Changing valvesprings used to be a hassle. In the old days, you had to really lean on that lever arm tool to compress the spring, and if it was a race spring, you needed a WWE wrestler to help keep that lever down while installing the keepers. If you were changing springs with the engine in the car, you also had to be careful not to slip and launch the keepers into Never Never Land. Taken as a whole, changing springs was a royal pain. Since then, better tools and engines have come along. Now we're working on LS engines, and we've found the best tool of all. Crane and Comp Cams offer slick LS valvespring compressor tools that make it a one-hand operation to compress both springs at the same time. Check it.
Not only do LS engines make pavement-ripping power, but they're also easier to work on.
Spring Swapping We had the Crane tool in our toolbox, but Comp has a new one as well. With a tool like this in your hands, you might actually look forward to changing springs. The only other piece you'll need for this operation is a compression gauge tool adapter that can put air pressure into the cylinder. Once the cylinder is pressurized, it's brutally simple to swap springs. The Crane tool is limited to the narrow cathedral-port heads, but the new Comp tool will accommodate the two different valve spacings of LS1 and LS3 heads.
Adding LS Durability As long as you're adding better springs, it's also a good idea to add a set of thick-wall Hi-Tech Comp pushrods to replace those rather spindly OE versions. While an aftermarket set of rockers might sound like a good idea, the cost can be somewhat steep. An alternative is Comp's new trunnion kit, which replaces the stock rocker arm with a captured roller bearing trunnion kit that merely replaces the existing bearings in the stock rockers. This is a simple and inexpensive way to increase the durability of the stock, investment, cast LS rockers. If you want to swap these parts out all under one part number, Comp offers the LS RPM upgrade kit that includes better pushrods, 26918 valvesprings, and titanium retainers that can use the stock locks. All you have to do is add the trunnion kit and you have a rock-solid LS valvetrain.
PARTS LIST DESCRIPTION PN SOURCE PRICE LS valvespring compressor 5462 Comp Cams $102.96 LS valvespring compressor 99472-1 Summit Racing 126.95 Cylinder pressure tool 99474-1 Summit Racing 19.95 LS retro-fit trunion kit 13702-KIT Summit Racing 134.75 LS RPM valvetrain upgrade kit 54100 Summit Racing 529.95 Comp LS beehive springs 26918-16 Summit Racing 187.95