So are you going to use the compressed air or the shoe string method?

 

That was going to be my question as well. When I was doing my VQ35 swap, I wanted to toss in the JWT valves/shims/sprong kit but my mechanic said he didn't have the necessary tools to do it. I was wondering what tools are necessary to swap the parts but no matter...not my car anymore.....

 

Have one already, not so impressed.

Works great for getting the locks out of the retainer. You can remove the springs on a set of heads in a couple of minutes. But this thing sucks at putting them back together, it's difficult to keep everything aligned when putting stuff back together. Maybe this is an improved design as the one I have is from another tool maker.


Edit: I think this is the same thing that I bought.

http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/LIS-36200.html

 

While we're at it.... this is the POS that I bought. It doesn't even remotely work.


http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPage...ing+Compressor



I think I can modify it though.

 

That one (or at least the one I bought locally) works just fine on both the SR and VE. :shrug:

 

SR springs are easy. Few valve spring tools are VQ friendly with the heads on the engine.

I am going to make new ends to go on it so I can use it.

I was just irritated that I spent $80 for a tool I still can't use.

 

Probably air, the compressor is handy.

Well I ordered the Snapon, I'll let ya know how it works (or doesn't)...

All this talk reminds me.. I need to return another tool I bought a couple weeks back to try out... I kinda figured it wouldn't work but that's the beauty of an ask-no-questions return policy.. hehe

 

I just put in a set of JWT S-2 cams in a VQ 30 and they were easy to install. The biggest pain was setting the valve clearance. From the dyno runs I have done, the stock VQ 30 starts to lose power at about 6000 rpm and the VQ 30 that I just put the S-2 cams in starts to drop at 6500 rpm so I don't see why you would want to run much over that to stay in the power band.

 

If he had a CVT transmission that stayed at peak HP constantly, that'd be true. But since conventional transmissions have an RPM drop-off between shifts you actually want to shift past your peak HP in the lower gears to be in the meat of the powerband on the next upshift. How far to overshoot the HP peak depends greatly on the gearing. Cars with short gear spacing don't need to do it as much.

 

I calculated my shift points with a close ratio box and at 6000 rpm with the drop to the next gear had the torque within 1 ft/lb. I am finding that these motors have a lot of torque and do not need to be run at high rpm but you need to get the motor on the dyno to see where your power is really at.

 

It's not the torque you should be looking at on each upshift, it's the HP. It might be making similar torque but the engine isn't necessarily doing as much work as if you'd upshifted at a later RPM. Work > force.

With proper breathing modifications the VQ (3.0 and 3.5) can and will make good power beyond the stock redline, even with stock camshafts. This has been proven over and over again for years.


But I don't want to stray too far off topic. Apologies to the original poster for the hijack.

 

Oh it's okay! By all means threadjack, the more info for me to take into consideration the better.

 

Well the Snap-on tool came in today. I tried it out on a set of heads I've got lying around first. It works great for disassembly, not quite as well for reassembly. Alignment is key and it can be finicky getting the keepers to slide back in properly. There is definitely a bit of skill and touch involved in getting them back on properly. I tested it out on 4 spring assemblies, and it took me quite a few tries on the first 2 to get the "feel" but only a couple attempts on the last 2, so I guess I was getting better. It does seem to work though, just requires some patience and practice to get the hang of it.

As to how well this would work with the engine in the car, well I can't try it seeing as I have no engine in the car right now. But I'd say the only thing that would change is the angle the heads are on/that you're working at and so it would be a bit more physically demanding pushing the tool along the proper axis on top of the spring. You have to be fairly deliberate about that or the keepers will bind/not go into position easily.