.

 

Based on the recommendation of Hornetball, I bought one of those valve service kits. Amazon linky:
Works great. Valve stem pliers are a huge improvement over needle nose. The hardest part was cranking the motor to force the rope up against the valves to hold them in place.

 

Is that the one you have to bang on with a hammer? Because that scares the **** out of me

 

Well, you can. But unless you're a girly man, you really don't need to. Just grab it and push down. You can hear the retainers click into the magnet, and then you let off.

Putting them back on was a little tricky, but you get the hang of it after the first few. Gotta have an egg carton handy to keep the small pieces in, because they're real easy to lose if you drop them.

 

Watch this video: It is for the snap-on tool, but they are nearly identical except for price. I used the rope trick, where you stuff a length (about 2') of soft rope (clothesline) into the cylinder through the spark plug hole when the piston is at bottom dead center. Then you crank the engine by hand until the rope is compressed up against the valves, thereby holding them in place.

 

Yep! I've been using the rope trick for years. I even used it to lock the crank when I torqued the nut on the harmonic balancer

Cool video, but I'm wondering if it'll be that easy with the head still on the block, and block still in the car, and also fighting 74lbs seat pressure of the Supertech doubles.

I also just saw this:


It looks like it functions in a similar manner to Pat's homebrew tool. At $16.55 it might be worth ordering one and giving it a shot. It's prime so I can return it if it sucks and order the KD Tools one you posted.

 

Are you sure you're not shopping in the hardcore sex toy department again?

--Ian

 

I lol'd. On mobile or I'd prop

 

They're back!?
Bout ****** time.

 

How did I get so many props. And how do I have 9k posts. I need a life.

 

MT.net is life.






(For the deeply disturbed)

 

how did I.....nvm

 

Let me know how that works out. I'm in the market for a cheapish compressor that fits our heads - or maybe i'll just build one.

 

Well, **** me sideways. The week ended with me receiving a 25% raise, a substantial Christmas bonus, and after 14 months of unemployment my wife got not only one but two job offers.

I'd say its been a good week.

Can do, I ordered it last night but it might take me a few weeks before I get around to playing with it. Lots of holiday commitments on the horizon.

 

 

Congrats Gordon, well deserved sir.