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Post by bonestock87 on May 29, 2012 14:14:00 GMT -5
Hey guys, I've not chimed in for a while. Just been driving and enjoying my car lately. I've decided to go ahead and replace the valve seals on my '86 TC motor. I'm having a heck of a time finding the proper tool to compress the valve springs. A buddy of mine who runs a shop had an OHC spring compressor tool but it was much too narrow to hook onto the cam lobes. I've been googling KD Tools part # 3087 but everywhere lists it as "no longer available". Does anyone have a suggestion on an alternative method? I have a traditional valve spring compressor, the kind that you crank down on and it squeezes the spring together. Can that be used? On a side note, tearing things down gave me the excuse to port and polish the upper and lower intake a bit, and gasket match it. I simply smoothed the runners and took out some pretty invasive casting flashes. I also was able to clean both intakes and they look 100 times nicer in their natural finish than with 26 years of grime on them! I cleaned up the engine bay, repainted the valve cover, cleaned the turbo compressor, and all the aluminum brackets and such. I also took the time to install a T fitting on the oil pressure block so I could hook up both my mechanical aftermarket gauge AND my dash gauge. I took the stock ECT sensor out of the lower intake (between cylinders 2 and 3) and installed a new coolant temp sending unit so my dash gauge would work again. I previously took that out of the side of the block to hook up my mechanical coolant temp gauge. I'm hoping to have the cash to install a FMIC while I have it all torn down.  |
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Post by bonestock87 on May 29, 2012 14:42:23 GMT -5
Here are some random pics I've taken during this small project. The crusty 'ol intake and the ECT location I used to install the sending unit for the gauge.  The cleaned and slightly ported lower.  My T-fitting for oil pressure  Intercooler adapter  |
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Post by ben12178 on May 29, 2012 14:45:25 GMT -5
When I did mine years ago I used the type that looks like a c clamp. It worked just fine
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Post by Stinger on May 29, 2012 14:47:54 GMT -5
The KD Tools version works pretty well, I've purchased a few on eBay over the years. Esslinger also sells a tool that leverages off the cam to compress the spring. A traditional spring compressor like you mention can be used as long as the head is removed of course.
Where did you get the intercooler adapter in the picture above?
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Post by bonestock87 on May 29, 2012 14:59:20 GMT -5
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Post by bonestock87 on May 29, 2012 18:38:03 GMT -5
Here's another pic of the intercooler adapter and the placement of the coolant temp sender:   So the C clamp style tool worked? I'll look into it. I wonder if the parts houses loan out those things............ |
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Post by ben12178 on May 29, 2012 19:18:16 GMT -5
Yeah it worked but you have to take the head off to use it
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Post by Stinger on May 29, 2012 22:12:44 GMT -5
I assume that outlet part is from ATP Turbo but I don't know for sure, never saw one "in the real world" and not just on their site.
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Post by bonestock87 on May 30, 2012 8:28:58 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm pretty stoked about having it because there's a good chance I won't have to clock the compressor housing to make the FMIC piping work.
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Post by n20capri on May 30, 2012 10:57:30 GMT -5
I'll be watching this thread...I need do do this to my SVO...
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Post by Stinger on May 30, 2012 12:55:51 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm pretty stoked about having it because there's a good chance I won't have to clock the compressor housing to make the FMIC piping work. I don't see how it has anything to do with clocking the turbo, it just prevents you from having to cut off the 2 bolt ears and grind it into a circle to clamp an outlet coupler to. It doesn't change the direction its pointing. |
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Post by bonestock87 on May 30, 2012 15:06:35 GMT -5
I guess I was in the mindset that no way would I attempt to cut on the compressor housing, so the only other option would be to clock it. This adapter seems like it will give me enough room to route tubing down to an intercooler w/o the need to turn it counter clockwise to point up. I love having mechanics for friends! Here's a pic of a tool my friend found in his shop. I'm going to measure the cam lobe width and we'll modify the end of this thing, but this sure beats buying KD 3087 for $45 (cheapest I could find it on ebay). I'll post a pic of the final version of this thing.  |
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Post by Stinger on May 30, 2012 15:31:28 GMT -5
I guess I was in the mindset that no way would I attempt to cut on the compressor housing, so the only other option would be to clock it. This adapter seems like it will give me enough room to route tubing down to an intercooler w/o the need to turn it counter clockwise to point up. Cutting the housing doesn't mean you don't have to clock it. There is no "one or the other" involved. The only thing the adapter did (besides giving you a really nice place to clamp a coupler to, which is a great addition) is that it made your housing effectively 1.5" taller in the wrong direction, reducing clearance to get the IC tubing to an intercooler. Why are you so scared of clocking it? While some people get it to work without clocking it, it typically looks like crap, results in minimal clearance between the outlet pipe and the pipe going to the throttle body, and has to have an extra bend in the system. |
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Post by bonestock87 on May 30, 2012 15:59:28 GMT -5
Does the turbo have to be removed to turn the compressor or can it be done while attached to the manifold? I'm also concerned with what I might have to do to the wastegage acutator's mounting position. If neither of these are a concern, I'll attempt the clocking.
Edit: I agree with you on the looks part of the tubing. It would look 100 times cleaner if the tubing doesn't have to make that compound bend right out of the housing.
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Post by Stinger on May 30, 2012 16:38:08 GMT -5
No, it doesn't have to be removed. As long as the gasket isn't stuck, you just loosen the bolts on the back of the compressor housing and rotate it. The actuator issue isn't a problem unless you rotate it all the way to/past straight up. You can rotate it some without effecting the actuator (it will allow some movement). Once you go a certain distance, one of the compressor housing bolts will hit the return line flange (which means you have to grind the bolt head a bit shorter to clear it). If you go really far, you can move the actuator to the next pair of housing bolts (which sometimes requires slotting or drilling the actuator mounting holes, depending on turbo type).
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