OTC 4573 Universal Overhead Valve Spring Compressor

Made in Taiwan, not China, which is a big plus in my book. I changed valve springs on a set of Ford 390 heads with this and it worked great. Seems like a quality tool for occasional jobs, and it doesn't take up a lot of tool box space. Good for the DIY-er on a budget who also doesn't want to buy Chinese junk.

Works well. Doesn’t allow you to get a lot of torque on the little wheel to compress the spring but it still does the job.

I was doing a valve job on a 1999 Chrysler Cirrus, 2.5L, 24 valve SOHC. Wouldn't work on the springs because the gripper feet were too thick. It's a quality tool and I'm sure it would work great with bigger springs, but I wouldn't recommend for smaller engines.NOTE - The 4 star rating is only because it didn't work for me and the listing didn't have any indications on the size - It's not a reflection of the quality of the tool.

Worked but took some getting used to. Towards the end of the project the top handle was getting quite loose. I expect to have to weld this for the next time I have to use it. I might weld a sacrificial socket to the top to make it quicker to use haha. Wear a mechanics glove and it saves your hands.

Performs well. I especially like this design to change valve stem seals without removing the cylinder head. If the cylinder head is off the engine, I tend to use the c clamp style more.

This item appears well made, but be aware that it will only work on single valve springs. The long fingers engage the outer spring on dual valve springs, and will compress the outer spring, but the inner spring remains uncompressed by this tool, making it impossible to remove the retainer collets.

As to the other reviewer's comment that it "tenderized his hand" I do not necessarily agree after using it myself. It was easy to use and did not hurt. That said, I think it really depends on how beefcake your springs are. If you're taking off 40 year old stock springs then it's easy. If you have springs that are holding down a radical hydraulic roller cam, then maybe you're going to struggle. I was trying to decide whether or not to buy this or the large clamp type OTC product. I decided to get this because it was less expensive. I heartily recommend this to anyone who is working on their own personal project.5/23/2015 Update: I bought the Pro-Form lever action type spring compressor. It is much faster than this. If you're on a tight budget, this will do the job well, but if you can afford it, the Pro-Form lever action will save you a lot of time.

Had to check intake and exhaust seals on one cylinder. This was hard to get enough clearance to remove the valve retainers but I did finally get the job done. Glad I didn't have to do all the valves.