OTC 4572 Large Valve Spring Compressor - Includes Two Adapters to Fit Spring Retainers up to 1" (25 mm) and 1-3/16" (30 mm)

I'm rebuilding a 1984 Porsche 944 and tore the motor down last year, and now I'm working on putting it all back together. Plenty of work has gone into this project, and doing the valves was next on the agenda. I first tried the "cheap deal" at Harbor Freight and it's "clamp and compress" design just didn't cut it - the one at Napa did better, but still not good enough - Porsche uses a double-spring on their valves so you need something that does the full clamp. Then I tried the local tool rental places (theirs was a monster - and not designed for reaching into a head), some pawn shops, Pep Boys and finally a place called Performance Auto where I "borrowed" one. That tool almost worked, but damn if it didn't flex, expand, and basically, suck at getting the springs out - it did work, but I knew I'd need something better to put the valves back in once I'm done working on them - so I returned the "borrowed" tool and started digging and found this one. This tool was heavier than the "borrowed" one, but not as insane as the tool rental place had - the one they had would have been ideal for a tractor I think. None of the others I saw, short of spending $120 at Napa would have had a shot at it - and those weren't much different than the borrowed one. This tool really did a great job - and I even made the mistake of putting in 7 of the 8 valves before I realized that I forgot to put in the new valve seals!! This tool make getting the valves back out, putting in the seals and putting them back in a breeze. Does this clamp onto the valves? Kind of - the clamping bit with the handle is more for placement and mlld positioning - the real work happens with the screw bit opposite the handle. What about tool flex? None to speak of. This thing is made of thick metal - about 3/8" thick all around - including the swiveling bars near the handle. It didn't flex at all - and the Porsche springs are some TIGHT springs too - lesser tools were made "bitch" easily by the cylinder head, flexing, warping and otherwise not doing their job, all because of this old Porsche, however, this tool stood strong and pressed on. I strongly recommend this tool for anyone doing work on an engine that needs to push into the heads to remove the valves - this tool makes the job easy.

A truly Great tool to remove springs. But you can also adjust it to just barely compress the spring & easily put the keepers back with one push. First I adjusted the top & bottom rods so it would just push the spring down enough to allow keepers to drop in. Then cut an piece of vacuum tubing to same length as the spring adapter you are using which will be placed in the adapter. Place your keepers on the valve stem, I apply a drop of oil to help them stick. Then use the valve spring as normal. The idea of the tubing is that it surrounds the keepers so they cant fall outward & of course the hollow center of the tube allows room for the valve stem to come up. You can aslo use a tube that's smaller that outside dia. of the keepers and it will act to push down on them but I found larger worked for me. To help "Push" the keepers down, I put a small bolt in the tubing, head side toward the keepers, find a head size that allows the corners to dig into the sides of the tubing so it will provide resistance. The bolt needs to be short, like 1/2 or 3/8 inch so there is still room for the valve stem to travel up the tube. position the bolt. I position the bolt in tube so it in just enough to allow some tubing to surround the keepers and the weight of the bolt is on top the keeprs holding them. Then one easy push and a jiggle and release and keepers are in. I only missed 3 times on 1st attempt out of 32 valves. Alternatively you could used a rubber stopper or cork rather than bolt but hard steel leaves no slivers to clog your oil system. Of course this works perfect to remove springs and of corse your heads must be OUT. There are some arguments here on how to use this. Instructions say to adjust rods such that depressing top handle gives you a snug fit then use the T-bar ob bottom to turn the rod and compress the spring. Do it that way if you have several hours to waste and especially to grind up the top of your valves by the rotating cap on them. It may be necessary to do that for tough springs partly especially if youre a non muscle bound wimp like me. Adjust the top handle always so its about 45 degrees down when you first make contact because the mechanical linkage fights against you from 0-45 and its really hard to push down if handle is upwards when you start, I guess that's why they say turn the rod. But for average springs it easy enough. Built like tank its a vey heavy duty tool which will out last your lifetime.

Like the title, this is a great tool if you know how to use it. Sturdy. I like that it has the new style pusher heads. Makes doing late model heads much easier. People who are used to this kind of tool know the it takes time to set it up for a proper push. When adjusted right, it works great. After adjustment, you can just keep moving from valve to valve. I did find that when reinstalling the valve keepers, it can be hard to work around the head to get them in right. But that is because of design of the head, same as with other compressors.

