Valve Spring and Retainer Installation

Tools Needed for Valve Spring Install

Parts Needed for Valve Cover Install

• valves
• valve spring seats
• valve stem seal
• intake valve spring(s)
• exhaust valve spring(s)
• retainer
• valve keepers

Top valve spring is the GSR outer intake, the middle is the GSR inner intake and the bottom is the GSR exhaust. The retainer is the 2 columns to the left with the small diameter hole used to hold the valve keepers.

How to Install Engine Valve Springs and Retainers

1. Remove your spark plug cover(if you have one), spark plug wires and valve cover using the 10mm socket and ratchet.



2. Locate the under hood fuse box and remove the cover.

3. Find the 15amp fuse and remove it. This prevents fuel from being squirted into the engine when manually cranking it over to TDC for each cylinder.

4. Place all the bolts and valve cover grommets in a safe place. For me it’s in the spark plug cover.

5. Now start to remove each spark plug using the 5/8” spark plug socket extension and ratchet, like so. I started at cylinder 4


6. Use your 19mm socket and proceed to turn the crank to TDC for cylinder 1


7. Loosen but do not remove both cam gear bolts with your 14mm socket and breaker bar. Don’t use an impact on these bolts. To make it easy use the two 5mm punches through the cam plate holder and cam holder into the camshaft. Circled here in yellow.

8. Loosen the timing belt tensioner bolt by removing the plug circled in red to expose the tensioner bolt.

9. Remove the cam gear bolts along with the cam gears and key. Make sure to be careful when removing the cam gear & key to not drop or loose it.
10. Remove both cam holder plates by loosening the 10mm bolts on the outside are first. Then the 12mm bolt starting from the outside bolts and working your way in.
The numbers on the picture below are for tightening

11. Remove the cam holders, taking care to remember how and where you removed them from
12. B18A/B
13. B18C1/5
14. Remove your camshafts and place them on a cloth in a safe place, along with the cam gears, key and cam gear bolt.
15. Grab your leakdown tester hose and screw the threaded end into the spark plug hole for cylinder 1. Plug the other end into your compressor.


16. Very Important Step: Plug all the oil passages with paper towels. The oil passages are located here

17. Get your 12mm deep socket and extension then place it over the retainer

18. ive it a good hit with your mallet to loosen the valve keepers from the retainer. Try not to loose the valve keepers

19. Valve keeper removed (how it should look after hitting it with the 12mm socket and rubber mallet)

20. Remove the retainer from the top of the valve spring(s)

21. Remove the valve spring(s) to expose the valve seat and valve stem seal

22. Grab your pliers or valve stem seal removal tool and remove the old valve stem seal.
Left side has no valve stem seal, the right side does.

23. With all valves, valve springs, valve stem seals, retainers and keepers removed.
Here, the head is off the car. If you’re doing this with the head on the car, do it one at a time

24. Install the valve seat buy just placing it over the valve guide
If you are doing this while the head is in the car, skip this step

How it looks with the valve seat installed (left side)

25. Now lube the valve stem with oil or assembly lube and place it into the valve guide.
If you’re doing this with the head on the car, skip this step

26. Determine which valve stem seal you’re going to install. A black spring around the valve stem seal means it goes on the exhaust side. A white or silver spring on the valve stem seal means that it goes on the intake side.They are not to be interchanged.
The stem diameter on the intake side is bigger than the stem on the exhaust side and if you mix them up, your exhaust side will leak and your intake side will wear faster than normal.

27. Exhause side:
28. Intake side:
29. Grab your new valve stem seal and lube up the rubber part with oil or assembly lube and place it over your valve stem. We’re working on the intake side so I grab a white spring valve stem seal.

30. Placed over the valve stem and gently hand push it on, just to make sure it’s seated straight and not crooked.
This is not correctly on the valve guide, it needs to be pushed on more. Look to next step.

