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Unread 10-06-2007, 11:16 PM
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Now here is the tricky part. If you don't have a spring compressing tool that can get into the valve spring area then you need to grab a wrench or fork of some type. It needs to be strong enough to hold down the springs while you tap in the valve keys. A 7/16" wrench is a good size. The Craftsman brand has sharp edges which don't slip from the valve spring retainers as easily as other brands in my tools. I have a tool that inserts them quickly that I use on Lexus engines but the tools' diameter is just a bit too large to fit in the hole to press the spring as far as it needs to go. I was very sad that it wouldn't fit as it makes this process a snap. Oh well. Finding the proper tool designed to do this would take so long that improvising on my own methods is the best choice.



The ONLY way I could find to get a good enough grip on the cylinder head is to hold it in your lap while you work to push the spring retainer down with your wrench. Obviously this takes a good amount of force so put on a thick glove or wrap a rag around the wrench so it doesn't dig into your palm too much.

The exacto knife is what I use to push down on the valve stem keys. I tried using steel picks, sharp punches and screwdrivers and they were all attracted to the keys magnetically. While you are pushing down on the springs with one hand and trying to move the key down in place with the other hand it is VERY annoying when they stick to your tool and you can't get it in place. I was not happy. But then I found that my exacto knife with aluminum handle wouldn't cause the keys to be attracted. This was the only tool I could find that the key wouldn't stick to and it worked perfectly. The sharp pointed blade was strong enough to push the keys into place and the very sharp point was able to push the indent in the key just fine. To clarify I made sure to take a close shot of exactly what I was dealing with.



It took me 20 minutes to get the first one into place. With this method they will only go in one at a time. Each valve requires 2 to hold it in so it took 4 minutes for the #2 keeper/key to go in. Then after this practice I was able to get the other ones in place quickly one after the other.
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