Ditto ! I leave mine in too, I just disconnect them.

That's how I roll!!!

Have had several motors with spring issues. When you really go with a high lift solid cam with alot of pressure you need the best spings. One good thing about backing off the springs is you will have to re-adjust and you caught a potentially major problem. Depending on the application, Rpms etc. springs can be very short lived. Many racers change after 1 all out race. Another issue is pitting due to rust or wear from other springs in contact or just plain not perfect from the factory, or guide problems too.
You can get special coated springs so as a crack has less of a starting point.
Motor should always have oil temp warmed up too before hard use to avoid shocking the springs. They make their own heat and cool oil has been known to do this.
The absolutely last thing you want is to have a valve drop and destroy the motor. I've seen springs that cost $800 a set. Alot cheaper than a motor ! BBB

there is absolutely nothing in metalugy that suggests that stressing a piece of steel less than its elastic limit will causeany detrimental effect or permanent deformation. none. zero.

thats what makes a spring a spring... assuming the spring material is not stressed at or near its elastic limit , you will be able to park them where ever they stop and come back in 200 years and they will still be the same springs in all respects tha you had when you left.

the real reason people release the rockers et al is to oil the cylinders and valves seats down before storage and then close the valves completely so that no moisture gets in and rusts anything... i.e the cylinder is now sealed closed regardless of where the piston is... and for a few months it simply isn't worth it.... oil the cylinders down completely , put oil soaked rags in the exhaust and intake and then tape the sealed closed.

same thing and certainly good enough for a year or so.

Thanks guys;

These were high end polished Manleys. They were brand new and the engine is in a heated shop all winter. I am a little more knowledgeable today.

Man you guys are lucky i never had a motor stay together all season...............Thank god i dont have to worry about backing off valves, i just rebuild it and replace all the parts that broke..................................


MAN I AM SO LUCKY......................

Just kidding, i would be pissed if a spring broke over the off season, due you ever cycle the motor in the winter just to move parts around ......It is a good practice to get into especially in a soild roller with a big cam........

yes, and now I run the preluber while I am doing it. Luckily, The two springs in question were only depressed 1/2 lift if that. I assume they may have been that way for a while. Because I thought I had all the rockers 100% backed off, I usually rotated it 360 degrees. Lesson learned.