Cam Bearings

[jetaws6]

I am in the middle of doing heads and cam in my car and last night we took the crank off and the cam out and the front two bearings got scratched a little bit. Should I change em out or will they be fine?

[ne0fiend]

LOL, I think you missed your own original post, bud - I dropped you a line earlier this morning over there.

I wouldn't advise reusing any scratched bearings.
Ofcourse the level of severity matters; if it's minor, I don't worry about it but if it's noticeable when running your finger over the bearing surface, or if you can see the scratch through a thin layer of oil on the bearing, change it.

[jetaws6]

Yea I got that but I didnt know how many people were going to look in that thread so I decided to put up another one. You can feel it with your finger but its almost like more of a scuff then a scratch and you cant really see you have to feel it

[ne0fiend]

Yea I got that but I didnt know how many people were going to look in that thread so I decided to put up another one. You can feel it with your finger but its almost like more of a scuff then a scratch and you cant really see you have to feel it

If it can be polished out, you can use a plastic scrub pad from the grocery store to buff it.
If after buffing it you can still really feel it with your finger, I would recommend replacing it.

[jetaws6]

Ok i will probably just replace it then. I dont think there that expensive. How hard would the first one be to get out

[ne0fiend]

Ok i will probably just replace it then. I dont think there that expensive. How hard would the first one be to get out

Depends on a couple things;
Is the motor out of the car?
Is it a cam or a crank bearing?

[jetaws6]

Its the front most cam bearing and the motor is in the car.

[ne0fiend]

Its the front most cam bearing and the motor is in the car.

On a slace of 1-10, I would rate the job a 1.
If you want to invest, get yourself a cam bearing tool.
You can find a pretty decent write-up HERE.

All-in-all, it's just as easy as popping the old one out, and pressing the new one in.
Enjoy.

[jetaws6]

One being easy I guess lol?

[ne0fiend]

One being easy I guess lol?

hahaha Yeah. 1 being easy.
Here's a link to the tool if you're interested.

[jetaws6]

Alright thanks for the help man

[ne0fiend]

Alright thanks for the help man

Always welcome. Have fun, post some pics!

[jetaws6]

Thats a pic its worse then I thought but what do you guys think. Theres no marks on the cam but the bearing is kinda messed up

[jetaws6]

I put the old cam in and its not hanging on anything it spins fine

[ne0fiend]

I put the old cam in and its not hanging on anything it spins fine

Well it seems like you are really wanting to leave this bearing in...
You can always do whatever you like, but by the looks and sounds of it, you'd be better off just R&Ring the bearing and forgetting about it.
If you don't, it's come back and bite ya in the ass.

[jetaws6]

Yea were pulling the motor tonight gonna get it fixed

[ne0fiend]

Yea were pulling the motor tonight gonna get it fixed

Pics!
Can never get enough motor pics.
I have a serious problem... lol

[Smittro]

Yea were pulling the motor tonight gonna get it fixed

Good to hear.. I personally would'nt use a grocery store sratch pad on ANY bearing surface.. But that's just me...

[jetaws6]

Pics!
Can never get enough motor pics.
I have a serious problem... lol

Ill take some later tonight if I can scrum up a hoist to get my block out

[jetaws6]

pulled it Saturday only took about an hour and for having 100k on the motor its in pretty good shape