I just got my 460 block back from the shop. They bored .030 and installed new cam bearings.

The first thing I did upon assembly (after cleaning) is install the cam with a liberal amount of assembly lube on lobes and journals.

After getting the cam in, it was pretty tight to turn. With the timing chain gear on, it is all I can do to turn it by hand. With the timing chain on, turning the crank does not seem much harder than without turning the timing chain/cam. The cam is new.

I have stopped at this point to get some advice on what to do about this - ignore or take back to the machine shop? I have read opinions that say if it turns AT ALL it will be OK. Others said it should turn easily or it needs fixing.

Any ideas?

 

I don't think the cam should be that difficult to turn. there is something not right as I can tell from your description..recomending a trip to the machine shop..

Wayne
e-mail
http://home.pacbell.net/whomrig

 

Did you take the cam into the machine shop with your block? They should have match honed the brgs to the Cam...
Cam should be nearly effortless to turn when properly lubed and fitted.. I suggest you run it back to the machine shop...
Good luck!

J/.c

1965 Ford Galaxie 500 (okay, so not quite a truck)
460/C6 transplant @ 389hp/491 lb.ft.
14.29@103.8, 13-14 mpg heheheheheh

 

No, I did not take the cam in with the block. Now I wish I did. I guess that's what I need to do now. Thanks.

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 03-Jun-01 AT 06:13 PM (EST)[/font][p]It is quite possible that the cam bearings weren't installed correctly. Believe it or not some cam bearings are # (sized differently from front to rear. It's possible that one or more are in the wrong location if this applies. I'd check with your machine shop to see how they were installed. You might call around other shops to see if cam bearings are sized differently from front to rear on a 460? That way when you call your shop you'll have more info than what I've told you.

It's also possible the cam bearings were boxed wrong for you applicaton and the machinist didn't check before installing. I just sent back a set of Rod bearings to Summit because they were boxed wrong. Ordered a set of .010/.010's and got STD on the Rod's!!! The box read .010 but the bearings were stamped STD!!

I've been down this road on SB's already. It's possible this applies to BB's too.

I hope this helps

Xaviar

 

Good point. I'm learning that you can't assume anything when dealing with parts or machine work - even with reputable sources.

I'll call the shop tomorrow and see what they have to say.

 

The 460's cam bearing journal sizes are all the same, unlike a 351C which are tapered front to back.
You may have a cam bearing which is not seated properly in the journal, the front and rear bearings are easy to see the others get a bit difficult. Also since you have a slight problem with the bearings, double check the oil holes in the cam bearings to make sure they line up "Squarely" with oil passages in block just as a precaution.

Todd
BB79RANCH

 

I took it to the shop. It turns out the rear cam bearing had been nicked up pretty good during installation and would cause the tightness when the cam was all the way into it. Much better now - turns with little resistance. Thanks to all for the input.

 

another tip I learned the hard way. On the 460's (or 514's in my case), sometimes the cam would turn hard after installing new bearings. couple times, I was just about to remove the old cam bearings (actually new ones that wouldn't turn right), and for some reason, I installed all the main caps and torqued them to specification. The cam then turned freely. This tells me that the block needed to have the tension from the bolts being torqued to "move" the block around and allow the bearings to line up correctly. Weird, but it's worked with 2 different blocks, one 514, and one 540. Just my $.02