cam wont fit

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abodyhotrod

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so my rear bearing is way to tight on the cam. i can force it in but that is not right. the bearing looks fine. i really want to pop it out and replace it but i dont know if i can find just a rear cam bearing. any suggestions other than taking it back to the machine shop who installed it. it will probably be more of a pain loading and driving across town waiting a few days if maybe there is an easy fix.
 
very common problem with mopars, hone the bearing to fit the cam
 
personal opinion . i would have to ck everything this man had done . sorry guy but machine work is the life of the engine an you didn't pay him your hard earn $$$$$ to do his fit an finish .... sorry about the rant but there are those people out there that just piss me off cause they just dont do the job right the first time then want to charge you more to do it over
 
dartman340ta said:
personal opinion . i would have to ck everything this man had done . sorry guy but machine work is the life of the engine an you didn't pay him your hard earn $$$$$ to do his fit an finish .... sorry about the rant but there are those people out there that just piss me off cause they just dont do the job right the first time then want to charge you more to do it over
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Agreed! Most likely crushed the bearing a little to make it tight. I thnk it needs a new bearing and make darn sure the block has no dirt or burrs in the bearing location. That will crush the bearing.

If you want it true to round get a new bearing. Your oil and life of the engine demand it. This is a critical bearing not that the rest are not.

do it right I agree with abodyhotrod!
 
abodyhotrod said:
seems easy enough thank you sir.
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It should show all, that this is a common problem and to take their cam with their blocks when they have cam bearings installed so they can be fit.:cheers:

Very routine proceedure for the machine shop or YOU can buy a trimmer and a ball hone and do it yourself.
 
The brgs. are only sold in sets. I agree that the shop should have fit the cam when the bearings were installed, this is why I always require a cam before the parts leave, just to make sure that parts fit like there suppose to.
 
id take it back to the machine shop you've spent all this money already everything should be perfect
 
I don't know if its mopar, but don't some of the cam bearings inside diameter get smaller as the they go deeper into the block? I think I read this somewhere????????:read2:
 
I don't think I've ever had a set of cam bearings fit a cam perfectly the first time when everything is new. You're right to not force it in too. I use a razor blade to clearance the bearings. It needs to be free enought to rotate the cam by hand. You'll find it's usually one or two small spots that are tight. If you install the cam until it doesnt want to go any more, then rotate it, then pull it out, you can see the shiney spots where it's too tight. Scrape them down, try again... Eventually it will fit fine.
 
A ball hone will do just that (see above) only quicker.

Questions:

Did the machine shop have your cam when they installed the cam bearings?

Did you pay for just installation of the bearings?

Did you pay for the fitting of the cam bearings to YOUR cam?

Answer those, so the lynch mob can retreat.

PS it takes less time to hone/scrap and fit than to post on the internet....
 
Any GOOD shop will have cams that they check cam bearing clearances with. When I asked my guy fitting the cam, he stated "we do that to every block we put cam bearings in".
 
OHD said:
A ball hone will do just that (see above) only quicker.

Questions:

Did the machine shop have your cam when they installed the cam bearings?

Did you pay for just installation of the bearings?

Did you pay for the fitting of the cam bearings to YOUR cam?

Answer those, so the lynch mob can retreat.

PS it takes less time to hone/scrap and fit than to post on the internet....
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Honing the bearing will likely remove the top layer of babbit, which is there for a reason. This is not the place for backyard fixes. As somebody already said, the shop should not have let the block go out the door until they made sure the cam fit.

When I was a machinist, I would not install cam bearings until the customer brought the cam to me to make sure that it fit and turned with no tight spots.
 
"Any GOOD shop will have cams that they check cam bearing clearances with"

internet myth............IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE ALL THOSE CAM CORES LAYING AROUND


4 engines builders have posted to have cam with block, WHEN THE BEARINGS ARE INSTALLED

Let the origional poster tell the WHOLE story.

PS hitting a cam bearing with a ball hone does not remove a FULL layer, JUST REMOVES HIGH SPOTS THAT A SCRAPPER WOULD DO, just faster......:cheers:
 
OHD said:
PS hitting a cam bearing with a ball hone does not remove a FULL layer, JUST REMOVES HIGH SPOTS THAT A SCRAPPER WOULD DO, just faster......:cheers:
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Not true, but believe what you want.
 
2500 bucks is what i have paid the machine shop. hot tanked block,bored,square decked,decked to 0,line honed,machined crank girdle in,forged eagle crank and h beams and srp pistons,balanced and cam bearings installed. they fit the bottom end and clearanced sum cylinder wall to fit the rods as well drilled oil holes as its a 98 block. they supplied the block as well.
honestly they seemed to do a really good job and treated me very nice, it is a shop thats been around awhile.

i am really torn between honing it or replacing it. can i pop that bearing in from the rear or does it have to go in from the front.
 
Take it back to the machine shop.Take the cam with you also give it to the machine shop.A good machine shop should of fit the cam before they ever gave you the engine back.I would not scape or hone the bearing.Do it right or it will cost you big time later.
Jim
 
take it back to them,they will have no problem with it ,if they are a reputable machine shop they will take care of it,just be nice and let em know about it constructively.they'll probably tell you you did the right thing and fix the problem a.s.a.p.
 
You don't want to use any abrasive on a bearing surface. As they remove material, the abrasive (stone, sand, skotchbrite, etc) always sheds some of itself. On a bearing, this will imbed and come out later when it get's the chance. You want to shave or cut off bearing material. Not use an abrasive. Not to mention, on cam bearings, that abrasive will get into the oil passsages to the main bearings. Bad news.
 
I agree with many here. You paid a good price for all the machine work. The cam should slide into position. Take it back with the cam and have them correct it. If they have to reinstall the bearings so be it. You paid them to do it right. toolmanmike
 
Agreed, there isn't a second chance on cam brgs. they only get 1 and then they are replaced.
 
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