I know a lot of folks who get a junkyard LS and then start doing upgrades and are intimidated by the thought of replacing their own valve springs or cleaning up their own cylinder heads in general. I’m not talking about doing a full blown rebuild and cutting the valves, seats, or guides, but disassembly, cleanup, and rebuild is totally something you can do at home. No worries, I promise. Watch Jefferson do this on a project LS engine he’s got going and be inspired to do your own.
NOTE: Yes, he knows people will gripe that there is no towel down for the head to sit on. He explains in the description below and makes sure you use one for the final cleanup and reassembly.
Video Description:
We have a set of 862 cylinder heads for our LM7 5.3 liter that needed TLC. Our new cam came with a set of Trick Flow dual valve springs, locks, retainers, locators, and seals. We also pulled the valves and cleaned them with some throttle body cleaner and a bit of red scotchbrite in a drill. This method is fast, easy, and when you use scotchbrite, there is very little risk of valve damage. We verified the valve stem didn’t change at all with a set oc calipers.
Note: We didn’t have the head sitting on a towel or wood plank, when we did this video, and then took it all apart again for to prep the gasket surfaces and the a deep clean with in the parts washer. In hindsight, we should have used a towel for the video.
Before reassembly, we lapped the valves with some fine lapping compound and show you a trick to get the valves lapped in quickly. We don’t need a valve job, as the valve seats lapped in nice and smooth, not pits or divots in the seat where it can leak.
Then we clean the head and assemble it.
