I've got several broken valve springs and I have ordered a new set from engnbldr. I have the rockers off and I'm ready to change them all out, but I've never done it with the head on a motor. I've seen some of the valve spring compressors that work from the top side of the head, but I don't have one and I have never used one.

Will one of those work for this job? I know I have to either pressurize the cylinder or hold the valves up somehow.
I'll get that figured out. But for now I need help in how to get the springs replaced.

 

What engine ya got??

 

Sorry. 22re in '93 model pickup

 

If you have got the rockers off, the head is effectively off too.

The rocker bolts are the head bolts.

You cannot pressurise the head without it lifting off the block.

Just finish removing the head and git'er done.

You are gonna need a new head gasket.

 

I realized that when I pulled the bolts. I would rather not have to the the head off if I don't have to. That's a road I don't want to go down.

 

You have to.

 

Is there a specific reason why? I don't see why it has to come off.

 

Of course there are several specific reasons why.

Just by removing the head bolts you have damaged, or destroyed the integrity of the head gasket seal.

You cannot possibly hold the valves up without using air pressure, which will complete the destruction of the headgasket when the head is lifted by the pressure.

Finally, the whole plan is a half-baked- half-assed deal that no one who expects to get more service out of their engine would even consider. If you find any mechanic who would tell you otherwise, it would be a public service to publish his name to the world, so that everyone can stay clear of him.

It is possible to change valve springs on many engines without removing the head.

The 22RE is not one of them.

 

I was not aware that there was any type of seal around the head bolts in the gasket itself. I would have thought those holes would have been isolated.

I'm not trying to do things the cheap way. I am just trying to keep from spending a bunch of money. Back story is that this is my mother in law's truck and it had sat in a non running condition for about five years. I offered to get it running if I could borrow it to drive for a bit. That has turned into way more than I ever intended to spend.

I am not sure how valve springs just break out of the blue. The truck is in time and everything was fine until this happened. It ran good for about two weeks after I put about $700 in it. This is just more cost that I don't have to spend. I realize the fault is my own, but you can probably understand why I'm upset about it.

 

I don't know how to make it more plain, when the headbolts (rocker bolts on a 22RE) are removed, the head is just laying there, no longer clamped to the block.

You cannot expect to mess around with the valves and springs the way you need to, and then expect the old head gasket to be fit for additional service.

The head must come off, the head and block deck surfaces made tweekishly clean, then degreased, and a new headgasket applied and torqued to spec.

Nothing less will give a chance of additional troublefree service.

If the truck is a train-wreck as you seem to suggest, you might as well quit now if you can't do a reasonable repair that has a chance of success.

 

As to how the springs broke, if the valvetrain is in a stock configuration, and has no other mechanical issues, I expect that the springs failed at stress risers caused by corrosion from combustion products and moisture that condensed in the head. You did say that the truck has been inop for 5 years.

There is some small possibility that you might find bent valves on one or more of the stations with broken springs.

 

Everything millball said is 100% correct. You have already removed the head bolts so the only thing holding the head on is gravity. Once you loosened the head bolts the head gasket is now ruined and must be replaced. Take the head off, verify that the valves are not bent. If the springs are broken there's a good possibility some springs are bent. Buy a new Toyota head gasket from the dealership. It's only about $50 at the dealership and it will last longer than any other brand out there. It lasted this long right?


This is one of those cases where being lazy is twice as hard as doing it right.