The tool is designed to be 'locked' in place (screw plate on valve face, spring cage on top of valve spring). Then you use the hand screw from underneath to tighten the device and compress the valve spring. No problem, I knew that before purchasing and it works well enough. My issue with the tool is that the tool has no provision for you to grab it anywhere when locking (pressing down) the lever. Other designs I've used the past allow you to lock the tool in place with one hand (like squeezing the handle on a pair of vice-grips). This tool requires you to try and hold it centered over the valve and then push down on the lever from over the top of it. Quite awkward.

Works great

This is a high-quality tool and well worth the money. I am working on a Ford 4.0 SOHC V6, which has oddly-spaced valves (if you've worked on a Ford 4.0 SOHC, you know what I'm talking about). Removal of the number 1 and 6 exhaust valves with a different style spring compressor was impossible, but with this tool, I had them removed in less than five minutes. There's a little bit of a learning curve to use it correctly, but it's not hard. I'm not a mechanic by trade, I work on engines sporadically, so I think this tool will last the rest of my life. Buy once, cry once.

Disclaimer: if you dont lubricate the swiveling piece that comes in contact with the valve's face, it will eventually bind up and cut a nice ring on the face of your valve. I used redline assembly lube, you can use whatever works, just make sure it spins smooth and easy when applying pressure to it with your hand. That out of the way, good tool. Theres tricks to using it in my experience. When installing valves, I find myself pressing the black handle against my stomach to keep one end on the valve spring, holding the tool up with my left and centering it on the valve face with my right. Pics: the part that needs lube, the ring caused by not lubing said part, and a kit I put together for valve lapping. Product list: Loctite clover fine grinding compound, redline assembly lube, acdelco gear marking compound, and in the corner is a phillips screwdriver with a piece of 1/4" ID fuel line jammed on it to grip the valves from the stem side. just get some of those blue lint free shop towel rolls and some rubbing alcohol for cleaning.

Just buy it. Extremely well made. Super easy to use. I've used several other styles of compressor and this is by far the easiest one I've used. My 2nd grader could operate this thing successfully. This should work for pretty much any valve design but if your valves are a bucket over spring design as used in many Subarus, this is the style of compressor you need. The more common "fork" style compressor and the typical overhead style wont work for you. I saw a review that complained that the compression action is achieved by turning the screw on the valve head end instead of using the lever and they found that to be disappointing... this is technically true based on the included directions. However, its actually quite easy to use the locking lever to compress the valve in one motion if you have the distance between the two pressure points set up right. When I use this tool I duct tape a rag or something similar over the cup that sits on the valve heads. The edge of the cup is quite sharp and I worry about it gouging the valve heads. Alternatively you could very easily grind the sharp edge down a bit. I plan to do this, I just haven't gotten around to it. Even with this small issue I have no regrets with this purchase and it shouldn't detract you from buying it. This tool is worth every penny.

This tool worked awesome to rebuild some Chevrolet small block heads. I found it needed to be well greased on the threads and especially on the swivel that sits on the valve. A couple of hits on the valve springs with a socket and hammer before using this tool made everything go smoothly. Stock valve springs were easy to compress. I used the larger adapter on the springs and it provided lots of room to remove and install the keepers and the valve stem seals.

Very good, adjusting and sturdy

Excellent spring compressor. I used it on 24 valve motorcycle cylinder head with springs in pockets below the surface and it worked great. Made life a lot easier.

This tool worked well to remove and rebuild the valve assembly. The only challenge I encountered was manipulating the head on a flat table so I could clamp the spring. It wasn't such and issue removing the spring, but rebuilding the assembly was a little more tricky with loose keepers. If your head isn't on some type of stand you have balance the head on the edge of the table while applying the clamp which could lead to catastrophe if it fell off while you are trying to complete the job. A few people have commented about a lack of grip tape in the correct place but I didn't find this an issue. Overall, good quality tool once you figure out a few tricks to make it work for you.

Good quality. Made quick work on a Saturn 1.9L engine. Should work for just about any cylinder head.