Valve spring swap gone bad...

[nickthegenius]

We worked about for about 1 hour total and had to quit. We lost a keeper and not sure where it went. Very first spring we tried and we're done

We're 100% positive it didn't fall in the motor because I was putting some grease on it at the time and I was stooped over the front of the car. I have a feeling its down in between the radiator and condensor or something. Spent 15-20 minutes searching for it. Of course, 12:15PM in a small town the Ford dealer is closed.

Everything started out well enough until we started to put the keepers on the first spring. The first one would go on very easily and fit in the grooves, but we tried probably 10 times to get the second one on until it disappeared. I'm not sure if we're doing something wrong or if they are just that difficult to position. We were almost tempted to follow the Haynes Manual (instead of some of the online write-ups) and pull the cams and use a normal spring compressor like it shows instead of the OTC tool like we are using. It think it would be much easier to position the keepers in the grooves.

If anyone has any advice other than pushing it into a lake, let me know.

 

[Dan_Soprano]

Pull the cams and do it the right way.

 

[nickthegenius]

The tool we were using is the same one that Ford uses. It makes removing the followers and the retainers/keepers very easy, but re-installing is a real PITA. I think Monday if I can get ahold of a few spare keepers at the local dealer, we'll pull the cams and use the old-school compressor with the knob on top.

 

[lman657]

here's how i did it,

you need a magnetized screwdriver and a magnet

...okay, swipe your magnet down the metal part of your screwdriver to strengthen the magnetic hold, get some lubriplate No.1 assembly lube, and coat your valve stem with it
use the screwdriver to place the keepers on the valve stem one at a time, the grease will hold them in well.

It's a pain in the butt, and i did it with the heads sitting on a bench, but it should work, and it works better than anything i could figure out

you'll need to swipe the strong magnet down the screwdriver each time you go to a new valve to keep it sufficiently magnetized

have fun!

 

[Wolfhound]

We had the same problem when my friend and I did my cam swap and valve spring install.

We lost one valve spring retainer lock and had to drain the oil pan to get it.

I used the magnetic wand and bought some sticky assembly lube to hold them on. Good luck it takes awhile to get the hang of it.