Homemade valve spring compressor

Homemade valve spring compressor
By Jeff Korn

This valve spring compressor can be used with the head on the engine or off.  Even if it is necessary to buy the parts, total cost should be under $5, and many people may have the parts lying around the garage. Assembly only takes ½ hour or so.  With this tool, I can remove all eight cam followers in under five minutes.

Construction:  Get two pieces of one inch by 1/8 inch steel bar stock, each 12 to 15 inches long. The exact length is not important.  If you have access to welding equipment, also get two pieces of the same dimension bar stock about two inches long.  If you don’t have access to welding equipment, get two blocks of wood one inch by one inch by about two inches, and four 1½ inch long bolts with nuts.  Lay the two long pieces of bar stock parallel to each other, and weld the two short pieces of bar stock between the long pieces as shown in the figure so the long pieces are one inch apart.  If you don’t have access to welding equipment, position the two wood blocks between the long pieces of bar stock, and drill two holes through one piece of bar stock, the wood block, and the other piece of bar stock.  Bolt together with the bolts.  Repeat for the other wood block.

Note the bar stock pieces on the left end of the tool in the figure is slightly splayed, and the top edges of the bar stock are ground down slightly.  This end is inserted over the top of the valve retainer, and under the camshaft, with one side on each side of the cam lobe.  Simply pushing down on the other end of the tool will compress the valve spring.