DIY Valvetrain (courtesy Erik Loza CRSX)
I just finished assembling the the head for my new engine and thought it might make an interesting DIY. To give some background, the tear-down occurred at JustinC's over a year ago. A local member had hydrolocked his K20 and we decided to swap over the beefier valvetrain components into STLunatics K24A2-powered RSX (since that year of TSX motor had much wimpier springs).
This poor K20 met its fate too early, but will be a good parts donor...
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Let's start by stripping the head. By this point, we already have removed the cams and cam tray. First, we use the dedicated valve spring popper tool to unseat the keepers from the retainers. You place the end of the tool over the retainer, smack it sharply with a mallet, and the magnets inside grab the keepers as the spring compresses...
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You can then simply remove the retainers and springs. Now, we are going to pull the old valve stem seals. These require a special set of pliers to remove....
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The engine heat really bakes them onto the valve guides and you have to get a running start to pop them loose. They won't be re-used and can be discarded...
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Once the seals are off, we can now remove the spring bases. The surface tension of engine oil really sucks them down, so we again use the special spring popper tool and its internal magnet to remove them. Place the tool over the spring base and spin it with your wrist as you lift, to break the tension. It might take a couple of tries...
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OK, we're done! You can now back out the head bolts and remove the head from the engine. Part II, rebuilding, to follow...