Topic: Stuck valve retainers/keepers...

[Lumbee]

...so I've posted on this bike before.  Its a 77F 750 I picked up in the fall.  The symptoms were it ran [just] OK when first started, but but once it got warm it felt like it was dropping a cylinder or two.  So after checking everthing thing out the last month or so I decided it was time to pull the motor and see what was going on in the guts.  Everything looked OK until I start disassembling the head.  It seems that the valve retainers on the exhaust side of 2 and 3 are stuck.  The valve itself and the springs seem to compress as they should,but the retainer itself seems locked into place.  I have the valve spring remover that just clamps on top of the spring, not the C clamp type one that presses on both sides of the valve.  I clamp the remover on top of the valve and press down with on my might, and no dice, the top retainer and keepers won't budge.

It just so happends I have another 78F head that I'm going to put on this motor, but I'm wonder if anybody has ever seen this, and maybe know what the problem is.  Also is this the cause of my original problem where I was dropping cylinders once the bike got warm?

[hcritz]

Hey Great One...
Not unusual for the keepers to get stuck...I doubt that has anything to do with the cyl. dropping though.
The keepers are a taper fit in the retainer. A quick way to dislodge the keepers is to take a deep socket that fits the outside of the valve spring retainer and and whack each one with a hammer... careful not to hit too hard...sometimes the retainers Will pop out this way...and  you might have valve springs and parts flying...Also make sure not to let the head of the valve hit anything underneath and bend it as the valve will move down some too. One sharp blow will normally unseat the keepers...then your valve spring tool should work.
Hope this helps

[Lumbee]

..thanx, i'll give it a whack with the mallet this evening when i get home.

.I doubt that has anything to do with the cyl. dropping though.

   

[kaysystems]

My K0 drops a cylinder when it starts to get warm. Even hot there is plenty valve clearance. I changed the coils, checked everything. Good compression on all cylinders.

Couldn't figure it out....until I measured the cam bearing diameters. 0.3mm (Nearly 12 thou). Could this be a cam thrashing around in the bearing and causin the valve not to close, or not to open properly?

David

[Big Jay]

You might want to shove a wadded up Kleenex up in the socket before you do yhis. Sometimes the keepers fly up into the socket, out the hole and all over the shop.

Ask me how I know

Also, have the head supported up off the bench when you do this. If it is reallt stuck, you could pound the valve open and it will hit the bench and could possibly bend it.

Jay

[Lumbee]

...socket over the spring trick didn't work...gave it a good thrashing with the mallet, and still no dice.  Got a buddy that has the C-clamp style remover...gonna give that a try...

[hcritz]

They must be stuck good! I've always had good luck using that trick...I have one of the spring compressors like yours to do valve seal replacements with the head in place (autos) and it's not the greatest...but beats pulling the head.
The C-clamp type should do the trick for sure.