Valve guide removal: Trego GM600 vs Carmec VGP 1200

The article that The Ultimate Tooling offers you is a wide comparison between the hydraulic presses for the engine valve guide removal Trego GM600 and Carmec VGP 1200.
Given the completeness and insights that are treated, the article is divided into 3 sections that can be consulted using the buttons at the bottom of the page.

Valve guide removal and replacement

When we talk about engine valve guide removal or replacement, there are several valve guide extraction kits on the market.

We go from more or less professional equipment, to those who arrange themselves with a hammer and a punch for valve guide removal.
The most skillful and ingenious mechanics and engine rebuilders, on the other hand, self-build their own valve guide extractor themselves according to their needs.

One of several extraction kit valve guides

Brutal method of valve guides removal

Not taking into consideration improvised valve guide replacement tools, and brutal archaic methods for valve guides removal, we decide to focus exclusively on the most specific and performing machinery to remove the valve guides from the engine head.

Hydraulic presses for engine valve guides removal

Surely above each instrument or working equipment intended for removing valve guides, there are the valve guide presses, machines specifically designed for this purpose.

And in this article we want to examine and compare the 2 hydraulic presses for valve guides that compete for the market leadership which are exactly:

• Trego GM600 – Hydraulic press for valve guide removal
• Carmec VGP 1200 – Hydraulic press for assembly and disassembly valve guides from cylinder heads

Hydraulic press for valve guides Trego GM600

Universal hydraulic press for valve guide removal Carmec VGP 1200

To make this kind of comparison we have been helped by Carlo Piatti from Clio Tecno Trade, a historical company in the province of Turin, which is introduced for over 60 years, in sale and distribution of machinery and equipment for engine rebuilding shops.

Thanks to the experience and expertise that Carlo Piatti has in the engine repair sector, as well as the direct knowledge of both valve guide presses, it will be easier for us to make this comparison between the Trego GM600 and the Carmec VGP 1200.

Trego GM600 – Hydraulic press for valve guides

The hydraulic press for valve guide replacement Trego GM600 is made in Sweden by the Trego Maskin AB company from Ljusdal, in central Sweden, 300 km from Stockholm.

The Trego GM600 is the oldest among the two valve guide removal presses we have examined, having been in the market for about fifteen years.

Framework of the hydraulic press valve guide removal Trego GM600

The hydraulic press for assembling and disassembling the valve guides, is composed of a rectangular section tube frame on which the support cradle for the engine heads is fixed.

Support cradle with engine heads

The cradle, in turn, consists of a square section tube, on which slide the 2 support brackets for the horizontal support bars, for the engine heads.
It is also equipped with an adjustment handwheel that allows the cradle tilt up to 50°, even in case of inclined valve guides removal.

Head assembly and hydraulic piston

On a cylindrical bar, on the other hand, the horizontal sliding of the head assembly, which contains the hydraulic piston, is responsible of the valve guides extraction.
On the head assembly there are 2 pressure gauges for a coarse and a finer indication of the ideal operating pressure for the valve guides removal.
Also on the head there is a switch for the ON/OFF of the hydraulic power unit and the Start Push Button while on the right side the pressure regulator of the piston.
The head assembly also hosts two 12V LED lights.

C-Arm of the Trego GM600

A feature of the Trego GM600 is that the C-Arm has a double vertical displacement.
Firstly, the downward movement of the piston for the centering of the punch, occurs with respect to the axis of the valve guide, then the C-Arm rises to bring the lower counter-point closer to the engine head.
Lastly, the piston pressure is applied to extract the valve guide.

Additional features and accessories

The hydraulic press for the assembly and removal of valve guides Trego GM600 is further equipped with a removable tray that collects the extracted valve guides.
Furthermore, there is a front drawer that houses all the various punches for extracting valve guides and various accessories.
Good kit of punches and valve guide driver set included in the standard equipment.

After completing this ample overview of the Trego GM600 valve guide removal press, let’s go to the next page to find out the features of the Carmec VGP 1200 hydraulic valve guides press, created by the Slovenian company Carmec.

Carmec VGP 1200 – Hydraulic press for valve guides

More recently, the Carmec VGP 1200 – Hydraulic press for valve guides has a more robust design and more advanced technical features, such as the double hydraulic piston lower and upper, and other interesting mechanical solutions that we will now discover.

Framework of the valve guide press Carmec VGP 1200

The framework of the hydraulic press Carmec VGP 1200 for the engine valve guide removal is also made of a rectangular section tube, which forms a solid load-bearing frame.
The frame is then covered with sheet metal panels, which give further strength to the whole machine.

Support cradle for engine head

The support cradle looks immediately more resistant than the Trego GM600 valve guide press, since in this case it is made up of 2 solid steel bars with a rectangular section on which rest the transversal sliding brackets that support the engine head.
On the right side of the valve guide press, we find the handwheel that acts on the angle of the cradle, allowing an inclination up to 50° and thus allowing the easy extraction of valve guides from the engine heads with inclined valves.

Head assembly of valve guide press Carmec VGP 1200

Also in the case of the hydraulic press for valve guides Carmec VGP 1200, the head is moved by sliding the C-Arm onto a robust rectified cylindrical bar.
All the control panel is housed on the front of the head where they are located:

• Start/Stop button of the hydraulic power unit
• Upper or lower hydraulic piston selector
• Thrust pressure adjustment knob
• Up/down joystick of the upper or lower hydraulic piston
• Light indicator of active hydraulic piston
• Limit switch of the upper piston
• Pressure gauge indicator of the operating pressure
• Emergency stop button

To complete the head unit there are two 12V led spotlights, very comfortable during valve guide replacement operations.

