Last week i was doing a valve replacement and adjustment for a 2002 AP1 to AP2 retainers and keepers/cotters intake side ONLY. Long story short I forgot to pressurize the cylinders thinking by sticking the compression test tool in it would automatically do it. But no, the retard that i am assumed it was pressurize so i borrowed a special tool that would knock out the old AP1 retainers and keepers/cotters from my buddy like the one this guy used in this video http://youtu.be/zFmC66YU6zI . So I was knocking and knocking then BAM my 2nd valve in cylinder 2 fell (clank Clank noise in the cylinder). So bummed out I was already thinking about taking my ENTIRE head off. YES, my entire HEAD which means take apart intake mani, exhaust mani, and timing chain and oh lets not forget the serpentine belt too right? I was like hell i mine as well go with ferrea valves and valve guides with supertech dual valve springs and retainers. AWWw heoL Nah I AIN"T GOING DOWN LIKE THAT GIRL....

So heres my little contraption on how to retrieve your valves without pulling your head. I did a little research and found a supra guy who had done this successfully. LINK: http://www.supramani...moving-the-head! READ that lol.

Depending which valve you dropped i'm sure it will work for exhaust and intake
so if its exhaust use this link to take it apart https://www.s2ki.com/...nd-diy-install/
so if its intake use this link to take it apart http://www.s2000.org/mods/insulator/


Now once everything is pulled off and put to the side the tools you need is:
1 Krazy Glue (yes KRAZY GLUE from 99 cents Store)
1 Shoe lace (vans rounded works or anything equivalent to that which would fit into the valve stem seal hole the smaller the better)
1 smallest telescopic magnet (bought from auto zone for 2.99)
2 pc needle nose pliers 6 inch long i believe (bought from harbor freight 8.99)
1 acetone bottle (girlfriend gave it to me saved a few bucks why not)


Are you ready? This is where the fun begins. No really this is fun stuff and it may take a few tries.

First, off use the magnet to pull the the valve out from the which ever side you dropped the valve, in my case it was the intake side. You can't completely pull the valve out from the intake port but you can expose the very top of it just enough for you to clean the very top of it with acetone. This helps with wiping the oil and debris off. Now that you've prepped the valve stem next your going to put it off to the side with the magnet attached to it remembering to clean if it drops and hits any debris. Next fish your shoe lace plastic end of course going down to the valve stem seal into your head. You'll see it slither out like a worm now use your finger or a flat head to catch it and pull it towards you. Now use the acetone to clean the plastic tip of your shoe lace making sure everything is dry from the acetone and apply a dab or very small amount of crazy glue to cover the very end surface (thats a circle surrounded by plastic but the middle consists of your shoe lace material) this part will attach to the very top of your valve stem.

NOTE: more glue does not mean better. That means worst. You need to sustain the girth of the valve stem and have nothing in the way when making its way back up the valve guide.

The shoelace tip is perfect since it is smaller than the girth of the valve stem. Next let it dry for like 5 to 10 minutes. Had a few laughs and cracked a few jokes with my buddy who was helping me. Hes also on this forum too.

After its done drying let go of the magnet and let the valve drop in its cylinder. Now straighten out that shoe lace because there should be some slack when you glued the ends together so when you pull its just a straight shot.

Rremember those handy 6 inch long nose pliers from harbor freight? I used electrical tape around the jagged edges on each side to not scratch/damage the valve stem. Now heres the tricky part you can't tug too hard because the glue point will snap so tug on it just a bit until the valve touches the valve guide. As soon as the valve touches the guide I stuck the needle nose in and helped guide it in the best i can until i felt or atleast saw the tip was in. Now lightly tug on the shoe lace and your valve should slide right back in. It took me two tries to be exact not accounting for all my other attempts with speaker wire, clothing hanger, spliced usb wire, and probably other stuff

Thats right people there you have it I got my valve back in with a shoe lace and krazy glue. It's been proven. No pics taken because i nearly shat myself when i accomplished this.

 

Way to go!!!! Good job.

FYI for those that do this themselves........and for your future knowledge. Not to break my arm patting myself on my back. If you rotate the cylinder you are working on to the top of its stroke you can drop a valve and it won't fall to far. You can just grab it with your fingers and pull it back up! I know this by personal experience.

I knew what could happen if I dropped a valve all the way down so rotating the crank and working on 2 cylinders at a time kept me from having to do what you did.

 

To further prevent this, stuff a long rope down the spark plug hole with the engine almost at tdc for that cylinder, then bring it to tdc to compress the rope against the valves. Then you can't drop one at all.

Obviously, leave a bit of rope exposed so you can remove it afterward!

 

Nice job duhwinning. So Pinky using your method of bringing the piston to the top of it's stroke you could change the retainers without pressurizing the cylinder? I don't plan to do this but just interested.

 

No, it just keeps you from losing the valve down into the cylinder if things go sideways while you're doing the job. Use air pressure or a rope as mentioned above.

 

Well, actually the answer is yes to his question. You can either use rope or air pressure, but not both.

 

Well, actually the answer is yes to his question. You can either use rope or air pressure, but not both.
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Pinky said to have the piston at TDC to stop the valve from falling through if you lose air pressure, but that won't hold the valve high enough to do the actual retainer swap (at least I didn't think so, haven't done it on this particular engine).

 

I did my reatainer swap last year, just make sure the piston is at TDC, no rope or air needed.

 

Really? Wow,I stand corrected. Amazing there's that little clearance at tdc.

 

Well, actually the answer is yes to his question. You can either use rope or air pressure, but not both.
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Pinky said to have the piston at TDC to stop the valve from falling through if you lose air pressure, but that won't hold the valve high enough to do the actual retainer swap (at least I didn't think so, haven't done it on this particular engine).
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Oh, right.

But someone did it by just using the piston? I wouldn't have guessed it. So how do you guys compress the valve spring to get the retainer locks on? Just push down against the piston/rope/air?