BBC Valve Springs qrestion

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offroadrolls

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Mar 20, 2012
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North side of Deer Mountain
We bought a rebuilt 454 for a project we're doing. We decided to change out the stock intake and valve covers when we noticed 2 things.
#1 the valve spring retainers look like they are to small of a diameter for the springs.
#2 The cam lobes don't run in the center of the of the lifters. I didn't think to pry on the cam to see what the end play is like.

Are there any BBC engine builders out there who can help me decifer what I'm looking at? Any help is greatly appreciated.
 

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If the edges of the retainers touched...they would not retain.

If you are concerned about the cam walking back and forth (Chevy's do this) install a cam thrust button inside of your timing cover. The distributor can create thrust on the cam through the gear drive mechanism on occasion. If the block has ever been align bored it moves the crank and cam closer together and causes the chain to be a little loose. You can buy chains to compensate for this... or you could last time I built one.

gold03
 
At the present I was more concerned with the lifter not being centered on the cam lobe. I'll check the end play when I get back to it. Also I wasn't refering to the keepers but note the spring hanging out from under the retainer on one side. You can actualy move the spring side to side under the retainer. Seems wrong to me.
 
At the present I was more concerned with the lifter not being centered on the cam lobe. I'll check the end play when I get back to it. Also I wasn't refering to the keepers but note the spring hanging out from under the retainer on one side. You can actualy move the spring side to side under the retainer. Seems wrong to me.
I forgot. Thanks for the line bore tip. I was wondering about the T Chain slop on a motor with just 1500 miles, I bet that's it.
 
"You can actualy move the spring side to side under the retainer. "

I see it now. Seems a little weird to me. Here is a picture from the old book "How to hot rod big block Chevy's"You can see how the retainer should index with the spring. I'd pull em off and make sure they are the right ones. If you drop a valve... all you take home is scrap metal usually:eek:

gold03
 

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Sounds like u got mismatched springs and retainers, there shouldnt be much if any play, they should be abit stiff to move at all, with a stock to a mild cam there needs to be 125 lbs of pressure holding that valve shut. If its loose then its not gonna seal and make good compression- and we all know what that does to a motor, makes em run like a terd
 
almost look like sbc retainers on the bbc springs..

Doesn't look too kosher.......i'd be afraid of springs walking and guides being torn up..... yep, i'd be replacing them for sure.....
 
"You can actualy move the spring side to side under the retainer. "

I see it now. Seems a little weird to me. Here is a picture from the old book "How to hot rod big block Chevy's"You can see how the retainer should index with the spring. I'd pull em off and make sure they are the right ones. If you drop a valve... all you take home is scrap metal usually:eek:

gold03
Thanks Gold03 and everyone else. I knew something was up with those spring retainers.
Resolving the issue will be easy. I wonder how much sleep I'll lose wondering if the rest of the engine was put together right.
 
"I wonder how much sleep I'll lose wondering if the rest of the engine was put together right."

If you have any concerns at all I would be tearing the engine down and going through it myself. All it would cost you is a gasket set. I know the reasons guys say to replace bearings but I can tell you that I have torn engines down repeatedly and put the same rod and main bearings back into it with out any ill effect. YOU MUST MATCH THE BEARINGS TO THE JOURNAL AND TO EACH OTHER!!! number one rod bearing must go back on rod number one with the upper being returned to the upper and the lower going back in the lower positions. The bearing shells are designed to "crush" fit where they butt together to ensure they can't rotate in the rod end or on the main journal. If you mix them up at all throw them away and buy a new set. By the way, a new set of bearings is not a bunch of money either. I just had the time and money in the day to see what would happen if I didn't put new bearings in every time I did a tear down.... Truth is... I was cheap... OK. But it worked and I ran the s@#t out of the engine for years and reused the bearings even when reboring the cylinders for new pistons.

Two good books to read if you are going to build Chevy engines. "Power Secrets" by Smokey Yunick, and "How to HotRod Big Block Chevy's" by Bill fisher and Bob Waar. These books are old, but so are the engines. Both of these books are far more in deapth than you need, but there is a wealth of good information buried in them. Don't get carried away with modifications just concentrate on doing a good job of inspecting and bolting together components.

It is easy to build one HP per cubic inch in a small or big block Chevy and have it run reliably for years if put together correctly. Do it wrong and all you get is some cool paper weights to show your wife and friends. :mad:

gold03
 
that sure doesn't look right..looks like they went to a larger diameter aftermarket spring, but tried to keep the stock smaller retainers..I sure wouldn't run it like that..BBC's have a lot of mass in the valvetrain to start with, sure not a place to cut corners..I prefer titanium and good 10° keepers..my 468 regularly sees 6500 rpm, so far haven't had any issues..

like gold03 said, I think it would be worth a gasket set to not have to worry about it..
 
that sure doesn't look right..looks like they went to a larger diameter aftermarket spring, but tried to keep the stock smaller retainers..I sure wouldn't run it like that..BBC's have a lot of mass in the valvetrain to start with, sure not a place to cut corners..I prefer titanium and good 10° keepers..my 468 regularly sees 6500 rpm, so far haven't had any issues..

like gold03 said, I think it would be worth a gasket set to not have to worry about it..
Yes, I've done enough research now to know you're correct. The guy bought some pretty fancy aftermarket springs but kept the stock retainers. I'm in the process of finding /selecting the right retainers and locks. I measured the lift at about .468, so even though it's below .500 I'll use 10 degree as maverickmk recommends.
I'm having trouble finding the motivation to tear the motor down though. I know it's only a gasket set but, time is money too and I'm busier than a 3 legged dog in a fire hydrant factory. One other curious thing I found was when finding the multiple for the lift I measured the rocker arms @ a 1.5:1 ratio. Maybe I'll just take the whole thing down to an engine builder and pay them to tear it down, check it out and reassemble.
 
Most horror stories you will hear about engine failures is when someone trusted someone elses "rebuilding" job. There are all different levels of rebuilding an engine and just as many levels of skill on the part of the person doing the work. I would tear it down and verify clearances and how well the work was done. So much easier now than after the motor is installed in the car.

Don
 
Just stay the course and dont let frustration get you down. Take your time. Remember you will probably enjoy the build more than driving it in city traffic anyway.

Gold03
 

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