What term describes the height of a valve spring when it is not installed against the retainer?

• A. Free standing height
• B. Installed height
• C. Coil height
• D. Seat height

Answer: (A)

The height of a valve spring when it is not installed against the retainer is called free standing height. This is the spring’s natural, uncompressed length with no load. It’s the baseline used to determine preload, which is the difference between this free height and the height when the spring is installed and compressed against the retainer.

Installed height describes the spring’s height once it’s installed and seated, under load. Coil height isn’t a standard term for valve springs, and seat height would refer to the valve seat or spring seat, not the spring’s free length.