Around 25 years ago I needed a valve spring compressor for some stupid job, probably replacing a bent pushrod on the 350 in my old Suburban. Being young and poor, I went to the AutoZone and bought whatever one they had.
And I've been using that same tool ever since. Until today.
A couple of months ago I was cleaning out a Volvo Amazon I'd bought as a parts car, and came across this pretty nice looking K-D Tools spring compressor. I took it inside, cleaned it off, oiled it up, and tossed it in the toolbox.
Here's both tools side by side, for comparison:
The K-D tool (on the left) has a lot of little touches that make it the superior tool. The bit that pushes on the spring retainer has a larger, flatter area, so it doesn't slip off like the cheapo tool did. Often. Also, the side arms are spring loaded, which helps with putting the tool on. And the grabber fingers have a thinner, wedgier shape to them, much easier to get a grip on the spring.
The K-D:
The no-name tool:
The top star wheel is easier to turn than the single bar on the parts store tool. And, since the grabber arms can get lower on the spring more easily, it compresses the spring more, making the collets easier to extract.
This free tool was a great buy!
