Thread: exhaust spring feels loose in head.

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I just recently rebuilt a set of heads...cleaned all parts and and after re-assembly noticed the exhaust valves seemed not as tight under the retainer as the intakes........the installed heights are all the same.....is this common...i did however discard the exhaust valve rotators...having never rebuilt a head that had them.....My valves are all the same height as well as the springs.....these were stock 416's with 1.84" intakes and 1.5" exhausts.....maybe i am just paranoid a little....did use moly lube on all parts but just want to check with you guys and get your advice......cam has .471" lift.....hard to explain...most likely some one on here will know what im talking about.

You didn't re-use the old springs did you?

no i didnt use the old springs.......can the rotators be used with a cam that has a .471" lift.........I was under the impression that the rotators were no good with a higher lift camshaft.....I would prefer to use them cause the motor will see more street time than track.....thanks for the feedback......all the heads that I have rebuilt were all old castings and never had the rotators.......my only concern with the rotaors is the possibility of coil bind at max lift.........even though I'm only at .471" with 1.52 roller tips. Any more tips and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Just an edit.....After checking everything out I have found the spring seat on the exhaust valves are cut deeper.....which makes sense cause of the thickness of the rotating retainer.....now does anyone know if the rotators can handle a cam with .471" lift......being mostly a street motor that will see some time at the track, can I use the rotators?.........thanks

you may want to check with the sprng manufacture and see if they call for the rotaors to be removed. There removal will decrease the spring pressure alittle , maybe just enough. Since you said they are all the same in the installed height , you can almost rule out head machining problems and if you had nothing more than lapping in the valves then the rotaars are my bet.

thanks denny w.......i only presumed the spring seat would have been the same.........having never run them before, or rebuilt any until now. Learned a lot today thanks. I am going to put them on and check when the heads are on......From what I have read so far it makes sense to run them on a street motor. my only concern now is the lift.....if they clear great if not then I have to shim them.......what was the average lift you ran when using the rotators......I know about .500" lift will be too much but I'm at a conservative .471"......think they will be ok?

thank you very much Dennyw.......you have been most helpful....and I learned something new......I am reassembling them now and going to be bolting them on and checking for binding and clearances......awesome....thanks again.