I have 2 questions:

1) How much would it cost (ballpark) at a dealer to replace my valve retainers?
2) Is this a reasonable preventive maintenance step or a bit over the top?

The car hasn't been overrevved to my knowledge, but I was wondering if it might be worthwhile to go with upgraded (AP2 or Ti) retainers rather than wait for the inevitable.

I say this as someone who has never mis-shifted, but you never know...

Thanks,

Erich

 

Sounds a little extreme to me...why not just make it a habit to regularly inspect the retainers? Upgraded retainers aren't going to save you in the event of a mechanical over-rev...

 

This subject is becoming quite popular. I will fill you in with my parts/labor costs when all is said and done.

 

It's a bit over the top, assuming you've never overreved. If things aren't broken, don't fix them. Inspection of the current retainers should be fine.

I misshifted my car at least three times that I know of while on track, and I couldn't see any sign of retainer damage. However, since my car is now track-only, I decided to install dual-spring Ti retainers in order to increase my rev limit margin. In the process, I discovered that my current retainers were completely free of any visible cracks.

For a street car, driven normally, with no history of overrev, I would not worry about it. If you are really worried about it anyway, or if you don't know the full history of the car, a visual inspection of the valves and retainers should be all that's required.

Only replace the retainers if the visual inspection reveals problems.

 

You should also know that if you go with ti-retainers they must be replaced every few thousand miles. That cost adds up pretty quick if you drive the car a lot.

 

"Few" probably meaning 10-20K.

 

What's the appeal of ti-retainers if they must be replaced so frequently. Just to clear things up, you never have to change the stock retainers and valve springs if there's no mechanical overrev right?

 

They are lighter. TI retainers gall and thus become very very thin and may break after 10-20K, however they ae supposed to be an off-road/race part so that's not an issue when used for the purpose they were designed for..

On a car that sees any real mileage, AP2 retainers are the way to go if you have to replace them.

For the OP, if no over-rev was ever done, there's no reason to worry about them, just inspect them during valve adjustments for peace of mind.

 

Thanks for all the great info guys. I must have been crazy not to think of the simple expedient of actually CHECKING the retainers :-).

Anyway, this forces another question:

How much do you think it would be to just visually inspect the retainers? As a mechanic, I'm about a 2/10 (mainly due to lack of tools/garage, not enthusiasm), so I'd prefer to let a pro handle it.

Thanks,

Erich

 

That's interesting, because the ones on the engine I just removed from my car are in pefect shape and they have over 8000 miles on them.