The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Cam Stuck in Block??

I have a 283 that I am in the middle of tearing down. I have everythin out but the cam and the freeze plugs. The cam came out nice and easy until the very end. The front cam bearing (at the front of the block) is not letting the last piece of the cam out.

I apologize for my inadequate vocabulary here. The last big round piece on the cam will not pass through the front bearing. Whenever I have wathced someone put a cam in or take one out it looks fairly easy. I know yo need to be careful not to damage the cam and all of that...this one is going in the trash though.

Do I need to take that front bearing out?

Can I just take a saw to the cam and cut it so it will come out?

I am at my wits end with this one! I want to get the motor off to the hot dipper...but I need to have it taken apart!

Any help would be appreciated.

Kyle

In my opinion the reason it won't come out is that it is a very close fit and you have so much of it already out that it is tilted. Even the very slightest angle will keep it from aligning.
Cutting it might work by making it easier to align with the front cam bearing but I've never heard of anyone having to do that. And yes, I would remove the front cam bearing as all should be replaced anyway. Are you sure all the other bearings are in the block and not one of them trying to come out with the cam? That would make it nearly impossible but again, never heard of that either. Be patient, talk to it gently and persuade it to come on out.

As Riley used to say "life gets tedious, don't it?"

Maybe you should just take it to your machine shop and have them remove it as they are likely the ones dipping it anyway.(?)

I would suggest sticking the cam back in and letting the machine shop remove it. I pulled a lot of cams out of 265 and 283 engines 40 to 50 years ago that had a lobe gone flat, but I never remember difficulty removing the cam, and that was with the engine still in the vehicle and only the radiator removed.

You probably dinged that front bearing putting a bur on it and now it won't fit through. I would connect a slide hammer to it and pull cam and bearing together. The bearings need to be removed anyway,
Scott

Thanks for the quick replies.

I was kinda thinking maybe one of the bearings is out of alignment or swollen somehow?

This motor is out of a 62-65 Chevy truck, according to the block stamp #. I am pretty sure this is the first time it has ever been torn into.

The full round lobe in front of the last one was hard to get out (by full round lobe I mean the circular lobes there are 4 I believe) and then this last one was even worse.

Anyways, thanks for the input. I will keep you all posted on the progress.

Kyle

Did you remember to remove the fuel pump pushrod? I doubt if it would have moved as far as it has with the rod still in there, unless the block has rolled over to the point it could fall back against the cam. The last thing ahead of the rear bearing is the distributor drive gear, so it might have dinged up the front bearing to the point it's a tight fit. A couple of pry bars against the front of the block and some energetic pushing might get it out, since you're going to need to replace the cam and the bearings anyway. Just don't crack the block in the process.
Jerry