Valve Spring Maintenance

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rollingthunder

rollingthunder

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Mountain Lake, MN
I always loosen the valve train for the winter. But I was wondering how long can an engine sit without being run without doing damage to the springs under full open tension at 900+ psi? 2 weeks? 3 weeks? Thanks for your help.
 
rollingthunder said:
I always loosen the valve train for the winter. But I was wondering how long can an engine sit without being run without doing damage to the springs under full open tension at 900+ psi? 2 weeks? 3 weeks? Thanks for your help.
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I used to just turned the engine over a bit every week or two. It was a PITA to pull the shafts down all the time after loosening them. Plus, that's a lot of load on the bolts as you pull them down.

You are one of the few people running that kind of spring load with that rocker system. IMO you are at the limit of what that system can handle.

Can you post your combo?
 
rollingthunder said:
I'm running a T&D roller rocker system in Predator heads.
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I that case you are pooping in tall cotton. You can take the rockers loose if you want to. Like I said, I just turned mine over.

I can't say if it hurts the springs to have full load on them for a sustained period. My first thought is heat and cycling have much more effect on them just static load.

My first thought has been wrong lots of times.
 
I have never heard "pooping in tall cotton" while in reference to a valve train or anything else for that matter...
 
yellow rose said:
I that casI f you are pooping in tall cotton. You can take the rockers loose if you want to. Like I said, I just turned mine over.

I can't say if it hurts the springs to have full load on them for a sustained period. My first thought is heat and cycling have much more effect on them just static load.

My first thought has been wrong lots of times.
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I don't have anything to back it up either, but that's the way i think about it also.
 
rollingthunder said:
I always loosen the valve train for the winter. But I was wondering how long can an engine sit without being run without doing damage to the springs under full open tension at 900+ psi? 2 weeks? 3 weeks? Thanks for your help.
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Good to see you Rollingthunder... Hope the pulling season went well.. I haven't seen you scence the MoparTech days..Mike told me you were "Snap'in necks and cashing checks"... lol.. :)
Anyway, I would not let it sit more then 2 weeks at the far most. Not sure how often you check the spring pressures. But if it has been going threw springs often and your having to change them out? I would suggest pulling them loose after a week let them rest..If I remember, that had allot of lift? A real Torque Monster!!. But that is just my 2 cents.
Love the Videos of that truck... :) Cheers
 
Thanks for the input. Mike and I just built a new mill. I sold the other one to a puller in North Dakota. This new engine has a Predator set up on it. Will be ready for next year with it.:)
 
rollingthunder said:
I always loosen the valve train for the winter. But I was wondering how long can an engine sit without being run without doing damage to the springs under full open tension at 900+ psi? 2 weeks? 3 weeks? Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...
It depends on the spring. If the spring is selected to react predictably under the expected stress then I would say it should last as well under the lobe stress as it does when its on the base circle.
 
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