fperra

Porsche uses Ti retainers in their cars, and most of them are not off road only.

Dave-ROR

And I've sure they are coated if that's the case. I should have added a caveat that you can coat them with Nitride which should remove the wear issue, although I have no personal experience with TiN (Titanium Nitride) retainers, but plenty of experience with Ti retainers.

The Ti Retainers generally available in the aftermarket are NOT coated and ARE off road only. Since this is an S2000 forum I had to assume he wasn't talking about a production Porsche.... I honestly have no idea as my porsche experience is limited to 964's and older, none of which have Ti retainers to my knowledge, but even then my knowledge isn't all that great there.

Dave-ROR

Best to learn how to do it yourself, I know Billman has plenty of pics in the UTH forum on what to look for, although I'm not 100% sure that there is an actual DIY thread on it. Next time I do a valve adjustment I could do one if there isn't one.. and if I remember..

fperra

I have no idea if the Porsche retainers are coated or not. But I do know that there are different grades of titanium and I do know that wether they gall or not is a function of design and fit. Supertech retainers with supertech springs are good for well over 10000 miles. I have yet to hear of a Honda engine running these springs and retainers having a problem with the retainers failing. I spoke to Earl Lanskey about this shortly before he passes away and he stated that he had never heard of anyone having problems with the Supertech setup. And like I said in my prior post, the Ti retainers in the engine I recently pulled from my car have over 8000 miles on them and they are in perfect condition. I don't think Alanis used Nitrided Ti retainers when he built my head.

Kondor999

I can't find Billman250's tutorial on how to check my retainers. Can someone post a link if you have it?

Thanks,

Erich

wills2k106

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.ph...ic=442653&st=0

I don't know if there is a DIY, but this has pictures on page 2 and 3 of cracked retainers and what they would look like in the car next to a good one.

Dave-ROR

Well galling is a property of the metal itself, not really the design. Ti will gall whenever there is shifting contact/movement against it, which does happen in a valvetrain. I never said they would fail at 5-10k, but I have seen them (not supertech, never used those) fail close to 20k, and seen some very very thin ones around 20k that haven't failed, but I've also seen some with 20k on them that look brand new.

Irregardless, uncoated Ti retainers SHOULD be inspected for wear during valve adjustments, just in case. I tend to use OEM retainers cause I'm lazy

Billman250

To inspect retainers, all you need to do is pull the valve cover. No other disassembly needed.

You cannot see the cracks, but the slightest crack will raise the retainers upwards on the keepers.

Study my pics, then do it

Kondor999

Thank you SO much. The pics are actually on page 3 of the thread and show the difference a cracked retainer makes...

Now I just need to get the cover off. I wanted to get my valves adjusted anyway by the dealer. I wonder if they check for this or would be willing to...

Thanks,

Erich

mikegarrison

It's not that simple. The better the fit between the springs and the retainers, the less galling there will be.