Hi! I broke a valve spring retainer and swallowed a valve. What is the benefit of having titanium retainers compared to steel? And how could it break ( I had titanium retainers)? Thanks-

I would bet the keepers failed....the better retainers have a differnt degree keepers that help keep that from happening....and titanium stronger yet....when that happens...bad things follow..sorry

The biggest advantage to using titanium retainers is the weight reduction. They are much lighter than steel. The problem is that the market has been flooded lately with cheap import titanium retainers. The material is not very strong and is prone to failure. I will only use Comp Cams titanium since I know it is good. Sorry for your failure, Eddie.

For high performance marine use just a good set of CNC 4340 chrome moly steel retainers and locks from the good manufacturers like Manley, Comp. Isky, etc., should be just fine and adequate. Titanium is overkill in most marine performance usage and as Eddie says offshore cheap crap is dangerous! If you lost the keepers and retainer, you probably had some stamped steel cheap locks and retainers and those can fail in high performance usage and should not be used in good marine engines! Sorry for your loss, hope the future is a better part and success!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar