Making a valve spring compressor to remove the valves from the head.
Material required:
6" c-clamp
1" OD x 1-1/2" long pipe
The pipe can be of most any material. Steel and PVC works fine. I used steel since it was being welded to the clamp. A notch needs to be cut in the pipe to allow access to the valve keepers. The pipe needs to be free of all burs so it does not scratch the surface where the shim bucket travels. Tape or dipping in plasti-coat is a good preventive coating. The pipe I used came from a Yakima load bar. It has a plastic coating and a fairly thin wall (about 1/16" thick). When I welded it to the clamp, the plastic coating melted off. I ended up polishing it smooth. Later I will dip it in plasti-coat.
I purchased a 6" clamp from Home Depot. It was around $10. Of course a larger clamp can be used. With the pipe cut at 1-1/2" long, the minimum size clamp that can be used is 6" nominal opening.
Welding the pipe to the clamp is not required. They can be used as separate pieces. You will need to be careful since the clamp may want to slide off of the pipe while compressing the spring. Taping the pipe to the clamp is a good alternative to welding.
Clamp and pipe prior to welding:
(http://www.bbburma.net/MiscFotos/GStwinMembers/dgyver/ValveSpringCompressor01.jpg)
Clamp and pipe after welding:
(http://www.bbburma.net/MiscFotos/GStwinMembers/dgyver/ValveSpringCompressor02.jpg)
Compressor installed and ready to use:
(http://www.bbburma.net/MiscFotos/GStwinMembers/dgyver/ValveSpringCompressor03.jpg)
Compressed spring:
(http://www.bbburma.net/MiscFotos/GStwinMembers/dgyver/ValveSpringCompressor04.jpg)
Valve keepers ready to be removed:
(http://www.bbburma.net/MiscFotos/GStwinMembers/dgyver/ValveSpringCompressor05.jpg)
Other side of clamp against valve:
(http://www.bbburma.net/MiscFotos/GStwinMembers/dgyver/ValveSpringCompressor06.jpg)
I copied the photos to my webspace, fixed the URLs and edited out the move / rehost request at the end of the original post.
Good stuff! :thumb: