Hey guys, Anyone recommend a good valve removal tool? Changing exhaust valves in my 56 322.Thanks for any info.
That'll work just fine Tom, But I'd love to watch when he tries to install the new valves that way! :laugh:
This is a Lisle 36200. It is very similar to the one a shop I worked in designed. I think it's less than $40. In a high production shop dealing with low VS pressures (like diesels) it is the cat's ass for installation. Ideal for Nailheads. Just need something under the valve heads on the chamber side, like a small piece of wood. (A diesel head doesn't have a combustion chamber, so you simply tip it down onto plywood to hold the valves.) You set the springs with caps on the head, put the keepers against the tapered pin, and lean down...click. On something like a Detroit Diesel 6 cyl. head you can install 24 valvesprings in approximately 60 seconds. When you do 80+ (heads) a day...you NEED a tool like this. If you are into making things....
When I'm removing or installing valves I keep one of those small magnets on an extendable wand handy. Valve keepers can be hard to get ahold of, particularly if you are wearing mechanic's gloves.
When removing springs from stock type heads (off the engine) I use a piece of round stock 2" diameter x 7" length, bored 5/8" diam. x 3/4" deep or so, similar to the Lisle tool....and a big hammer. You have to be fairly clumsy to bend a valve, but it could happen. The locks either drop from the recess in the tool or hit the face of it. They rarely go far from the top of the head. I never re-use "old" locks for what they cost. The length of the tool helps prevent the occasional pinched hand from using a socket.
