i have skunk2 valve springs and retainers in my b16a3, running comp 57200 .490/.450 lift 284/284 duration cams. the springs and retainers were bought brand new from skunk2 and professionally installed by a local head builder. I've put approximately 20,000 miles on the head since installation.

anyways, my concern is this... i recently did a valve lash adjustment, and i noticed that one valve spring on the intake side is "soft" in that i can push down on it.. none of the others are like this. I checked with a 'mirror on a stick' to see if maybe the inner spring was broken or something, which might explain the "softness" of the valve spring, but i did not see any cracks or anything broken.

obviously this isnt normal, and i need to replace it asap before a valve drops or something and ruins my engine. Does skunk2 sell just a single valve spring set (inner & outer)?? what would cause a spring to just go soft?

 

I've read the archive posts of "Skunk2 valve train sucks", i just want to know what i can do short of buying a whole new set of springs & retainers...

on a side note, anybody happen to know the usable life of titanium retainers?

 

i guess nobody has ever needed only one valve spring huh

 

How old are the springs? Skunk definitely had some issues with theirs in the past. Sounds like that spring is broken(maybe hard to see) or just fatigued badly. I would replace all of them not just one.