The best Valve Spring compressor. (head out of car)

[Smokey Eddy]

I struggled with making a valve spring compressor -

 - with a lever arm to depress the springs and one day pondering life i realized that I wasted the entire previous day and quickly whipped this up and got the valves out in about an hour.
For clarity, THIS is what we are trying to accomplish here...

left to right in the order they come out:  Lifter, Keepers, Retainer, springs
The lifters just come right out with a magnet granted the cam shaft is no longer there.

Tools
hack saw or better yet a dremel tool
bicycle seat post (or an aluminum tube of similar ID and OD. I used a bike post of a ruined seat)
a sturdy table top for the head to sit on
a C clamp large enough to clamp the head to the table from it's highest point + a couple inches (a framing clamp works very well for this as it is so long)
needle nose pliers or a magnet or a magnetic screw driver (I found magnetic screw driver was the easiest)


I used the magnet out of a broken screw driver on the end of a bit.


Cut the pipe like so... The gap is, if you haven't guessed by now, to grab the keepers off the valves.


You can't make it much shorter [mine is exactly 3 inches tall. 3 1/4 would be better if your clamp is large enough] as the whole thing will depress into the head as you compress it down with the C clamp.
Be sure to secure the head to the table with more clamps if you got em!
The good thing about this method is that the aluminum pipe will never damage the retainers that hold the keepers and if you choose to use a magnet to remove the keepers you won't be fighting with the magnet to not grab the aluminum pipe.



The only real downside to this method is that the head HAS to be on a table.
Here was mine when i put new valves in this new head and removed valves from my old head.


I unfortunately don't have any pictures of me actually doing it as i thought it was pretty straight forward at the time.
But I'm confident you're all bright enough to imagine how this idea works.


Here is a picture of me trying to use a conventional spring compressor to no avail



If this helps at least ONE person I'll be happy I spent the time taking the pictures and writing this up. :roll:
PS, I'd make the cut away in the post larger at the top. I widened mine after that picture was taken so that the cut out looks like an hour glass.

[saurkraut]

http://www.toolss.com/wbstore/main.asp?action=PROD&PROD=VA60106022X&CTMP=1



Valve Spring Tools Set including: VA6010 Valve Spring Compressor Bar Same as Volkswagen Tool Number VW 541/1 Used for R&R of valve spring or rocker arm With this tool the job can be done with the cylinder head on or off the car. Used in conjunction with tool Bridge Applicable: 924 / 944 VW AUDI 4 - 5 Cyl. VA6022 Support Bridge Same as VW Tool 2036 Used for R&R of valve spring or rocker arm Used in conjunction with tool VW541/1 Applicable: Model 924. VW / AUDI 4 - 5 Cyl.

$149.95 And they take Paypal

[Smokey Eddy]

but mine's free  

So pay 150$ to be able to take out everything BUT the valves with the head still in the car. after about three uses that tool would pay its self off but when do you need to take the valve bits out but not the valves them selves? for a condition check? changing the springs? could you even see if the valves were bent?

[Vincent Waldon]

when do you need to take the valve bits out but not the valves them selves?

Most of the time, the answer is "to replace worn valve seals".

[zukgod1]

Oh he beat ya to it by 1 min there man!!!

[Vincent Waldon]

One of us, or both of us, or *all* of us...  need to GET A LIFE !!!

Oh wait, this *is* the life!   ;-)

[Smokey Eddy]

well this FAQ is indeed useless then isn't it.
Mods you can delete it if you want. I won't be offended.  

[Vincent Waldon]

Nope, not useless at all.... homemade tools are *always* handy to know about, in case you can't wait for the fancy one to arrive at Christmas. :wink:

[Smokey Eddy]

I was saying it had to be out of the car for the clamp application. I was just saying it's really easy to do with a normal wood clamp.

You're right, i show two methods here. I was focusing on using my tool with the clamp like i had done but it can me coupled with the wood lever arm thing too very nicely.

I like this method even more now  
 :roll:

[lord_verminaard]

I took my VR6 head to the machine shop recently, I had it all apart except for the valves and springs.  (I managed to just pull the lifters out by hand)  He used a big deep-well socket, (that fit in the lifter bores) positioned on the top spring retainer, then whacked it with a hammer and the keepers popped right out.  Took him about 3 minutes to do all 12 of them.  

Brendan

[lord_verminaard]

hee hee, you got a point there.  I have not come to that point yet... obviously. :lol:  I'm sure the machine shop has a better way of installing them.  

Brendan

[macka]

I borrowed the c clamp type valve remover and used my o2 sensor socket. The top part of the o2 sensor socket seats nicely in the saddle of the valve remover. I already had the o2 socket, and it just fits in the valve pockets with maybe .5mm clearance, but it works, and you don't need to make a special tool, just use the existing one. To insert the keepers, I put a small daub of vaseline on the outside of the keeper, and slid it into the "pocket". I used the magnet trick to remove them. The only fun part is that the o2 sensor slot is smaller then the gap in the homemade tool, and it takes a little more patience then with the homemade tool.

[lovinthedeez]

here's mine.  harbor freight sells a cheap valve spring compressor, and the greatest part is that the part that I need unscrews from the rest of it.  I just use a big ol c clamp along with this, and voila....heads apart in no time flat, and no chance of springs flying in your face.  with my old ghetto piece just for reference. (please don't cheap out the way I did with pvc for awhile)  the compressor from harbor freight was eight dollars, and the c clamp can be had anywhere for real cheap

[lord_verminaard]

Cool, to update my post, I was at the machine shop putting together the 1.6 head for my Wife's car, and he had a nifty tool that was very similar to that- it fit the lifter bores of the VW head, and he chucked a big punch in the drill press and said "there you go".  Just use the drill press to push down on the tool in the bore, lock the press in place, stick on the keepers, then let it go, slide the head over, do the next one.  Worked super easy.

Good to know that you can get a similar tool at HF.

Brendan