C-Arm and double hydraulic piston

In the hydraulic press for valve guides Carmec VGP 1200, the C-Arm consists of 2 independent hydraulic pistons.
In fact, while the upper piston serves for valve guides removal, the lower one has the support function, in order to avoid the bending of the cylinder head during the valve guide extraction.
The presence of the lower piston is a fundamental prerogative for those who want to remove the guides from large cylinder heads, without damaging the engine head.
As mentioned previously, the C-Arm slides horizontally on the ground steel bar but, by pivoting on it, can also tilt a few degrees forward and backward, thus facilitating the centering operations of the punch inside the valve guide.

Additional features and accessories

In the case of the valve guide press Carmec VGP 1200, the extracted motor valve guides fall into a collection chamber which will then be emptied at the end of the valve guide removal operations.
The standard equipment available in the Carmec VPG 1200 hydraulic press for valve guide removal is very rich and complete.
The various tools and accessories allow a universal use of the machine, in what are the normal operations of machining a cylinder head.
In fact, through the appropriate punches supplied, the Carmec VGP 1200 valve guide press also allows:

• Valve guide extraction
• Valve guide insertion
• Engine valve cotters dismantling
• Valve seat rings insertion

All accessories and punches can be conveniently stored in a practical console on the left side of the machine.

After having also seen the technical and constructive characteristics of the hydraulic press for the valve guide removal Carmec VGP 1200, we can go now to the next pages to compare the characteristics and working capacity of the 2 machines.

Technical data of the hydraulic presses for valve guides removal

First of all, let’s start by comparing the technical data, shown in the table below.

It is immediately evident that the work capacity of the Carmec VGP 1200 is far superior to that of the Trego GM600.
In addition, the vertical stroke is also higher in the VGP 1200, as the addition of the top and bottom pistons is 270 mm (150 mm + 120 mm) while the Trego GM600 valve guide press is only 260 mm, as the vertical stroke occurs in a single movement of the C-Arm.

Comparison between Trego GM600 and Carmec VGP 1200

As noted above, for the technical comparison of the two hydraulic presses for valve guides removal, we are assisted by Carlo Piatti from Clio Tecno Trade who, thanks to his experience and specific competence, illustrates us the peculiarities of the 2 models examined.

First of all, he explains that the two systems may seem similar but in reality they are completely different.

Vertical movement of the head

As already highlighted above, in the Trego GM600 the head moves vertically to act as a contraposition when removing the valve guides. If this might seem like an advantageous solution, it really is not because the two movements create a double consumption and wear of the parts.
Moreover, at the end of the valve guide extraction operation, the head of the GM600 returns to position with a rather abrupt movement, since it no longer has any lower support when the valve guide is removed.
Over time, this movement generates a considerable wear on the vertical and horizontal guides of the Trego GM600 valve guide press.

Nella pressa idraulica per guide valvole Carmec VGP 1200 invece c’è il secondo pistone che funge da supporto per la testata motore e questa soluzione dimezza lo sforzo e raddoppia la vita dei pistoni e della macchina stessa.

Detail of the lower part of the C-arm of the Trego GM800

The C-arm of the Carmec VGP 1200 with the double upper and lower pistons that divide the vertical movement

Piston vertical stroke

Another detail that we have already seen before, concerns the vertical stroke that in the Trego GM600 occurs in a single movement, while in the Carmec VGP 1200 is divided between the 2 upper and lower pistons.
It must always be remembered that both machines must be well aligned with the sliding axis of the guide, and the more the piston protrudes, the greater alignment is required to avoid the risk of extracting the off-axis valve guide.

Detail of the slot of Trego GM600 that allows the vertical movement of the C-Arm

The C-arm of the Carmec VGP 1200 with the double upper and lower pistons that share the vertical movement

Pressure regulation

Another difference that Carlo Piatti illustrates is the presence of the double pressure gauge required for a fine pressure calibration in the Trego GM600 valve guide press.
This is not necessary in the hydraulic press for valve guides Carmec VGP 1200 as it does not require extremely precise and complicated adjustments due to its simpler and more robust construction.

Large engine cylinder heads

Speaking of the working pressure, the Carmec VGP1200 is much higher and this also allows you to disassemble and reassemble valve guides on large Jenbacher-type cylinder heads or similar.
This type of operation is practically impossible on the Trego GM600 hydraulic press for valve guides, due to the small size of the machine, that can not house larger cylinder heads.
Moreover, the vertical displacement of the cyilinder headrest cradle in the Carmec VGP 1200 is 3 times greater than the Trego GM600, thus facilitating the positioning of the heads, from the smallest to the largest.

Cylinder head of car, ideal for the work of Trego GM600

A Jenbacher cylinder head for the Carmec VGP 1200

Final considerations

To conclude, we can say that the Trego GM600 was born for a more strictly limited use to the heads of vehicles and cars, while the Carmec VGP 1200 is decidedly more eclectic and performing.
The Carmec VGP 1200 can also count on a much richer set of standard punches and accessories than the Trego GM600, thus allowing to work with the same practicality, both lightweight engine vehicles and large diesel cyilinder heads.

Before concluding, we would like to thank Carlo Piatti of Clio Tecno Trade for his work on The Ultimate Tooling and for the valuable technical information he gave us about the hydraulic presses for valve guides Trego GM600 and Carmec VGP 1200.

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