Hello to tha list,
I have a question regarding the installation of new cam bearing in a buick
215 engine.
I recently had my block gone through by a local engine/machine shop. They
cleaned it, bored it .030 over, opened up the oil passages, decked it.020
and resurfaced the heads and did the valves, etc..
My problem is that they also installed new cam bearings. The shop owner told
me that the only bearings they could get were the type that came all the
same size and to properly install them required that they be reamed with a
special reamer after they have been installed in the engine. The problem is
that the shop did not have the special reamer and to get the cam to fit the
bearings they "scraped" them to size (i don't know what they used to do this
scraping).
I find two things wrong with this procedure. First, I do not think that the
scrapeing job was done very well. It looks terrible, (worst than the
200,000 miles plus bearings that were in the engine originally) with scrape
marks that go completly across the bearing surface. This can't be good for
oil containment. Second, I am concerned with the various bearing centers
being out of alignment since each bearing was sized independently of the
others. This will place a side loading on the cam in the bearings and allow
oil to escape in the loose side.
Have any of you heard of this being an acceptable procedure?
If not, what is the recommed way to install the bearings?
Does anyone know of a company that manufactures the cam bearings that when
they are pressed into place are the right size and do not require reaming?
Does anyone know of a shop in the Denver area that can properly install the
bearings?
I'm readey to build the engine and need to get this corrected soon.
Thanks in advance.
Larry Diede
Arvada Colorado
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