Checking 4G63 Valve Springs

[BogusSVO]

Checking 4g63 Valve Springs

I have been saving valve springs from several cylinder heads. I decided to check the spring pressure.

I tested the valve springs using a 1.560 installed height.
For a valve spring to be good I wanted to see a minimum of 60lbs.

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I checked 460 valve springs or springs from 29.5 heads, both 1g and 2g, turbo and non turbo, also there is a good chance that springs from a couple of Kia/Hyundai cylinder heads made their way into the box of springs.

After checking the 460 springs only 151 springs pulled 60lbs or better, most falling into the 60-61lbs, very few pulled 63lbs. Most of the springs that tested bad fell below 55lbs, with a lowest of 32lbs.

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[Diamond Star Werks]

Wow! That sucks but 100*000 miles will do that I guess. I really need to build a head. I'm sure mine wouldn't pass the test. I think I have an issue from itv as well cause anytime I would do 7k+ ins lose a cylinder and it would slowly come like it never happened. I figured it to be valve float fouling the plug. What do you think?

 

[91-GS]

What are some of common items (be that tools or DSM parts, bricks or blocks) that weigh 60 lbs? The idea is to put something of known weight on the spring to measure/test it if a spring tester is not available.

 

[BogusSVO]

Wow! That sucks but 100*000 miles will do that I guess. I really need to build a head. I'm sure mine wouldn't pass the test. I think I have an issue from itv as well cause anytime I would do 7k+ ins lose a cylinder and it would slowly come like it never happened. I figured it to be valve float fouling the plug. What do you think?

From what I can recall the springs on the turbo engines are normally weaker than the NA engines.
Over all about 2/3rds of the springs are bad, so it is a good chance yours are weaker than spec.

What are some of common items (be that tools or DSM parts, bricks or blocks) that weigh 60 lbs? The idea is to put something of known weight on the spring to measure/test it if a spring tester is not available.

IIRC Proform tools has a spring gauge that works in a bench vice for about $100. As far as rigging one up with some sort of dead weight, I would not want to trust that for being an accurate measure.

 

[Cdc1221]

Well technically, if you use a known weight, say 55#s, for the test subject, then you could keep adding 1# increments until you got the spring to 1.560" tall. The trick would be keeping it all straight

 

[91-GS]

Was thinking more along the lines of "Put a 60 lbs weight on top and if spring is compressed to less than 1.560" than it's bad, otherwise it's good" but it's nice to know that there is an affordable tool for that already. I take it that 60 lbs is the "normal" usable pressure for DSM springs, right?

As far as "keeping it straight", seen a spray rig jacked up for a tire change. They stacked about a dozen concrete blocks, put a house jack on top, and put about ten two-by-four wood block on the jack. And it didn't fall. How about that for "keeping it straight"

What are you going to do now with all those springs now that you tested them? Reuse what you can and toss the rest? Or do you have some (artistic) project in mind?

 

[BogusSVO]

Well, 60 lbs is "light" except for the factory stock engine, and honestly, what DSM'er is keeping it factory stock???

All 460 springs are sitting in the scrap pile now, with a decent set of single springs being $100 or less, and will work with the stock retainers, why even bother installing the used springs?

I install the BC1100 springs on my rebuilt heads, set at 80lbs @1.500 So the head will accept any of the smaller 272 cams Like the BC 272, HKS 272, and the Comp/FP2

 

[Diamond Star Werks]

What would be your suggested spring/retainer to mate with GSC S2 cams?