TA cam bearings question!

[EVIL]

I just got my motor back from the machine shop. I had them install cam bearings.
The bearings used are the TA Product ID: TA_1557.

The info sheet that came with the bearings states to install the bearings at 3 and 7 o'clock.

The machinist said he could not install them at the recommended position because the 7 o'clock hole would not get any oil. The bearings were installed closer to 4 and 8 o'clock. Has anyone had this happen to them with these bearings?

D

 

[chris]

Aren't they grooved on the back?


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[EVIL]

yes two grooves. Does that mean it didn't matter that the 7 o'clock hole was blocked because the groove would feed it?

D

 

[Chris Hogeland]

yes two grooves. Does that mean it didn't matter that the 7 o'clock hole was blocked because the groove would feed it?

D

That's what the grooves are for.


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[EVIL]

That's what the grooves are for.


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So, should I not put the motor together with the bearings installed at the 4 and 8 o'clock mark?

Should I order new bearings and have them reinstalled?

D

 

[Amelio]

A while back I had a buddy of mine install those bearings for me because I did not have an installation tool.....I assembled the engine and never had a problem....

A few years after that I had a head gasket go and I decided to pull the engine down and just freshen it up due to all the trash from the gasket.....when I pulled it apart I noticed that he had installed the cam bearings as you described basically how you would install normal non grooved bearings. When I reassembled the engine I then installed the cam bearings myself with another member on this board because he had a cam bearing installer......

We installed it the way TA recommends.


The result was no change in my engine performance or oil pressure from before and after.

Hope this helped.

 

[EVIL]

I called TA the other day. The Tech said that what the groves do is help get oil to the drivers side of the motor faster.
I've decided to leave them as they are.

The Tech also said that if these are removed gently they can be reused.

D

 

[lrayzer]

So basic question, does the Buick V8 bearing tool work on the V6, it has been a few years since I put measureing tools to them, I borrowed an installer back then, want my own now.

 

[Buick Mark]

4 and 8 o'clock posistion is fine

 

[ek02]

I wonder about reinstalling cam bearings. I have a set of TA rear groove cam bearings that I put in a 4.1 block before finding out I had cracks in the mains while torqueing the caps. I removed the bearings but declined to use them in my new block. Maybe they are worth saving, but is it worth taking a chance? I would like to hear from anyone that has done it with good results before I try it. It may not be worth $54.00 to take a chance.

 

[Squid4life]

I used to be an engine assembler way back when and a few times had to remove a bearing and was curious if you could reuse it so I tried it. It went in much, much easier the second time, which in my mind means it is not stable enough to trust. We had a customer come to us after about 5,000 miles on a rebuild from another shop and the cam bearing actually spun and damaged the block.

Not worth it to test it in my opinion.

 

[lrayzer]

I actually repaired a customers block with a spun cam bearing, journal #2 I think, used an oversize out of the fed mogul catalog as I recall, gee that was fun !
I would not re-install a can bearing, they are too cheap with too much money riding on it, parts and labor wise.

 

[ek02]

Thanks for the info on reusing TA cam bearings. I will dispose of them. I also had a cam bearing spin in the block on initial start up. It was not a TA bearing. I have had good luck with them. The one that spun on startup ran spinning in the block for 5000 miles, stuck to the cam. I shut it down when it squeeled, thinking it was a loose belt. When I fired it again, it was quiet. I found that it spun # 2 when a cam lobe went flat a year later. I put a new bearing in, it fit tight, and it squeeled again on start up. The oil holes lined up and it went in tight, and the passages were clean. I put a wider # 1 bearing in the #2 spot with some punch marks and red locktight. It ran for years that way until I sold it. I never figured out why it spun the first time. The #2 bore only measured .001 less than the other bores after it spun for 5000 miles. That one cost me some late nights.