Do I need cam bearings?

[Amelio]

Well I just cleaned all my pistons, rods, bolts, caps and girdle. Since the cam wiped a lobe I figured a complete tear down and cleaning would be smart and well woth the extra time. My main and rod bearings really looked good, I had one main (#3) that was questionable and had a piece of trash go through it so I decided to put a new set of rods and mains in it, this way I know evverythin is good.....$100 well spent IMO.

Well I was going to assemble the bottom end this weekend but time did not permit that to happen, however I did manage to send my intake and valve covers off to get powder coated gloss black:biggrin:

I gave my cam bearings a second look to make sure they were good and they also look great but I was wondering since I am going from a flat tappet to a roller do I need new bearings or are flat tappet and roller cam bearings the same?

I am pretty much starting fresh with this engine. I sent my turbo to precision and they really hooked me up. Something had contacted my compressor wheel and it seemed to have a bit too much play. They were actually able to dress the wheel and rebalance it and then threw in some new bushings and seals.

I was thinking of up grading turbos but the the roller cam upgrade is hurting my pocket already....besides my turbo is fresh and looks brand new even though it is an older turbo I think it will still do the job and get the car in the low 11's maybe 10's:biggrin:


so whats the deal with the bearings? Am I good with the ones I got?

 

[gossamer]

(If they look good), go with them. Flat tappet and roller cams use the same bearings.

 

[MSDGN]

IMO since you have it torn down that far why not put in new cam bearings...doesn't matter which cam...flat tappet or roller...they use the same bearings...I like the TA Perfomance cam bearings...

 

[Amelio]

oh ok I thought they were the same but I was not 100% sure. This will be the first roller cam I have installed in any engine. I probably would install new cam bearings if I owned a cam install tool, but since they look great I am not going to bother, this engine only had abot 3k miles on it the rod and main bearings still had the white coating and I would have left them in if it were not for that one bad main.

Thanks!

 

[bison]

Replace the cam bearings. At least the front one. I like to use an aluminum, one in that location. Clevites are aluminum.

 

[Blown&Injected]

Where are you located? Maybe somebody nearby has the cam bearing tool.