Removing and reinstalling m42 valves

[jrobie79]

So I'm getting my head resurfaced and taking the valve train apart would save me a boatload as opposed to having the machine shop do it. I have searched to no avail, how do you remove and reinstall the valves? Is there a trick? Special tools? Anything else I should look at while I'm in there?

[ahlem]

You need a valve spring compressor, a magnetic parts picker upper to catch the keepers and a clearly labeled board with holes drilled in it to keep the valves in the proper order.
Youtube will have a number of how-to videos that should answer your questions.
Be sure to work on a padded surface so you don't scar up your mating surfaces.
A socket to tap the top of the spring retainer to loosen the keepers and you should be good to go.

[TobyB]

I found that getting the right valve spring compressor was the real trick- a lot of the generic
ones aren't designed for such a small keeper in such a deep head.

At the end of it, I made one out of some pipe and a bar clamp, which took a lot of time,
but no money. SHop around- you really want a tube that pushes down on the keeper
while giving you lots of room to fish out the retainers. And a dead- blow hammer
used gently helps break them loose, as the retainers wedge into the keepers.

The first one takes forever- by #4, you're good, by #16, it's easy.

t