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valve springs

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O

owby

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My #1 intake valve spring became 8 separate pieces and I was wondering if I should look for a reason--other than old age. This is a 1965 Sprite with a 1275 in it. This car was new the year after I got out of highschool--about 300 years ago--so it could just be age. I don't know any other reason for sudden spring failure(SSF) but perhaps someone out there does.
Thanks for any info............John M
 
Sounds like age related fatigue failure to me. That many pieces may be due to bits of spring wire from the initial break becoming lodged between the remaining coils and resulting in further breakage.

The 1275 came in Spridgets from 1967 to 1974. At a minimum, the 1275 valve spring is going to be 36+ years old if the engine has never been rebuilt and/or the original springs were not replaced.

Most racing spring failures are due to issues with the material used in the wire which is used to wind the spring or the winding or conditioning processes themselves.

Mike Miller
Comptune
 
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