The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk cam bearing help

well guys, i think i screwed the pooch. I was taking out freeze plugs and started to take out the rear cam bearing! i realized what it was after one tap of the hammer... of course it moved on me and i'm sure it will have to be replaced now. correct? anyhow, can i just replace that one? and how do i do it? thanks for the help in advance

Oldcar,

I have seen you all over this site today, you are really making progress. First the harmonic balancer, then the cam gear and now the soft plugs. It looks like a complete teardown to me..maybe going to boil the block! Cam bearings are installed with steel drivers that fit the ID with a lip no larger than the OD. I think you could replace just the one you knocked out, but I am not sure you could buy any less than a SET from your parts house. We always had the block boiled and cam bearings installed by the machine
shop just because it was cheap, he had the drivers and (I think) it was important to line up the oil holes in the block with the holes in the bearings.

You can do it IF you buy ONE BEARING and borrow or make a driver. It sounds like you are going almost all the way on this engine..new soft plugs, new timing gear, timing cover gasket..why not new cam bearings?

Stuart.

well, was just going to pressure wash the block to get all of the sludge out and rust debris out of the water jacket. i figured out that i don't have to replace that cam gear, however i chipped a little bit off of one of the teeth..... will this cause a big problem or will it be ok? the truck will be driven MAYBE 200 miles a year. I'm all the way down to the block now, figured i'd put in new bearings and possibly rings... everything else is good... didn't even smoke before i started this frame up resto but after washing the motor (assembled) i saw exactly how much junk was in the water jackets and then when i took the oil pan off.... whoa- looked like tar, but all the moving parts were fairly clean...

oldcar,

Boy, long name...The fiber (micarta) gears are pretty durable as long as the whole tooth isn't gone. If this is the route you are going, I would think it fine to reinstall the rear bearing. You could even tap it all the way out, clean up the block area, put some retaining compound on the bearing and reinstall it. You would have to make or find some device to use as a driver. You might even stuff the cam back in and use it as the alignment tool to hold the bearing straight as you tapped it in with a piece of hardwood or plastic. I think it has a oil hole that needs to be matched to the block so this will allow you to put it back in in the same orientation. Any dings or bumps on the bearing can be shaved off with a file and still be fine. For 200 miles a year you don't need the old girl blueprinted.

Stuart.

thanks stuart... that rear cam bearing isn't out, but it is cocked a little bit. I looked at the other cam bearings and they don't look real nice... got greasy buildup on them, not slick at all like the rod and crank bearings are. Maybe I should go ahead and replace them?

oldcar,

Why don't you price a set first then decide. You mentioned this would be a low use truck, and cam bearings don't take a pounding too bad! As long as the rear bearing isn't mashed out of round it would probably go another million miles. Good luck!

Stuart.

advance auto shows cam bearings for 37 bucks
http://www.partsamerica.com/Product...;searchfor=Camshaft+Bearings&ptset=A

What engine is it? you can put cam bearing in with a bearing race tool and a piece of pipe. Just make sure the tool is not bigger then the bearing and fit tight in the bearing are you will ruined it. I did this and the engine is 20 years old and no problems with the cam bearing.