Valve spring diameters and retainers
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 878
Likes: 55
From: Deep South Denmark
Valve spring diameters and retainers
Hello all
Is it normal to use valve spring retainers that do not fit tightly in the inner valve springs?
I am asking because I just found out that the new valve springs I bought for my Brodix RR-O bigblock heads do not fit on the heads, but they do fit the retainers.
The old springs (for hydraulic lifters) were 0.8'' inner diameter on the inner springs. They are a tight fit on the locator on the head, but not on the retainer. The retainer appears to be for 0.73'' inner diameter inner springs (or at least they fit tight on those).
Basicly this is the old setup:
The inner spring is locked in place at the head, but not at the retainer.
The outer spring is locked in place at the retainer, but not at the head.
I made the mistake of ordering springs with a 0.73'' inner diameter on the inner springs, which fit the retainer perfectly (both the inner and outer springs), but they won't fit on the head because of the 0.8'' locators and valve stem seals
Br. from the confused valve spring installer.
Is it normal to use valve spring retainers that do not fit tightly in the inner valve springs?
I am asking because I just found out that the new valve springs I bought for my Brodix RR-O bigblock heads do not fit on the heads, but they do fit the retainers.
The old springs (for hydraulic lifters) were 0.8'' inner diameter on the inner springs. They are a tight fit on the locator on the head, but not on the retainer. The retainer appears to be for 0.73'' inner diameter inner springs (or at least they fit tight on those).
Basicly this is the old setup:
The inner spring is locked in place at the head, but not at the retainer.
The outer spring is locked in place at the retainer, but not at the head.
I made the mistake of ordering springs with a 0.73'' inner diameter on the inner springs, which fit the retainer perfectly (both the inner and outer springs), but they won't fit on the head because of the 0.8'' locators and valve stem seals
Br. from the confused valve spring installer.
Last edited by Danish Shark; Nov 15, 2021 at 11:15 AM.
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 20
Likes: 6
From: Wisconsin
I just replaced the springs in my AFR heads to accommodate my hydraulic flat tappet cam. The heads shipped with springs set up for a hydraulic roller tappet cam. I spoke with AFR, and they provided their part numbers for new springs, retainers, locators, shims and keepers.
Your situation is probably similar, so you may need to replace more components than you thought.
Your situation is probably similar, so you may need to replace more components than you thought.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 878
Likes: 55
From: Deep South Denmark
I finally found a set of spring locators that fit the Brodix heads and 0.73" ID springs.
It looks like the ID locator needs to fit the ID of the inner spring, which makes sense because otherwise the spring could damage the valve stem seal, but it doesn't matter if the retainer also fits perfectly on the inner spring, as long as it fits the ID of the outer spring.
I will just have a setup where the inner spring is fixed in position at both ends, and the outer spring is only positioned by the retainer.
It looks like the ID locator needs to fit the ID of the inner spring, which makes sense because otherwise the spring could damage the valve stem seal, but it doesn't matter if the retainer also fits perfectly on the inner spring, as long as it fits the ID of the outer spring.
I will just have a setup where the inner spring is fixed in position at both ends, and the outer spring is only positioned by the retainer.
