Guys,

I'm currently underway on swapping the H/C/I on my 2002 Z06. I came across a decent deal on a used set of TEA stage 2.5 243's that I'm going to use on the car. They have the big 2.055 / 1.575 ferrea stainless valves.

I was told the heads came with PAC double springs installed. Well last week I took them to a local cylinder head guru planning on having them flowed and have them check out to make sure they are in good working condition. Well right away he noticed the valve was sitting way low in the retainer. We set some rocker arms on and they are DAMN close to hitting the retainer before the valve tip. Anyway he took a spring off and there was a loud POP when he got it compressed. Definitely not right. After examination he believe the wrong locks were used. Long story short I'm going to go with a Brian Tooley Racing .660 spring kit so I'm not worried about the springs/locks/retainers.

What concerns me and has the heads at a stand still right now is the valves. My head guy was concerned the lock was putting a lot of stress on the valve tip and he believes there is some uneven wear. We sent this picture to the Ferrea rep and that guy said the could be reusable but recommended they be replaced. I talked to Brian Tooley and sent him the picture and Brian thinks they will be fine to reuse after a .005 cleanup on the tip.

I'm stuck right now between reusing them or ordering a set of LS3 valves to mill down and install in the heads. I was looking into that when I first bought the heads but after talking with Brian he didn't think it would be worth it.

Please let me know if you would run this valve in your car. Keep in mind the valve itself (lower portion) is 100% fine. It's only the tips that are in question.

 

The loud pop when compressing the spring is no big deal. The inside dia. of the retainer and keepers are mated together on an angle and are wedged together by design. When disassembling a used set of heads I normally, put a little pressure on the spring/retainer and then give the spring compresser a little tap with a soft hammer to help break that wedge.

As long as the marks on the valve in the picture are just sort of burnished rather than the material of the valve actually displaced, you should be fine.

 

I would try to get some 0.050" offset keepers to get the valve stem higher to ensure no interference. Those are big valves and the Ferrea's tend to be heavy.

 

Grinding off the tips will give you even LESS rocker to retainer clearance----To me I would suspect the retainers--They seem to have a larger than normal "domed" shape--Compare them to a STOCK set of retainers or a different brand --If the retainer was more flat--you wouldn't have any clearance issues--(can't quite remember how flat the stock retainers are)
How big is your cam ?? Of course beehive springs would give you more clearance if you can use them---

 

I agree with both comments. These are quality valves.