cam bearing replacement
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Elder User
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 987
Likes: 3
From: Bass Lake, CA
cam bearing replacement
this is probably a waste of time....
my 78 seems to be eating up one of the cam bearings, and it is not going to get a rebuild till it spits a rod or something to that effect, so my question:
anyone know of a way that i could pull the cam, and replace the bearings with the engine still in the truck?
i need to pull the stock intake and drop my ebrock/holley combo on anyway, and i can just toss a cheap ole summit cam in at the same time.
truck does not smoke, or use any oil at all, just has no oil pressure, yet no main or rod knocks at ALL.
if it is possible, i think this may just get me another couple years out of this ole 266k mile 400. ( i have replaced the main bearings, and added a hv oil pump already, no oil pressure change)
i found a few chunks of babbit in the oil pan, and the only place they could have come from is the cam bearings....and i think if a cam bearing spun, it may be the reason i have no oil pressure..
anyhoo, sorry for the long post! opinions/experience are appreciated!
my 78 seems to be eating up one of the cam bearings, and it is not going to get a rebuild till it spits a rod or something to that effect, so my question:
anyone know of a way that i could pull the cam, and replace the bearings with the engine still in the truck?
i need to pull the stock intake and drop my ebrock/holley combo on anyway, and i can just toss a cheap ole summit cam in at the same time.
truck does not smoke, or use any oil at all, just has no oil pressure, yet no main or rod knocks at ALL.
if it is possible, i think this may just get me another couple years out of this ole 266k mile 400. ( i have replaced the main bearings, and added a hv oil pump already, no oil pressure change)
i found a few chunks of babbit in the oil pan, and the only place they could have come from is the cam bearings....and i think if a cam bearing spun, it may be the reason i have no oil pressure..
anyhoo, sorry for the long post! opinions/experience are appreciated!
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,127
Likes: 3
From: (near) Denver USA
The cam bearings are terminal ends of the oiling path, so spinning a cam bearing would only cut off the oil supply to that bearing. If a cam bearing did spin, the cam would not last very long, maybe a few more minutes of running time before catastrophic failure.
OTOH, low oil pressure is usually caused by worn bearings with excessive clearance that allow oil to flow more freely than it should through the bearing. If a cam bearing is worn out, it could certainly contribute to low oil pressure.
You can change the cam bearings without pulling the engine, but I wouldn't want to do it. It's much easier if you pull the engine out of the truck.
OTOH, low oil pressure is usually caused by worn bearings with excessive clearance that allow oil to flow more freely than it should through the bearing. If a cam bearing is worn out, it could certainly contribute to low oil pressure.
You can change the cam bearings without pulling the engine, but I wouldn't want to do it. It's much easier if you pull the engine out of the truck.
