How hard is it to replace camshaft bearings?

Each bearing should be installed dry, without any lubricant or oil on the block or the outside of the bearing. Replacing the cam bearings is not incredibly difficult as long as you follow the rules and pay attention.

Can you replace cam bearings without pulling engine?

Not possible, or desirable. The engine needs to be completely disassembled and the proper tools used. After cleaning and expansion plug installation, cam bearing installation is the next step when rebuilding the engine.

Do you have to install cam bearings at home?

For some reason, cam bearings hold an air of mystery and voodoo mechanics for many at-home builders. Professional engine builders often leave the cam bearing installation to the machine shop, and while some of that may be for the sake of time management, the fact that they don’t even own the tool to do it is mind-boggling.

What should the bearing to camshaft clearance be?

When fitting aluminum cam bearings, it’s important to allow sufficient bearing-to-camshaft clearance, since the harder aluminum alloy bearings won’t wear in as rapidly as babbitt bearings to make their own clearance. Minimum clearance should be 0.002˝ for stock engines and 0.003-0.004˝ for high-performance engines.

Which is better aluminum or aluminum cam bearings?

The benefits of aluminum cam bearings, however, far outweigh the compromises. You simply need to pay more attention to details when installing aluminum cam bearings and be certain to verify critical tolerances. Cam bearings are usually available in a range of basic bearing constructions.

When do you start the cam bearing selection process?

The installation process begins after you’ve accomplished any machining that might be needed (cylinder boring and/or honing, align-honing, deck resurfacing, cam bore alignment, etc.). Before starting, make certain that the block is totally clean.