Sooo I have an idea, possibly a bad one. I have a state run at the bearing. I'm tempted to drill out the hole with a long drill bit. Not sure how to clean/polish it up afterward to make sure it doesn't damage the cam afterward. Problem is a $200-$300 tool to install a $40 part, or having to take the engine the rest of the way along with dealing with the transmission hookup. So a long drill about 1/8-3/16 down the oil source and put the hole where it should have been? Anyone ever done it?
Can it be done, yes, should it be done, no. Don't you still have the problem of where all the metal particals went? I think you would tear down the hole motor and clean clean clean.........or did I miss the part that you alreadt did this?
No missing metal. The cam is clean as is the oil port. All metal damage was downstream so to say, up in the rocker ***embly, and I have a new one of them coming well used. Nothing plugged, just put together wrong.
"Inside I find the top of the head bone dry. Two exhaust lifters are chewed up bad one galled pretty terrible. So I at the least need a new rocker set for that side." "This did a number on the hemi rocker ***embly for the p***enger side. The intake side is possibly usable. The Exhaust side has one very bad rocker and the shaft is really chewed up. I have a used rocker ***embly coming. Thanks to the HAMB. " I would think this "missing metal" went somewhere...................
I don't think your reading the direction, CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN..If the engine was turning over and there was shavings, they are now everywhere.."CLEAN" Duane.
Simple question...is this a 'long-term' engine or something that you plan to just p*** on to the next buyer? You have metal contamination, your oil filter will only capture so much. If you expect this to be a reliable engine then you need to completely dis***emble and start over. Your main and rod bearing may or may not be useable, look closely with a very big magnifying gl***. Be sure to keep the lifters matched to the cam lobes, unless there is also damage found there in which case they will also get replaced. .
For the "tear it down completely crowd: There was no oil in the top end on that side, so no oil to flush any metal particles down the head drain and back into the engine. I would be VERY tempted to vacuum the dust from the top of that head, put it back together with the new rocker shafts and rocker arms, get that cam bearing oriented correctly and run it.
It's obvious the shop that rebuilt it the first time didn't know a thing about the baby Hemi SO I would tear completely down to double check every single part and clearances..........and clean, clean, clean! JMO again!
I had the problem on my 392. It was part of a project and it was built by supposedly a reputible builder, yeah right, Cam bearing in wrong. I ended up redoing the cam bearings, rod bearings, and the mains they were not clearenced to the crank. What I'm saying if the shop screwed up your cam bearings how much confidence do you have the rest was done right. I found alot of sludge in my oil p***ages as well in the block. I hated to pull my engine again but this time I wanted to make sure it all was done right and I found more than I mentioned here.
I recently had the same problem with my 341. Not a cam bearing orientation problem, but a cam bearing problem just the same. I was putting the cam in when I noticed the cam was going in too far. At first I thought maybe it was the wrong cam like for a Dodge. Upon closer inspection I noticed the freeze plug at the back of the cam was protruding outward and hanging by some clear silicone. The machine shop used silicone to hold the plug in place because they didn't have the right one. The one they used was 1/32' too small. While cleaning out the journal I noticed there was something wrong with the bearing itself. It had marks all around the inside as though it had been struck with a chisel. I made a tool to pull the bearing and discovered that the bearing was too small for the jounal and the bearing wall was so thin that it's inside diameter was too big for the outside diameter of the cam bearing. The machine shop guy had beaten the bearing to make the inside diameter smaller and took a center punch to the block to reduce the inside diameter until the bearing would just push into the block with a semi-tight fit. He then super-glued the bearing in place. I had to buy another set of cam bearings just to get that back bearing. When I confronted the machine shop owner, he told me that he had fired the guy that did it. Well that sure took care of everything alright! I didn't go after him for money but I sure spread the word around. I did find another shop that I'll use from now on. It costs more money but it's worth it. That first shop screwd up a set of hemi heads at the same time to the point that I gave them away. Moral of the story?-make sure the guy that works on your motor has a good reputation reguardless of cost!
Sadly I'm in a rural area far from any hemi builders. This shop was an old time machine shop with a good reputation, but now its the son doing it so he has about half the knowledge of old stuff his dad had. Still have not heard back from him, but there really isn't much he can do for me. It has been 5 years getting done, but it has been possibly 20 miles and a couple hours runtime on the engine. I did locate a cam bearing tool, and ordered some parts from hot heads. Will have to pull the oil pan to do the bearing anyway so I'll do some inspection while I am down there.
When I rebuilt my Red Ram the oil in all the p***ages had petrified and had to be drilled out. This includes all the lifters. If you dan't make certain all the p***ages are clear you will have a failure
The Jalopy Journal
