Customer Reviews

Genius Tools Valve Spring Compressor

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was having trouble finding a spring compressor
to work on motocycles. Rented a couple, had to
buy a few, and fortunately were able to return
them. I believe this spring compressor will fit
every application if you need to compress a
spring with the cylinder head removed. Comes
with five different sizes, fits valves well.
Worked great on my Honda Magna VF700C.

Do not buy this if your planning on working on a car head. There are no instructions. I'm working on a Ford GT-40 head and the clamp bent before it compressed the spring so I didn't feel right returning it. I straightened it and tried it again backwards with the screw handle on the valve side, of course it bent again.I straightened it again and welded some gussets on and made an aluminum adapter for the screw. All is well now.

Worked on my TRX90 and ATC200x perfectly. 5 different spring compressor insert diameters work with big and small springs. Great tool.

Borrowed from a friend and it served me so well so I decided to buy my own. Worth of its money.

best valve spring compressor for the money. I used it for motorcycle valve job it worked great.

I tried two other valve spring compressors on the heads of my XLH-1200. Even though they said "for small engines, Harley Davidson, etc" they were not nearly up to the task. Those springs are some tough mamas. So, I bought this Genius tool one.

I got two sets of keepers out. It bent. I was able to get it to work, but.. it bent. So, not once, but twice, I stuck it on my floor jack, and put it under the back end of my 1999 Ford Ranger longbed, and compressed it between the jack and the leaf spring mount, in an attempt to "unbend" it. The first go-round made it straight. I got the remaining keepers off. It was bent again. This time, I over-bent it by about 10 degrees or so, hopefully to get it to be "straight" on use.

Admittedly, the Harley setup is probably about 140lbs of spring being compressed about 3/8 inches to get the keepers out. Its a tough setup, as tough or tougher than you'd see on a medium V8 head.

The tool is good, its gonna be great for your smaller motorcycle engines with small valves. They HD valves and springs are huge. I'm making this one work, but... if I knew then what I know now, I'd have gotten an even heavier unit.

I like the tool, it will work on other projects, and it saved me money (and showed my that my exhaust valves were gonna be toast soon). I can modify this tool with some extra metal welded on. The threaded part will take a lot of abuse, its just those corners of the frame are not quite as they need to be for the HD application.

If you're doing a small engine from a mower or air compressor, you'll be fine. Most import bikes, fine. Small cars, fine. BIG cars, HD, other big valves... not fine.

Don't fault the tool, just use the right tool (which I didn't do)

This is a follow up, a month later -

After the "bend the tool using your truck for weight" sessions, things seem to have gotten better with the valve spring compressor. I re-assembled the heads on my Sportster with no problems. The repeated flexing, bending back must have work hardened things. This is no great joy for folks needing a full size tool, but I wanted to come back and tell anyone reading this review - FIRST - use the right tool for the job, and - SECOND - this tool took more abuse from me than it should have, being bent all over the place by the weight of my Ford truck and a a floor jack, and the tool took it. Its not a bad tool. The adapters seem to be hardened, or at least tougher, to take some abuse. The case is great.

Again - use the right tool, and you'll have no problems. I'm 100 percent on this tool for small engines, perhaps smaller car engines, mid size and smaller motorcycle engines. It would be perfect for those.

This tool worked very well for replacing an exhaust valve on my KLX300R. Due to the range of adjustability, I expect that this valve spring compressor will work on any overhead valve motorcycle engine head. I highly recommend this product.

This worked great on my OHC Volvo cylinder head. However it bent on my stock worn out 80 pound valve springs on Ford E7TE heads.