OTC 4573 Universal Overhead Valve Spring Compressor

Works well. Doesn’t allow you to get a lot of torque on the little wheel to compress the spring but it still does the job.

Made in Taiwan, not China, which is a big plus in my book. I changed valve springs on a set of Ford 390 heads with this and it worked great. Seems like a quality tool for occasional jobs, and it doesn't take up a lot of tool box space. Good for the DIY-er on a budget who also doesn't want to buy Chinese junk.

Works but the star shaped handle isn't super nice to your hands. I have rough callous hands and this sucker can bite into and/or be abrasive to the skin. I wore a single nitrile glove and it tore the glove off of my hands. If this thing had a rubber skin handle, it'd be perfect.Maybe I got unlucky and got one that wasn't sanded down or properly machined? Perhaps you might not have the same issue.

Worked but took some getting used to. Towards the end of the project the top handle was getting quite loose. I expect to have to weld this for the next time I have to use it. I might weld a sacrificial socket to the top to make it quicker to use haha. Wear a mechanics glove and it saves your hands.

Performs well. I especially like this design to change valve stem seals without removing the cylinder head. If the cylinder head is off the engine, I tend to use the c clamp style more.

This item appears well made, but be aware that it will only work on single valve springs. The long fingers engage the outer spring on dual valve springs, and will compress the outer spring, but the inner spring remains uncompressed by this tool, making it impossible to remove the retainer collets.

This worked great removing and replacing the valves on my 7.3 diesel. If it worked on this it should work on pretty much any engine, as these springs are around 300lb of pressure when compressed. Once you have the spring compressed, just give the top a good whack to free up the sticking valve keepers. I had the heads on my bench, so I stuck a rag underneath to keep the valves pressed against the seats so I could get the keepers out.

As long as you have clear access to the top of the valve this tool will do exactly what is intended to do. I recently used it on a chevy 4.3 V6 and it worked flawlessly. Highly recommend and I would buy again.