Cam bushings need replaced

[LameHoof65]

Okay, so a friend of mine helped me take out the cam today. To make a long story short the cam bushings are scarred. I was on the phone at the time--kind of a family emergency type call...I'm not blaming my friend---he was careful enough but the cam stuck and before I could get to it--I heard a lifter or something fall into the oil pan..The scarring of the bushings may or may not have been the result. Anyway the bottom issue is now I have to replace the bushings. I don't want to pull the crank and pistons....I am thinking about just loading it all up block--crank--pistons and taking it to the machinist. So how much am I gonna have to spend to get those pounded out and new ones put in? Cam will have to be later--and hopefully before it's gets cold. :roll:

Oh, and i was the one who was responsible for missing the lifter...I was in the process of pulling them when I got the call....so clearly---I don't blame my friend...he's a great guy and I was glad to have his help. He did tell me that when I install the cam I should stand the block on end and lower it in from the front/top---which sounds like good advice to me.

 

[80broncoman]

I think your answer is in the bottom of the pan. Sorry to be the messenger on this but it may not be half as bad as it sounds. If you find a lifter then you missed one, If you find a cam bearing, that is not good.
You guys pulled the cam out with your hands, right?
If so I find it hard to belive that you damaged the cam bearings bad enough to be needing replaced.
Do the cam bearing surfaces look ok?

 

[LameHoof65]

The cam bearings looked fine, no scarring no signs of irregular wear..It was the second bushing in that really felt messed up..I ran my finger at the bottom of the bushing and it had ridges like it was spun on. There was a small amount of visible scarring on the first bushing but it felt more smooth that the second one, which I could not get a visual of. Really the rest of the engine looked fine.

This engine has a relatively new bottom end...and ran fine when I last drove it---excellent in fact. No I don't know how that one bushing got so messed up.

 

[addo]

The oil hole may not be aligned correctly. Are you sure you're not just feeling an oil groove?

 

[LameHoof65]

That is definitely a possibility addo---I thought about that too---after my second post. I had rotated the engine with the crank up and slid my hand down past the crank and could just get my index finger on the inside of what would be the bottom of the second bushing??

 

[LameHoof65]

I know this is not the best way to get opinions of the bushings, but I did get a few pics. Really, I believe addo is right---I could not see exactly what I had my finger on with the engine upside down in the stand and running the tip of it across the bushings..think it may have been the oil hole---with that said--the front bushing still feels rough on th back/bottom inside edge. Here are some pics:









The last four are pics of the front bushing and it seems to be the roughest.

 

[addo]

One of them shows a different colouring. That concerns me a little more, as it seems to be that shade of glazed oil. As to the scuffing - it looks minor, but there is slight signs of wear in some pics. If you can verify that each oil hole is aligned OK and unblocked, I would run it.

The idea of swapping them now worries me, as you might dislodge a bit of casting sand or slag that so far has gotten away. Clean everything well, keep an eye on the oil pressure gauge and "she'll be right mate".

 

[LameHoof65]

Went out and looked at the bushings again this a.m. and the coloring was a product of my lighting and the digital camera. Well now the only bearing that really feels like a problem is the front one and it is only rough on the inside edge at the back and bottom. Can't see anywhere the casting might have been compromised.

 

[80broncoman]

I saw cam bearings in a test engine where the engine had about 50k miles but the engine honestly had over at least one hundred cams in its life. And the bearings looked ok.

 

[Anonymous]

If you can verify that each oil hole is aligned OK and unblocked, I would run it.

+ 1

Never heard of an engine failing due to a bad cam bearing.
Those all look fine.