A spring compressor is among the most infamous tools available to home auto mechanics. Its job and operation are straightforward: It just squeezes a spring so that you can remove or install it from a ...

Last month's "How It Works" story gave you the basics of the four-stroke cycle, describing the motion of the intake and exhaust valves in relation to the piston moving up and down in the cylinder.

Time was when a valve job was done with some valve-grinding compound and a vacuum cup on a stick. But no more. Today's high performance engines require the same machining precision in the valves that ...