302 Ford valve spring locks stuck.....maybe???

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
1,415
Location
Charlotte, NC
I'm in the process of replacing my valve stem seals in an attempt to rid myself of oil consumption before the winter weather comes in.

In attempting to compress the springs and remove them, there is a sleeve around the locks that I can't budge. The spring and spring retainer separate just fine, but it's just the lock sleeve around the lock that are stuck.

What am I missing here? Are they simply just stuck? I'm sorta embarrassed to ask on something that should be very elementary, but I need some insight. I've never had this to happen on valve springs before.

I'm thinking maybe to bend the valve spring compressor so that it presses down on the lock sleever and the spring retainer instead of just the spring retainer.

I just don't want to break anything........that's my #1 concern.

Thoughts? Suggestions?
 
Last edited:
Ok, I think I have it figured out already. I pulled out an extra head I had and took a hammer and screwdriver and whacked it a few times and it came apart.

I'm doing the rope method, so I guess it probably won't hurt anything to do the hammer and screwdriver method to break apart the lock retainers.

Thoughts?
 
They are REALLY stuck. I stepped away from it and considering just removing the heads. It's much more difficult than the head I used this morning to see how it was set up.
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Try hitting it with a hammer BEFORE you compress the springs.
This was standard practice.


Do I need to use a socket or hit the spring at an angle?
 
Originally Posted By: qdeezie
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Try hitting it with a hammer BEFORE you compress the springs.
This was standard practice.


Do I need to use a socket or hit the spring at an angle?
socket
 
Well........I decided to stop acting like a quitter and take another shot at it with whacking it with a 4 pound hammer and got all of them off. It took my entire weekend, but it's wells worth it because I hate oil consumption.
 
Yes indeed.......I don't think I've ever whacked any car part so hard in my life, ever. I began losing sleep over oil consumption (a BITOG thing I guess), so I had to go for it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top