31. Take your 12mm deep socket with handle and place it over the valve stem seal. Then push it onto the valve guide. You’ll hear it click and feel the little click when it’s in place. There’s no need to hammer it on and is unnecessary



32. Properly installed Valve guide:
33. Get your valve spring and place the inner spring inside the outer spring (if applicable) paying attention to which end has the tighter coils, because that is considered the bottom and goes towards the valve seat.
34. Lube up the valve springs in oil or assembly lube


35. Place your valve spring(s) back into the head on the valve seat.
The bottom of the spring has the coils closer together than the top


36. Place the retainer back on top of the valve spring(s)

37. The process to get the valve keepers to hold the valve stem and stay put is different depending on which type of valve spring compressor you use. I’m using this type of valve spring compressor so this is the way to put the valve keepers back in.
38. The valve spring compressor we are using looks like this:
39. Carefully place your valve keeper into the retainer.
This process is made easier if the valve keeper is lube up with oil or assembly lube.

40. Place the valve spring compressor over the retainer and valve keeper combo

41. Now for the hardest part, trying your best to keep the valve spring compressor straight; begin to push down with all your might until your hands, shoulders, arms and whole body start to shake. That’s about the amount of pressure you need to put into compressing the spring enough to get the valve keepers to seat properly.

42. If this happens just remove the valve keeper and try again:
43. Repeat steps 17 – 42 for the rest of the valve springs and valve stem seals. After your done give everything a once over to make sure it all looks right. Then grab your 12mm deep socket and rubber mallet and place the 12mm socket over the retainer and give the retainer a very light hit just to make sure that the valve keepers are in place and secure. Once you’re done move onto step 33.
44. When finished:
45. Make sure there’s still oil in the camshaft journals, if not add some. Engine assemble lube is fine as well

46. Place your camshafts back into its respective spots, intake cam on the intake side and exhaust cam on the exhaust side. Placing the spot where the key goes at the top.
47. Place the key into its spot on the camshaft and slide on the cam gear. Hand tighten the cam gear bolt for now.
48. B18A/B
49. B18C1/5
50. Place a generous amount of oil or assembly lube all over the cams

51. Re-install the cam holders onto the camshafts
52. B18A/B
53. B18C1/5
54. Then the cam holder plates back into its respective side and tighten the bolts down starting from the middle 12mm bolts working your way out and then finally the 10mm bolts.

55. Now grab two 5mm punches or allen keys and stick them through the cam plate holder and cam holder into the cam
56. B18C1/5
57. Torque down the cam gear bolts to 41 ft lbs for vtec heads and 27 ft lbs for non-vtec heads
58. B18A/B
59. B18C1/5
60. Now double check to make sure that the crankshaft is still at TDC by aligning the crank pulley with the arrow on the lower timing belt cover

61. Once the crankshaft is aligned, double check to make sure that the cam gears are still aligned. Should look like this

62. Once it is, slide the timing belt back on making sure not to spin the crankshaft.
63. Rotate the crankshaft counter-clockwise ever so slightly to take the slack out of the timing belt. You do this via the crank pulley.

64. Tighten the timing belt tensioner bolt with your 14mm socket and rotate the engine via the crankshaft counter-clockwise a full rotation until your back at TDC for cylinder 1 and double check that nothing has moved and is still at TDC. Both at the cam gears and at the crank pulley. If the crank pulley or cam gears are off, loosen the timing belt tensioner bolt and try again. Once your done put back the plug into the timing belt cover.

65. Install the spark plugs back into the cylinders and if they need replacing, now is a good time to do so.
66. Double check that your valve lash is still within spec. If not adjust it to the specs your cam manufacture recommends. Stock specs can be found in the Helms or with a simple search, then install the valve cover back on.
67. Install the spark plug wires, and spark plug wire cover (if applicable) and the 15amp fuse if you took it out as well as the fuse cover.
68. Now that everything back together, look over your work area ensuring that everything is in the car and that you didn’t miss anything.
69. Start her up and listen for any abnormal sounds. If anything sounds wrong shut the car off immediatly.
70. Congratulations, you’re finished!

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