OTC 4572 Large Valve Spring Compressor , black

I'm rebuilding a 1984 Porsche 944 and tore the motor down last year, and now I'm working on putting it all back together. Plenty of work has gone into this project, and doing the valves was next on the agenda. I first tried the "cheap deal" at Harbor Freight and it's "clamp and compress" design just didn't cut it - the one at Napa did better, but still not good enough - Porsche uses a double-spring on their valves so you need something that does the full clamp. Then I tried the local tool rental places (theirs was a monster - and not designed for reaching into a head), some pawn shops, Pep Boys and finally a place called Performance Auto where I "borrowed" one. That tool almost worked, but damn if it didn't flex, expand, and basically, suck at getting the springs out - it did work, but I knew I'd need something better to put the valves back in once I'm done working on them - so I returned the "borrowed" tool and started digging and found this one. This tool was heavier than the "borrowed" one, but not as insane as the tool rental place had - the one they had would have been ideal for a tractor I think. None of the others I saw, short of spending $120 at Napa would have had a shot at it - and those weren't much different than the borrowed one. This tool really did a great job - and I even made the mistake of putting in 7 of the 8 valves before I realized that I forgot to put in the new valve seals!! This tool make getting the valves back out, putting in the seals and putting them back in a breeze. Does this clamp onto the valves? Kind of - the clamping bit with the handle is more for placement and mlld positioning - the real work happens with the screw bit opposite the handle. What about tool flex? None to speak of. This thing is made of thick metal - about 3/8" thick all around - including the swiveling bars near the handle. It didn't flex at all - and the Porsche springs are some TIGHT springs too - lesser tools were made "bitch" easily by the cylinder head, flexing, warping and otherwise not doing their job, all because of this old Porsche, however, this tool stood strong and pressed on. I strongly recommend this tool for anyone doing work on an engine that needs to push into the heads to remove the valves - this tool makes the job easy.

A truly Great tool to remove springs. But you can also adjust it to just barely compress the spring & easily put the keepers back with one push. First I adjusted the top & bottom rods so it would just push the spring down enough to allow keepers to drop in. Then cut an piece of vacuum tubing to same length as the spring adapter you are using which will be placed in the adapter. Place your keepers on the valve stem, I apply a drop of oil to help them stick. Then use the valve spring as normal. The idea of the tubing is that it surrounds the keepers so they cant fall outward & of course the hollow center of the tube allows room for the valve stem to come up. You can aslo use a tube that's smaller that outside dia. of the keepers and it will act to push down on them but I found larger worked for me. To help "Push" the keepers down, I put a small bolt in the tubing, head side toward the keepers, find a head size that allows the corners to dig into the sides of the tubing so it will provide resistance. The bolt needs to be short, like 1/2 or 3/8 inch so there is still room for the valve stem to travel up the tube. position the bolt. I position the bolt in tube so it in just enough to allow some tubing to surround the keepers and the weight of the bolt is on top the keeprs holding them. Then one easy push and a jiggle and release and keepers are in. I only missed 3 times on 1st attempt out of 32 valves. Alternatively you could used a rubber stopper or cork rather than bolt but hard steel leaves no slivers to clog your oil system. Of course this works perfect to remove springs and of corse your heads must be OUT. There are some arguments here on how to use this. Instructions say to adjust rods such that depressing top handle gives you a snug fit then use the T-bar ob bottom to turn the rod and compress the spring. Do it that way if you have several hours to waste and especially to grind up the top of your valves by the rotating cap on them. It may be necessary to do that for tough springs partly especially if youre a non muscle bound wimp like me. Adjust the top handle always so its about 45 degrees down when you first make contact because the mechanical linkage fights against you from 0-45 and its really hard to push down if handle is upwards when you start, I guess that's why they say turn the rod. But for average springs it easy enough. Built like tank its a vey heavy duty tool which will out last your lifetime.

I used this to remove the valves from a M50NV head. This is the head off of a 1991 BMW 525i, as well as many other 3 series and 5 series engines throughout the 90's. The tool works very well and gives me more than enough room to pull the valve keepers out. Overall it has been very sturdy and not shown any failures. The M50NV head uses a dual valve spring setup which gives a little more compressive strength than the other M50 and S50 valve springs. The tool has no problems compressing them. Overall this tool is handy to have for BMW heads.

Like the title, this is a great tool if you know how to use it. Sturdy. I like that it has the new style pusher heads. Makes doing late model heads much easier. People who are used to this kind of tool know the it takes time to set it up for a proper push. When adjusted right, it works great. After adjustment, you can just keep moving from valve to valve. I did find that when reinstalling the valve keepers, it can be hard to work around the head to get them in right. But that is because of design of the head, same as with other compressors.

I started to give this item a 3 star rating but then remembered how little I paid for it. Speaking as a mechanic with 30 plus years experience I have used much better and have used much worse. It is minimally a professional grade tool but adequately does the job. The tool I have used since the middle 1980's has finally given up and needed to be replaced. I do very little internal engine repair these days, maybe one every few months. I selected this tool because I did not want to invest a few hundred dollars to replace the one that is worn out, especially since it will only see occasional use. I did not read the instructions and this information may be included. This tool is adjustable at both ends which allows the user to align the valve with the center of the "C" shaped compressor. This reduces the tendency of the tool to move side to side and out of alignment with the valve spring being depressed. The compressor should be adjusted to depress the valve spring only enough to remove or install the keepers, attempting to depress the valve spring further will cause problems and the tool may not lock in the depressed position as it is supposed to. I personally only use valve spring depressors for reassembly but for those who attempt to disassemble a head with this or any other depressor use caution and do not apply excessive pressure to the tool to free stuck components, sometimes it is necessary to use a mallet or other device to break stuck parts free. I have a special tool to install valve keepers but a pocket screwdriver with a magnet should work well.

Disclaimer: if you dont lubricate the swiveling piece that comes in contact with the valve's face, it will eventually bind up and cut a nice ring on the face of your valve. I used redline assembly lube, you can use whatever works, just make sure it spins smooth and easy when applying pressure to it with your hand. That out of the way, good tool. Theres tricks to using it in my experience. When installing valves, I find myself pressing the black handle against my stomach to keep one end on the valve spring, holding the tool up with my left and centering it on the valve face with my right. Pics: the part that needs lube, the ring caused by not lubing said part, and a kit I put together for valve lapping. Product list: Loctite clover fine grinding compound, redline assembly lube, acdelco gear marking compound, and in the corner is a phillips screwdriver with a piece of 1/4" ID fuel line jammed on it to grip the valves from the stem side. just get some of those blue lint free shop towel rolls and some rubbing alcohol for cleaning.

This is a high-quality tool and well worth the money. I am working on a Ford 4.0 SOHC V6, which has oddly-spaced valves (if you've worked on a Ford 4.0 SOHC, you know what I'm talking about). Removal of the number 1 and 6 exhaust valves with a different style spring compressor was impossible, but with this tool, I had them removed in less than five minutes. There's a little bit of a learning curve to use it correctly, but it's not hard. I'm not a mechanic by trade, I work on engines sporadically, so I think this tool will last the rest of my life. Buy once, cry once.

This tool is probably OK for OEM applications but it doesn't have enough leverage for heavy dual springs. Also, the tool body moves in an arc rather than inline with the valve centerline making use a bit ackward.