If you don't place the tool correctly on a stock diameter Holden V8 spring
it's impossible to compress it sufficiently to remove the collets(it will
usually slip off the spring as soon as any tension is created anyway), and
yes, I'm well aware of it having a long and short leg and where to place
them. Unfortunately, my compressor was faulty and the salesman recognized
this and did not hesitate to replace it after inspection.

<mackeb@cen.prendiville.wa.edu.au> wrote in message

No it ain't.

I cannot tell you the number of times I've seen a perfectly usable short
motor had it's life expectancy dramatically reduced thanks to a cylinder
head rebuild that was largely unnecceasry in the first place, and the reason
for that is mainly the slightly higher compression ratio you end up with
after a suface of the gasket face and the 100% sealing of the valve seats
places a load on the "used" short engine components that they can't stand
for very long.

99 times out of 100 very rapid ring wear will be the main side effect,
necessitating a re-ring at the very least.

If a cylinder head needs to come off a used engine (and by "used" I mean one
that's well worn in), the best thing you can do is fix only the problem that
required the head to be removed, and don't do anything else. In the majority
of cases, the engine will continue to run happily for ages.

Of course you will :)

Cab companies and other high mileage fleet owners do it all the time. They
have ultra high mileage engines that see in excess of three quarters of a
million kilometres on the original engine without doing anything major at
all, and only ever fix the immediate problem if a head needs to be removed,
such as for a blown head gasket for example.

They don't "reco" the head just because it's off, as they know the engine
was running perfectly fine as it was, and they probably also know that if
they reco the head they'll be needing a reco'd short to go with it before
too long.

--
Regards,
Noddy.

Next time you're contemplating rebuilding the head on a high mileage
engine _please_ talk to a competent mechanic before you do... because
I don't know a single one that would recommend it.  Let alone one that
would actually do it.

Oh yes you will... on about nine occasions out of ten.  The increase
in cylinder pressure resulting from a valve job, or even the act of
de-coking, will kill an otherwise well bedded ring set quicker than
almost anything else you might subject them to.

No mechanic with half a brain would ever fall for that one... even to
the extent of replacing a failed head gasket without so much as
touching the valves (or the carbon deposits).