Belted the old cam bearings out of the 350 and have a new set of Clevites to put in. Cant find anyone with an installation tool to borrow for a couple of hours so has anyone made one or has any other clever ways of tapping them in!, Not prepared to pay $150+tax for the engine shop to tap them in and wait a week for them to do it just yet, cheers
skin1235,
Jan 24, 9:40am
large socket with a wooden plug hammered in to keep it central
go on, you know you're a bushy at heart
but it works, and even beter if you can find a flat sheet of lead to cut a washer out of to go between the socket and the bearing edge
mk3zephyr,
Jan 24, 10:33am
how do you mean a socket with a wooden plug belted in!, was actually thinking of turning something up out of a couple of bits of nylon bar and some threaded rod. I.e get a bit of nylon bar the same Outside diameter and machine a step that the bearing will sit on, smash a hole through the centre and use a bit of threaded rod with nut and washer each side, then at the other end have a sliding piece of nylon with a step cut in that fits inside the journal to keep it central
smac,
Jan 24, 7:11pm
I am. Beats me screwing it up and having to get it line bored or something stupid.ask yourself.is this engine worth more than $150 to me!
mk3zephyr,
Jan 24, 7:28pm
If they supplied the bloody bearings then yeah but since i already have them why should it cost that much and have to have the block sitting there waiting a week for them to do a 10 min job!, highway robbery. Come up with a plan to make one anyway using threaded rod, no hammering involved, just wind the bearing in, try it with one of the old ones 1st though of course
smac,
Jan 24, 7:40pm
Find a better/faster machine shop. Don't get me wrong, I know it can be done perfectly well as a home job. Just one of those things I've never been arsed to get myself tooled up for.
intrade,
Jan 24, 8:14pm
i always use warmth and cold to make the tolerances larger also a cold spray and the other part in the oven to warm it up if possibile of course only. maybe post a picture of where exactly it goes in to for more hints on what to be carfull off.
yea similar, wind the nut up so it pulls the bearing in instead of hitting it like you would with a "normal" installer. Smear a thin film of grease on the outside of the bearing before pulling it in of course
mk3zephyr,
Jan 24, 9:51pm
Only have one in town now as the other closed the doors this week, they have got so much work now they are literally snowed under with work hence why it will take so long to install the bearings.
skin1235,
Jan 25, 6:17am
the threaded rod will work fine, suggest a thin plywood between the plate and the bushing edge - saves any distortion if metal on metal shifts
have used a large socket and extension bar beofre, but keepig it lined up is not easy hence the wooden plug jammed in the socket and sits inside the bush while you tap gently, as said a sheet of lead will aid against bruising the edge
you've probably finished the job now anyway - check the cam turns easy, any tight bush will leave a black mark on the journal - very very fine wet and dry will help ease out any tight spots but be careful with it - and finish with meths on newspaper
skin1235,
Jan 25, 6:22am
something irks my memory with those bushes
are the relieved on the back for oil or do you have to align the hole in the bush with a drilling in the block ( grooved inside or outside!)
mk3zephyr,
Jan 25, 6:51am
havnt even started it yet, too busy packing the house up. What i was going to use was a bit of 2" nylon bar or Aluminium and machine 30 thou in so that it has a step for the bearing to sit on, drill a say 12mm hole through the middle insert the threaded rod and have a nut and penny washer at each end to hold it tight, then have another couple of 2" nylon bushes (machined to say 1.85") to use as locators to keep the whole thing central and straight, big washer at the front of the engine with a nut to wind up to pull the bearing in, Was going to take 30 thou off to allow for any crush when the bearing is installed so it wont jam the tool, Thoughts! Now as for the bearings themselves there is no groove that i can remember in the block (definatly none in the bearings) I figured the holes in the bearing lines up with the hole in the block, Not so so i was told, yakking to a bloke who has built a fair few race engines and he was saying sit the holes at the 4 o'clock position when the engine is upright, he then started on waffling about thermal dynamics and pressure waves created by the oil being introduced to the spinning Camshaft etc, Others may have other ideas on the subject of where the holes are position (love to hear them), also found when i took the engine apart that he who had been before had put the main bearing shells in with the groove on the cap side and not the block side, no wonder it decided to just pack up and die lol
smac,
Jan 25, 7:01am
If the holes are not lined up, and there's no groove.how is it he says the oil gets to the cam journal!
skin1235,
Jan 25, 8:27am
+1, no groove = no oil if there the holes are not aligned therefore you have to be very careful that your pulling method does not also twist it as it pulls it in ( felt pen mark on the visible outside and make absolutely sure it pulls directly undr a known point ( or another penmark on the block) (I knew there was something about those shells that needed a little more attention than most - but hey its a ford- thats normal for fords isn't it lol) I have no issue with the method you describe but wonder if nylon maybe too soft - it may just shear the step off and by the time you've pulled a couple in be useless for the rest but see how it goes,if all else fails you can still pull through a socket with a thin wooden block between the socket and the face
skin1235,
Jan 25, 8:29am
oh for fksd sake, I've changed it from chev to ford and canna be fkd changing it back, they can both be pricks for things like that anyway
mk3zephyr,
Jan 25, 9:26am
Ah i see what you mean by the socket now D'oh, yea that be better than a scodey bit of nylon, as for the holes in the bearings and no groove i must admit i was scratchin my head on that one as well as to how the oil would flow, Now i wonder if i have a scratch around in the shed i will find an old socket that would fit and make a wooden washer to suit with a holesaw
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