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Your cart is empty.OTC's No. 4573 Universal Overhead Valve Spring Compressor is a great option for compressing valve springs - facilitating valve spring removal or valve stem seal replacement on many Cars, Vans, & Light Trucks. Ideal for use on installed cylinder heads, especially in vehicles with tight underhood clearances, but can be used for bench work as well. Spring loaded jaws easily grip and compress valve springs. Legs are designed with a built-in offset to compensate for spring wind - keeping tool vertical and stable during use. Includes two spring adapters. Fits valve spring retainers up to 1-13/16 inch diameter. 1-3/8 to 5-5/8 inch jaw opening. 5-7/8 inch throat clearance. Value is at the core of the OTC tool and equipment portfolio. For a simple repair or the most complex drivability concern, these award-winning tools universally solve problems faster, and at better value, than any other product line available. Whether it’s a specialty tool or unique piece of service equipment, OTC provides top solutions to modern automotive service challenges while increasing technicians’ productivity and shop profits.
Customer
2025-09-04 11:09:52
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.
Blake
2025-07-29 10:03:28
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.
Book Lover
2025-07-22 10:00:01
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.
Omar coronel
2025-07-05 16:08:42
Ease of removal
Customer
2025-06-01 18:22:58
As long as you have clear access to the top of the valve this tool will do exactly what is intended to do. I recently used it on a chevy 4.3 V6 and it worked flawlessly. Highly recommend and I would buy again.
Macho Man
2025-05-28 13:13:26
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.
Harvey
2025-05-12 14:40:44
This worked great removing and replacing the valves on my 7.3 diesel. If it worked on this it should work on pretty much any engine, as these springs are around 300lb of pressure when compressed. Once you have the spring compressed, just give the top a good whack to free up the sticking valve keepers. I had the heads on my bench, so I stuck a rag underneath to keep the valves pressed against the seats so I could get the keepers out.
Greasy Dog
2025-04-30 17:42:08
Worked fairly well could have been a bit narrower to be able to work on overhead cam engines
Fernando
2025-02-07 13:13:02
Excelente herramienta.
F. Arseneau
2025-02-04 15:11:17
Worked pretty good. I used it to replace valve seals on an AMC 401 V8 and it did the job. There's a little learning curve to figure out where to stick the grips into to be able to compress enough, and you need strong hands to crank on it. To make it better, they should have a way to use a socket wrench on it or something with a bit more leverage.
TREVOR
2025-01-19 12:40:40
Quality is actually really good, changed all 16 valve springs on my 496c.i. chevy big block motor, seems it will last me a lifetime
Roger E.
2024-12-24 17:27:00
Nice product easy to use
Ian
2024-12-09 13:07:35
Let it be known I had not removed valve springs until today so my experience with spring compressors is equal to 0.I watched some YouTube videos on how to use it and was able to compress and remove the 12 springs from my Chevy 250 Inline 6 head in about an hour. I took my time and didn't feel impeded by the tool at any point.Some thoughts though, get a magnet to remove the little valve keepers as sticking your digits between the claws of this thing is risky at best. My stock springs were fairly tame but using this with performance springs could be harder, but if you take your time it'd work just fine I'm sure.I've read comments about people wanting a nut on the top so a wrench could be used to turn it. I think it would be more likely to slip off the springs if a wrench was used as the torque at the top would pull the claws off. Either way, I didn't find it that hard by hand. Maybe wear some gloves?It's not flimsy at all and seems well made for a cheap tool. I gave it a 5 star rating as its a universal tool that allowed me to get a job done for very little money.
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