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Upgrade valve springs stock cam?

5K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  Party340 
#1 ·
Hey, so I have a 2010 challenger srt8. 26,000 miles On the odometer, almost every bolt on upgrade you can think of, including suspension. A week ago, under normal driving conditions, shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear something happened. Not good. Luckily I was about 700 feet from my house and limped it into my shop in the backyard. Turns out, bent pushrod and broken valve spring (intake #4) . So instead of just replacing the single spring I want to replace all 16, including retainers, stem seats, etc. however, I would prefer to retain the stock cam. Seriously not crazy about pulling the motor. I’ve read and now, obviously witnessed, oem valve spring deterioration. So my question is: can anyone recommend an upgraded valve spring set that will still be compatible with the stock cam in the 6.1l hemi? I contacted comp cams via chat feature on their website and they responded that they do not have a compatible set. Really? Sales tactic to force me to buy a cam as well, I’m sure lol. Anyway, any information is greatly appreciated!
 
#2 ·
If you have a manual transmission equipped car, you sure you didn't go from 2nd to 1st?

The problem is valve springs for a different cam may have too much spring pressure -- necessary for the after market cam's higher lift and steep ramp angles -- but would flat lobe the factory cam in no time.

I'd just replace the bent pushrod and the valve spring and the retainer.
 
#5 ·
Haha yes it is manual. No I didn’t miss shift. Even though my two boys ages 8 and 6 were begging to “go fast” I didn’t because we were just a mile down the road at a friends house enjoying the pool all day and didn’t want to bring on any added attention. Lol.
 
#3 ·
the 6.1s were know to occasionally have valve springs break. Happens rarely on the other engines. They're priced very reasonable ($9 per spring)

there are Mopar performance valve springs - check to see if they work with the installed height that 6.1 requires and if shims are required to achieve that.

with your low miles, I'd leave the stem seals alone - they're probably in fine shape. They're a viton type material and should last a long time.

Fortunately you didn't have the keepers and retainer fall out and drop a valve. You can use an air chuck / spark plug adapater and compressed air to hold the valves shut (each cyl on TDC) as I've done this on cam swaps.
-no need to remove the heads for that operation
 
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#6 ·
Hal thanks for the info! I agree with you, It could have been worse! My reasoning at this point is after seeing this type of valve spring breakage and how common it is with the 6.1 I figured if I was going to purchase the valve spring replacement clamp (roughly $160) I may as well upgrade all of the springs at once since I have already removed the valve covers. I already have the compressed air plug adapter and plan on using that so I don’t have to remove the heads. Also why I would rather not change the factory cam which would lead to more work and either a motor pull or front end extraction. So basically if there are no legitimate upgraded valve spring replacements (non oem stock) while continuing to use the stock camshaft it may be best to just replace the single broken spring and go from there. I’m open to any thoughts or suggestions. Thanks so much for your and the other responses!
 
#4 ·
Do a search for Mopar Performance Valve spring on here. You'll have to see if it'll work on the 6.1 head but it's what I used for a 392 cam in my 5.7
 
#9 ·
I also have done a cam swap without removing any body parts. All I removed was the fan and radiator. Seems like ur not interested in it but if u are I can give u some tips on making the job a little easier
 
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