Valve Keepers

In 1997, S.B. International, Inc.® added Valve Keepers to its expanding line of Cylinder Head Components. Valve Keepers, also known as, Valve Colletts, Cotters, Keys & Locks around our industry, play a big role in maintaining valvetrain geometry and are a Very important mating component. Many Valve Keeper groove failures are due to the use of used and worn Valve Keepers. As an engine has been in service for many hours, miles & years, the mating components in the valve train will "Wear In" together and form wear patterns on mating components. Often when a cylinder head is rebuilt, these components are all cleaned together. When the cylinder head is reassembled, the mating components are not assembled in the same order, and now the wear patterns of the components are now different. This can cause stress fractures, especially when new valves are installed with mismatched worn keepers. To ensure proper fitment to mating components, it is recommended that New Valve Keepers are Always installed during cylinder head reconditioning procedures to help prevent the potential for catastrophic failures.

To ensure each New Valve Keeper SBI® offers will mate properly and maximize service life during operation, each Valve Keeper is designed and manufactured using the highest quality Hardenable Steels and Carbon Steels depending on the requirement as specified for the application. All SBI Valve Keepers are Designed and Manufactured by Strictly following the Required Specifications, Materials and Hardness values that are specific to an application. Our OEM Designed Valve Keepers will either Meet or Exceed the OEM Specified Requirements. Many Valve Keepers are manufactured using a stamping process, however there are certain instances were the Valve Keepers are Machined. SBI offers many styles of Valve Keepers to include Square Groove, Round Groove with 1, 2, 3 & 4 Beads, No Bead Style and Pin Type. Each Valve Keeper requires a specific hardness. A Standard replacement Valve Keeper Hardness range in most cases would be 40-50 HRc "File Hard". For Some Heavy Duty and Performance Applications, a Carbonitriding (Case Hardening) process may be utilized. Carbonitriding is a heat treatment process by which carbon and nitrogen (via ammonia gas) permeate the surface layer of the steel which will result in providing higher wear resistance and a Higher Hardness Value that is typically a Minimum of 55 HRc "File Hard".

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