Much of this DIY involves removing and reinstalling the fuel system components and adjusting the valves. The actual spring replacement is fairly simple.
Please see
this thread for the details of removing and re-installing the fuel system. We will only briefly cover a few of the key points here.
Please see
this thread for details about proper valve adjustment.
The only additional step that is required that is not part of the fuel system installation and removal is the removal of the intake rocker and bridge. This is the same process as removing and reinstalling the exhaust rocker and bridge.
These are all the items that have to come out in order to complete this swap:
I also swapped out my pushrods, so these two rubber grommets under the wiper cowl had to come out to get the #5 and #6 pushrods out and the new ones in:
Once the fuel system has been removed, you can now begin to work on removing and re-installing the springs. To remove the stock springs, keepers and retainers, the cylinder MUST be at Top Dead Center (TDC). It the cylinder is not at TDC and you remove the spring, keepers and retainers, the valve is free to fall into the cylinder.
You can work on 2 cylinders at a time. #1 and #6, #2 and #5, and #3 and #4.
You do this by going under the truck and finding the TDC mark on the balancer. The TDC mark references the #1 cylinder. It is inscribed into the balancer and is not very easy to see, especially when you have to view it from the top. What I did was use a paint marker to make it easily visible.
Once you have done this, you need to rotate the balancer so that this mark is at the top (TDC). To do this, you either need an engine barring tool or a 15mm socket to turn the balancer by one of the 4 bolts that connect it to the crank.
Rotate the balancer and verify TDC by looking from the top of the engine down toward the balancer. You should see the mark you made on the balancer at the 12 o'clock position.
You may (WILL) need to remove the two 13mm nuts that hold the fan shroud to the lower brackets, otherwise you will not have room to insert a breaker bar and socket to the balancer.
This will place the #1 and #6 cylinders at TDC and you can now remove the springs. You want to look into the injector bore with a flashlight and VERIFY that the cylinder is at TDC.
You WILL want a good spring compressor for his job. The $20 one that you find at AutoZone ain't gonna cut it. This is the tool you want. It's expensive, but some of the manufacturers will loan it to you free of charge. In my case, I was loaned this tool from Zach Hamilton of Hamilton Diesel.
What you do is thread the base into the injector hold down holes so that the threaded stud is facing upwards.
You then center the compressor on the stud and tighten the 3/4" nut until the compressor bottoms out. At this point, the spring retainers should have popped out slightly. This will only happen if the cylinder was at TDC and the valves were able to bottom out on top of the piston.
You can now remove the retainers. Place them in a small container so you don't lose them. Once the two small retainers on each spring have been removed, you need to loosen and remove the compressor to pull out the springs and keepers.
From here, you simply place the new spring in the old location and put the keeper back on. Do this for all 4 springs and then re-install the compressor and tighten it down again.
Next, you need to re-install the retainers. The easiest way to reinstall the retainers is to use a small flat screw driver and GENTLY pry the valve up slightly. This will give you the most room to put the retainers back onto the valve stems. It's as easy as lining up the detent on the reatainer with the grove on the valve stem.
Once you have verified that retainers are lined up in the valve stem grove, gently push the valve stem down to seat the retainers while you do the other 3 valves on that cylinder.
Once all 8 retainers are re-installed and verified, you can release the tension on the compressor and your new springs are installed.
Now, do the same to the # 6 cylinder.
Once the #1 and #6 cylinders are done, you need to go back under the truck and rotate the balancer 1/3 of a turn. This will bring the #2 and #5 cylinder to TDC.
Repeat the steps for the spring removal and installation as previously described.
Once the #2 and #5 cylinder are done, you need to rotate the balancer another 1/3 turn. This will place the #3 and #4 cylinders at TDC.
Repeat the steps for the spring removal and installation as previously described.
Once all the springs have been re-installed and the keepers and retainers have been verified, you can begin reassembling the fuel system, as per the thread linked above.
Prior to reassembling the fuel system, it is HIGHLY advised to inspect and clean your injectors and nozzles. DO NOT use any hard, abrasive materials to do so.
Once the fuel system has been re-installed, you re-install the intake and exhaust rockers.
Once the rockers have been installed, you MUST check the valve lash and make adjustments, per the thread linked above.
Once you have done the valve adjustments MAKE SURE you re-install the two 13mm nuts onto the lower fan shroud support brackets.
After you have re-assembled the valve train and fuel system, it's time to prime the fuel system and start the truck.
Initially, turn the key to the run position and allow the lift pump to cycle, but DO NOT start the truck at this time. Now, bump the starter, but DO NOT start the truck. This will make the lift pump cylce for approx 20 seconds. Do this again.
Now you can start the truck, it may take a few seconds but it should now start. You are going to have a TON of white smoke on the initial startup. This is due to oil draining down through the injector bore into the cylinders. Nothing to worry about.
As soon as the engine has started, IMMEDIATLEY check for fuel / oil leaks. If you have fuel and rail pressure gauges, make sure the numbers are in their normal range. The most common mistake during this process is not getting the high pressure connector tubes tight enough and you cause the fuel to enter the return circuit, causing a low rail pressure issue.
<![CDATA[<a href="http://i288.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/Cumminalong/Truck%20Pictures/ValveSpringInstall.flv" target="_blank">http://i288.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/Cumminalong/Truck%20Pictures/ValveSpringInstall.flv</a>]]>Once all the work is complete, drive the truck gently for a few hundred miles to allow the springs to fully break in before driving the truck hard.
Enjoy!
