What does a sticking valve sound like?
Sticky valve and lifters noise, which will sound like a muffled clicking or clacking, will come from this area. A valve that becomes frozen, or only moves up and down slightly, might cause an engine miss that sounds like a popping noise, and you might notice a hesitation as the car tries to move forward.
What are the symptoms of a broken valve spring?
Broken or weak valve springs in an engine can cause many different drivability and performance problems. Broken valve springs cause excessive valve noise, compression loss and can cause severe internal engine damage. The actual breaking of the valve springs is not always the most serious consequence.
How do you diagnose a bad valve spring?
Symptoms of Weak Valve Springs Weak valve springs will typically cause misfiring and a loss of power as engine speed increases. The engine may start and idle fine, or run normally up to 3500 to 4000 RPM.
What could cause a valve stem to wear in one area?
Possible causes include an incorrectly set valve clearance − or the valve seat insert or valve guide were not remachined centrically. An excessively large or small valve guide clearance can also have fatal consequences.
Do new valve springs add horsepower?
valve springs store energy when compressed(valve opening), and release it when decompressed(valve closing). The only energy (or horsepower in this case) lost during the cycle is in the form of heat from friction at the molecular level within the spring.
What does a heavier valve spring do?
This allows more of the spring load to control the valve. So a higher seat load with a lighter upper mass of the spring combines to give the valvetrain more control.
Should I upgrade my valve springs?
In some cases, stock springs can be reused, as long as they are in good shape. Valve springs do wear out. If you are rebuilding the engine, it is a good idea to replace the valve springs. Coil bind occurs when the camshaft lifts the valve further than the spring can compress.
How do I know what valve springs I need?
Most manufacturers will recommend valve springs to go with each camshaft they make. We recommend the same springs listed by the camshaft manufacturer, or a spring with similar specifications. Understanding the spring specifications will help you select the right springs for your engine.
Are stiffer valve springs better?
Stiffer springs are obviously needed if you are building a high rpm performance engine. But the stiffest springs are not necessarily the best anymore. If you can achieve essentially the same degree of valve control with a lower spring rate, the springs will last longer and be less apt to break.
What happens when valve spring tension is too low?
If the spring pressures are too low, a condition called “Valve Float” will occur.
Do valve springs go bad from sitting?
Something that will hurt them ( valve springs ) just sitting is corrosion. Condensation or mis-handling (without gloves) can leave salt from your pores on the surface and start corrosion. I use Manley 424s and leave them sit for years. No problem.
How long does it take to replace valve springs?
How long does it take to replace valve springs? As far as labor, you are looking at 5-6 hours per side to pull the engine and drive. The labor to pull the exhaust, valve covers, swap the springs, retainers, seals and locks, adjust the valves and replace the covers and exhaust should run about 5-6 hours per engine.
How often should you change valve springs?
This is about every 2 to 3 years, 1/4 mile racing. If you change them on the engine, do one cylinder at a time and bring that cylinder up to TDC so you don’t have to worry about dropping a valve down too far.