If you have an engine that needs to be hot tanked and the cam is good; will pulling the cam bearings, hot tanking the engine, and inserting new cam bearings ruin both the cam and new bearings?
Huh? I think your asking - Hot tank the bare block after removing the cam bearings, re-install new cam bearings - and the re-install the used cam - should be no problem - just be sure to re-install the used lifters on the exact lobe they came off of, otherwise you will ruin the cam - if you did not keep them in order when removing them, get a new set...
No you got it. I knew about the lifters needing to be in order but I was concerned about the cam bearings being different and then munching the cam. I supposed it would be okay because the same thing is done with a crank, but I like to ask.
Replacing the cam bearings after cleaning is no big deal, new is always better. I will say that in the day when I was very active with my machine shop we always kept the old cam bearings (marked with the position they were in the block) until the new cam bearings were installed in the block & the cam fit was good. This procedure was one my father used for years, he started in the engine machining field in the mid 50's when finished replacement engine parts became the standard (replacing finishing pistons, babbiting rods etc.). There were some teething problems as the aftermarket parts were being produced and also you would get the few times when the factory cam bores in the block were oversize. Whoever is installing the new bearings should install one bearing & check the fit with the cam, then install the next & check that one, repeat until all are installed & the rotation is good.
New cam bearings will actually be better than using the old ones. Unlike lifters, the bearings will fit and seal better being new, and give better oil pressure too. I'm not a fan of putting new lifters on a used cam, but putting the old ones back in the proper order should be no problem at all. I've had lifters come apart on a fairly new cam, and replaced two or three, then did the cam break in over again, and they worked fine. But that was an engine with less than a couple thousand miles on it.
Word to the wise, be sure to scrub the block after taking it out of that filthy hot tank. Then ***emble. my 2¢ .bjb
WIH did you get that bit of info? Putting old lifters back in incorrect position will desroy cam and lifters, as will using a new or reground cam with old lifters. But I have many times installed new lifters on a good, unworn old cam.
Just need to be sure and do another cam/lifter break in. Some people drop in a new lifter(s) and think the cam is already broken in and don't do the break in again. That will cause big problems. But if the cam is too old, then it will wear the new lifters to the same profile immediately also. So new lifters are a problem on a old well worn cam.
What engine? There are some engines that use semifinished bearing that require line honing. If the old bearings are useable leave them alone.
Yes: But. Not if you're hot tanking the block...the popular solution for hot tanking is lye. It will eat craters in the tri metal alloy of cam bearings. Most shops around here (doofas land) don't have hot tanks. (??!?) They use the Jet Clean machine. (EPA, OSHA, etc.; besides, none of this popular front wheel drive tin can **** uses cast iron anyway!) I had my 406 block honed to fit my pistons, after cleaning...(jet cleaned) Brought it home, but when I soap-and-hot water washed it, a myriad of carbon chips, balls, and dust came out of the crevices. Three soap and water baths later, it was clean. (or was it?) My machine shop in San Jose (Ralph's, next to Rod Furtado's flathead shop, both gone now) always insisted you bring the cam you were going to use, so they could fit it after installing cam bearings. (both types, honeable and standard) Many guys in the business had blocks come back from the (other) machine shop with new cam bearings and the cam wouldn't go back in...
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