Swamp's Diesel Performance

Injectors-Chips-Clutches-Transmissions-Turbos-Engines-Fuel Systems

Swamp’s Diesel Performance Competition Parts for Ford Power Strokes 304-A Sand Hill Rd. La Vergne TN 37086 Tel 615-793-5573 / Fax 615-793-5572

7.3L Stage 2 Valve Spring Installation:

The factory valve spring is only rated at 71-79lbs of seat pressure at its factory installed height of 1.833". Swamp’s Diesel drop in replacement, Stage 2 7.3L valve springs will increase the valve seat pressure to 140-160 lbs of seat pressure without shims. Due to the higher seat load, these springs will increase valve seat wear, so we do not recommend them for use on daily-driver trucks. They also eliminate the factory valve rotator, which represents a significant reduction in the mass the valve spring needs to control. These springs will NOT fit over the factory valve stem seal “hat”, so you will need to remove the factory seal assemblies and install the new supplied seals when you change the springs and retainers. If you are running more than 55psi of boost, and/or are spinning more than 3500 engine rpm, we recommend that you install these springs to an installed height of 1.95-2.00", which will increase the valve seat pressure to 140-160 lbs, which will prevent piston to valve contact at higher than stock boost/ rpm engine operation.

These springs must be used with our .120” wall Stage2 push rods, or equivalent.

Installation tips:

Installation of these valve springs can be performed without removing the cylinder heads if you have the proper tool.

We recommend an overhead valve spring compressor (such as : E-Z Squeeze® Overhead Valve Spring Compressor, product ID# 2995)

Remove intercooler piping (if equipped), valve covers, (injector wiring, uvc gaskets, etc)

Remove the injector from each cylinder.

Bring the piston (of the cylinder on which you are working) to (or near) top dead center. **This is done to prevent the valve from falling into the cylinder bore** With the injector removed, you can use a flashlight to ‘view’ the piston top as the engine is barred over, or you can insert a rod/dowel (straightened out coat hanger would work as well) through the injector nozzle hole; as the engine is being barred over, you can watch the ‘coat hanger’ rise with the movement of the piston, until it stops and changes direction.

Once the piston is at/near TDC, then use the valve spring removal tool, to compress one of the factory springs on that cylinder. Compressing the spring will allow you to remove the valve spring retainer, and

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(2) tapered locks/keepers from the valve stem. A small magnet may be useful to extract the keepers from the retainer.

With one of the factory valve springs removed, you can now install the new lower spring locator, valve spring, upper retainer, and new locks.

To install the new valve springs, compress the new spring with the overhead valve spring compressor tool, slide the new/compressed spring over the valve stem onto the new lower locator. Install the new upper spring retainer; reinstall both new keepers, ensuring that the keepers are properly aligned in both the valve stem and in the tapered retainer.

Repeat the removal/reinstallation by cylinder, remembering to bring each piston up to TDC before removing the spring/retainer/keepers on that cylinder.

Once all valve springs have been replaced, refer to our injector installation instructions online for tips on installing the fuel injectors, and starting the vehicle.

http://swampsdiesel.com/files/injector_removal.pdf

It is necessary for the factory valve seal to be removed (and NOT reused) to install our Stage 2 valve spring kit. Valve spring installed height measurements should be taken without the factory valve seal installed. The new/supplied valve seals do not alter the springs’ installed height.

Install the new lower spring seat (retainer) over the valve stem guide, ensuring that the lower spring locator is sitting flat on the cylinder head. Slide your tool/height micrometer over the valve stem.

Install the new top retainer, and install the new keepers to lock the retainer to the valve stem. Unscrew (lengthen) the measuring tool, until the micrometer has firm pressure against the lower valve spring locator, and is pushing up on the upper retainer. Make note of this measurement, as this represents the installed height of your valve spring.

Below is a chart showing spring installed height and seat pressure for that installed height.

Spring installed height (inches) Seat Load, Lbs 1.800 221 1.850 201 1.900 180 1.950* 160* 2.000 140 2.050 119 2.100 99

*recommended for most hot street & occasional competition applications.

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Other tips/data:

Valve lift w/ stock cam is just under 0.400” at the valve, our “3274” and “4480” cams give about .445” of valve lift with a 1.6:1 rocker arm ratio, and .474” lift with a 1.7:1 rocker arm.

Stock 7.3L valves have a surface area of approximately 2.19in2.

At 45psi of boost (or backpressure), each valve spring has to resist (2.19 x 45) @98.5 pounds of force to prevent its opening (without the rocker even acting upon it).

At 55psi of boost/backpressure, the valve would need a minimum seat load of 120lbs seat load.

Example.

If you have a measurement of 2.100”, you would need to install .050” shim under the spring seat, in order to reach 119 lbs of seat pressure. Two .050” shims would give you @ 140lbs and a 2.00” installed height, etc..

**Measuring for valve spring installed height is recommended, but not necessary. If your cylinder heads are stock, (no valve seats installed), and/or were rebuilt to factory specifications (specifically valve recess), swapping our Stage 2 valve spring kit onto your heads should put your seat pressure close to 160lbs.

We can’t make recommendations for every customer, as engine rpm, boost pressure, exhaust backpressure, can affect the action of the valve, but the recommended seat load has been shown to work very well on dyno tests in excess of 1000 HP and 55 PSI of boost, 80 PSI of drive pressure, and spinning the engine past 5500 RPM.