Alright, I just got finished doing a LS6 Spring swap so I thought I would do a “How To” for it.
First off parts needed.
Stock LS1, LS6 or LS2 valve springs.
LS1 Shims (valve seats) GM Part number 12565118
Pre 2000 heads - 3.1 valve seals: Fel-pro “Viton” seals part number SS72685
2000+ - 96 and up Chrysler 318 valve seals: Fel-pro “Viton” seals part number SS72844
NOTE: I ordered 96 and up valve seals from a parts dealer and when I got them the box said 92-93, but the seals where a perfect fit. Also my LS6 springs where painted yellow, most other springs are unpainted, I have no idea why I got 11 yellow springs and 1 unpainted spring all has the correct part number.
(From now on when I say LS I mean LS1/6 just because the swap is the same for both.)
Your heads are going to need to be OFF your car and the stock springs, valves, and shims REMOVED. To remove the springs use a spring compressor. As for spring compressors, my personal favorite it the “C” style one I feel it’s the safest, remember we are dealing with several hundred pounds of pressure. Once it is compressed the locks should just fall out, if not then you might need to wiggle it or compress the spring more. Then release the spring pressure UNDER CONTROL. To remove the shim just take out the seal and get in there with a pair of pliers and pull it out, it’s stuck on there pretty good just be careful NOT to nick the valve guide.
SHIMS
Why the LS Shims? The LS spring base is a bit narrower, there for the LS springs don’t fit over the Stock LA1 shim, As you can see in this picture.
This is an LS6 spring with the LS Shim.
Now this is where having pre 2000 heads saves you time, the LS shims should fit right over the valve guide and that’s that. For some reason GM thought it would be a GREAT idea to increase the valve guides to 9/16ths in 2000. So you pre 2000 guys can move on to the next step.
LS shims left stock shim right.
All it takes to get the shim to fit over the guide is about 10 min of grinding per shim. I would recommend a rotary tool such as a dermal with a grinding stone. It’s important to grind out the center of the shim as evenly as possible to insure the shim is centered when you go to install it. I would recommend doing 15 seconds of grinding then randomly select a different way to hold it, this worked best for me. When you go to buy the Shims you will notice they only come in pack of 5, so you will have an extra 3 to practice with. I only redid 1 of mine. Make sure you have a farley snug fit, you should be able to get them off with a screwdriver but when you turn the head upside down you don’t want them to fall out.
Valve seals
Why 3.1/318 seals instead of stock?
The stock LA1 seals attaches to the stock shim, there is no way to secure the stock seal to the valve guide when using the LS shim per it just being a base.
One the pre 2000 heads you will need the 3.1 seal, the 2000+ guys will need the 318 seal witch has the larger 9/16ths diamitor.
Stock Seal and shim.
I like to install the valve seals with the valve in the guide, reason being is because the guides are angled and the valve stem gives you a type of guide to ensure your seal is on evenly. When I installed mine, I used a little bit of oil to lube up the guide and seal to make installation a bit easier. CARFULY slide the seal on to the valve stem, it’s a good idea to use the plastic sleeve that comes with the valve seals. Slide it on the top of the valve stem slide your seal on then remove it. I used a 9MM DT socket to pres down on the valve seal to ensure it was planted fully and evenly. You can try with your fingers but you just making it difficult on yourself, trust me the socket method works best. (This might not work as good on the 3.1 seals, the 318 seals have a metal outer shell, the 3.1 seals do not.)
You heads will look like this at this point.
Now you ready to install your springs, You can reuse your stock retainers and locks (otherwise know as keepers) When you install/remove the springs you want to compress them as little as possible to prevent overloading the springs. When I compressed them, I set up the spring compressor to compress the spring so I had just a little over a CM of stem sticking out the top. That gave me plenty of room to install the locks.
When installing the lock I recommend coating the top of the spring and top the valve stem with petroleum jelly or Vaseline to hold the retainer and locks in place. I’m not going to explain how to install the locks because it is stupid easy and if you can figure it out you probably shouldn’t have been doing this in the first place. LOL Once your locks are in place release the spring compressor UNDER CONTROL making sure to keep the locks centered. Once all the pressure is unloaded give the retainer a whack with a hammer to ensure everything is locked into place, PLEASE don’t hit it with the spring facing you, if your comes lose guess where its going to go.
Another thing to remember is that the LS springs are taller than the LA1 springs there for they install more compressed.
Just a comparison shot.
Your heads should look like this, if not send me a picture because I want to see how you managed to screw it up lol .
And that’s that. For the pre 2000 guys it shouldn’t take you long at all, for us 2000+ guys the grinding adds on an hour or two.
Linear Mode
