Can i use the factory valve rotaters on comp cam valve springs or do i need to use retainers? From what I understand the rotaters are better if the valves tend to move. Any help would be appreciated. I 'm going to see if they fit tomarrow when I get the heads back from machine shop.

 

Do it right and use comp cams' recommended retainers.

 

It depends on the valve springs you bought. If you have factory rotators, your exhaust spring will be noticeably shorter than the intake spring. If the springs you bought are both the same height, you should take the rotator out or you'll cause premature lobe wear. That's experience telling your this. Like Odyssey says, follow the manufacturer's recommendation for best results.

 

trash the factory set up with thinking about it, they're junk and add weight to the valve train. buy some after market retainers.

 

PIB,

Follow Ed's advice, and be environmentally conscientious. Get a new set of lightweight retainers and recycle that set of rotators into a Hyundai or Mazda something. There's almost enough steel there to make a complete four cylinder ***** body.

Incidentally, the GMPP lightweight retainer set is only about $15.00,so don't cite expense as a reason to keep the rotators. You may have to get spacers to compensate for the spring depth difference, but your camshaft will thank you.

 

Throw the rotators away. They don't work, and they're dead weight in a critical location you want as little weight as possible.

THe same goes for the factory retainers and springs. They are not suitable for any type of high-performance use. I would not use any GM valve train hardware on anything beyond a replacement truck or grocery cart motor, and even then, only on a stock camshaft that's already worn out enough that it won't stress the springs too much.

If you're putting in a new cam or otherwise improving your engine, get the complete set of springs and hardware recommended by the cam mfr. That's a very bad place to try to cheap out with either re-using stock stuff or getting "budget brands" like GMPP, K-motion, etc. Lots of things that GMPP sells are great stuff, but stay away from anything they offer that has to do with valve springs.

 

Don't know if this helps, but on my big block, that came with exhaust rotaters, I had to use Comp Cams inserts, specifically made to replace the rotaters, when I went to double springs.Without those,to get the correct installed height, you'd need a huge stack of shims (like 3/8").
-Rich-