[Sterly]

Hi. I have a question about installing cam bearings. Like other people here, we have made a threaded bar + mandrels to pull the bearings in (and out) and have used it before very successfully. The engine is now out and stripped. I see in Rocky Rotella’s book he says that the bevelled ends of the bearings point to the back of the engine. However, our tool requires at least one bearing or housing ahead of the one being installed, to ensure the alignment is good. To get the bevels pointing to the rear the front four can be pulled in from the back of the engine but the rearmost must be pulled in from the front, causing the bevel to be in the wrong direction. Does it really matter if the bevels point to the front or back?

Thanks in advance.
Mark

[tempest1964]

I believe the bevel is merely there to act as a 'lead-in' so that it starts in properly and doesn't shave the bearing as it enters the bored hole.

[steve25]

X2!
The taper is there to guide and ease installation.
The main thing is that the oil hole is lined up as it should.
After install you should always check that no small scraps metal from the back side of the Bearing sheered off and is now in that main web feed passage.

[Sterly]

Ok, thanks. It seems the direction of the bevel doesn't matter, as I suspected. Just make sure the alignment is correct and that there are no tiny bits of metal left over to spoil the party.
Many thanks

[Tom Vaught]

I have for 50+ years owned and used a camshaft bearing tool where the bearings are driven into the block.
An "Alignment Cone" is installed on the tool first. Then the proper Camshaft Bearing support is attached to
the opposite end of the tool.

The camshaft bearings are installed from the back of the engine first. This means that the long drive tool goes
into the rear of the block, past the rear cam bearing position, past the number 4 camshaft bearing position,
past the number 3 Camshaft bearing position, and past the number 2 camshaft bearing position.

The Camshaft Bearing Support is screwed on the drive tool and the lubricated camshaft bearing is then installed on that support.

The Front Camshaft Bearing is positioned so that the bearing bevel is facing the front of the engine. A moderate tap with a large Mall type hammer gets the bearing started in the block. Additional moderate taps, each time moving the bearing forward in the camshaft bearing bore, until the edge of the bearing is flush with the timing chain block surface. There are holes drilled into the camshaft bearing. The intent is to have each bearing hole of the camshaft bearing line up perfectly with the feed passage from the
crankshaft bore/camshaft feed passage. So then you have one bearing installed.

You do the same process for the #2 & #3 camshaft bearings (again from the rear of the block).

Then you install the camshaft and see if the camshaft will go smoothly into the first three bearings.
If all is good then you can install the #4 camshaft bearing.

You will install this bearing and the #5 rear camshaft bearing with the tool being installed from the front of the block.
The cone is still on the tool, the bare tool is inserted into the block, the #4 camshaft bearing support is installed on the
drive tool at the Middle of the block. Then the lubricated bearing is installed on the tool and the #4 cam bearing is installed.

IN EVERY CASE YOU MAKE SURE THE OIL FEED PASSAGE ALIGNS WITH THE CAMSHAFT FEED HOLE.
YOU CAN CHECK THIS WITH A STIFF METAL COAT HANGER TYPE MATERIAL WITH THE END SHARPENED.

Finally you can install the rear camshaft bearing using the tool and cone.
The idea is to have the straightest/best centered cam bearing started into the block bore in each bearing installation.
WITH THE OIL FEED HOLE POSITIONED PROPERLY.

Then you take a known straight camshaft, lube it up and carefully install it into each of the camshaft bearings.
I have one where I had the cast iron lobes made round so that the lobes would not score the bearings you perfectly
installed in the block.

The tool should spin smoothly in the bearings.

Remove the tool or camshaft you used to check alignment and lube up the proposed New Camshaft for the engine.

Over the past 50 years I have installed 50-75 camshafts in engines.
(probably one days worth of camshaft installations at the Pontiac Engine Plant by one guy on the line).
But someone else had previously installed the cam bearing in the block with their special installation tools.

This is how I do/did it. As was posted some builders might pull the bearings in place.

Whatever works for you. We drove the cam bearings into the blocks at the two speed shops I worked at
when attending college.

Tom V.

[Sterly]

Thanks for your input Tom.

Mark

[mgarblik]

Using the technique described by Tom in detail, I have installed hundreds of camshaft bearings in many different types of engines. As Tom said, the alignment cone is key and needs to be used on all 5 bearings to be sure they go in straight. Some engines, like Chevy, with the Block grooves are pretty foolproof. There is a preferred hole location, but it really doesn't matter and I have seen many, many Chevy engines with OE cam bearings installed in a haphazard oil hole position. They will still oil. Pontiacs have a pretty big oil hole in the block and a small hole in the bearing. So it's pretty easy to hit the holes. Have I ever killed a camshaft bearing installing it? Sure. Maybe about 1 every 10 engines or so. If you hurt one, bite the bullet and order a new set. NEVER try to install a hurt bearing. That never ends well. I have an official Dura Bond camshaft install tool. They manufacturer the majority of camshaft bearings in the US. Their tool is a driver style. I have used some pull-in style tools as well. They are less common and much more expensive and possibly less likely to kill a bearing. The factory Pontiac V-8 Kent Moore camshaft bearing tool was a pull in style. It was designed to replace camshaft bearings in the car. But you couldn't replace the rear one with the engine installed, just the front 4.