Need help with valve spring keepers with head still in place
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RodneyB
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:38 am
- Location: Caldwell,ID.
- Motorcycle: 1980 GL1100I Stripped Down and Sexy
Need help with valve spring keepers with head still in place
I need to change my valve guide seals but do not want to pull the heads. I have seen some posts about how to do it with a string or air compressor. What i need to know,is how do you get the keepers back in place on the bottom(exhaust)valves? I thought about setting my bike down on its side,but was really hoping someone might have a better solution.
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Mh434
- Posts: 1522
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2014 10:24 pm
- Location: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- Motorcycle: 1997 gl1500 SE
Previous:
1981 GL1100I
1989 Kawasaki Concours
Re: Need help with valve spring keepers with head still in p
I take it you're referring to not having them fall off the valve stem while you slide the compressed valve spring & retainer back on?
If so, you could try just putting a small amount of grease on the notch in the valve stem (where the keepers go) to temporarily stick them in place. The small amount of grease will be washed away & dissolved by the hot oil, once the engine is running, and won't hurt anything.
As for stopping the valves from falling into the engine, I usually just rotate the engine by hand until the piston in the cylinder I'm working on is at TDC. The valves can't fall very far at all, as they come to rest against the piston crown long before they'd fall into the cylinder. I've also used the rope trick (stuff every inch of cotton rope you can through the spark plug hole, so it's jammed up against the valve faces - just make sure to leave yourself a good tail to grab onto for removal!) with success. The compressor trick works, too, but you have to make a compressor-to-spark-plug-hole adapter (or buy one), as the pressure in the cylinder won't hold for long, so frequent pumping-up is necessary.
If so, you could try just putting a small amount of grease on the notch in the valve stem (where the keepers go) to temporarily stick them in place. The small amount of grease will be washed away & dissolved by the hot oil, once the engine is running, and won't hurt anything.
As for stopping the valves from falling into the engine, I usually just rotate the engine by hand until the piston in the cylinder I'm working on is at TDC. The valves can't fall very far at all, as they come to rest against the piston crown long before they'd fall into the cylinder. I've also used the rope trick (stuff every inch of cotton rope you can through the spark plug hole, so it's jammed up against the valve faces - just make sure to leave yourself a good tail to grab onto for removal!) with success. The compressor trick works, too, but you have to make a compressor-to-spark-plug-hole adapter (or buy one), as the pressure in the cylinder won't hold for long, so frequent pumping-up is necessary.
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RodneyB
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:38 am
- Location: Caldwell,ID.
- Motorcycle: 1980 GL1100I Stripped Down and Sexy
Re: Need help with valve spring keepers with head still in p
RodneyB wrote:I need to change my valve guide seals but do not want to pull the heads. I have seen some posts about how to do it with a string or air compressor. What i need to know,is how do you get the keepers back in place on the bottom(exhaust)valves? I thought about setting my bike down on its side,but was really hoping someone might have a better solution.
Aaaahhhh..... I see. Thank you kind sir. So simple..lol I kind u feel
