Cam Bearing Installation on a Ford FE Block

Thank you sir. I love how to’s and you did this one very well.

It IS a big deal. The cam spins at half crank speed. I wouldn’t cal that ‘relatively slowly’ and it certainly carries an enormous load. Think of 16 400lb valvesprings pushing down, augmented by 1.76 ratio rockers, and trying to push the cam down and close off that oil hole on the bottom. This isn’t difficult guys, just read the shop manual.

Hi John, can you provide a link to where I can buy those cam bearing installation tools. I don’t need shop quality ones just run of the mill tools.

Thank you! And, in response to upside down bearings, I prefer to float the cam w/hole at bottom rather than having the oilleat out from the top, All pressure on the cam is down, not up.

Thanx…

Thank you John Edwards for showing how this is done. for all the people who have bad comments why not post your own videos if you know it all?

@DinosaurFan390
It’s not that big of a deal. A camshaft has almost no load on it and it spins relatively slowly.

the oil holes should be in the 12:00 to about 2:30 position. The idea is so that the oil has time to form the incompressable oil wedge that the cam floats on. If the oil feed is on the bottom, the oil pressure has to lift the cam up off from the bearing before the lube can flow. Take apart an engine from the factory and you’ll see how it is supposed to be done.

so what is the correct alignment

i need cam bearings put in my 351w im rebuilding haha

A Real engine builder wouldn’t be throwing hammers into the crank saddles NOR would he be rolling cam journals on the crank bearing bores.

What a goon

Edwards ought to learn the proper way to do this. The oil holes do NOT go where he is telling you. Just because the Costa Mesa guys are well known and charge abunch, doesn’t mean they know what they are doing. Read a shop manual and it will tell you how to do it. Look at where the oil holes are from the factory….it isn’t the way John is doing it. John is WRONG here, why not learn to do it correctly ? It isn’t really that hard.

I would like to add to this how important it is to have the cam bearing tool seated properly and securely in the bearing. Or when you go to hammer it will fold up the edge of the bearing or mushroom it.

buh

kool

Thanks for sharing your expertise with us.
I always wondered how cam bearings were put in.
any plans to show a re-sleeve of an LS small block ?
peace Bon

John, you are WRONG that is not the correct installation. As viewed from the front of the engine, the bearings in the 2,3,4, and 5 positions should have the oil hole at 3 o’ clock. The oil pressure is not strong enough to push up and out from under the valvespring pressure if the oil hole is straight down. You are way WAY wrong on this. Think about the hydrodynamic wedge, how is it supposed to form ? How many engines have you screwed up ?

some are made of brass, and other soft material like aluminum etc. to keep it from scaring the bearing, yet it can leave behind some signs from being installed. it has an rubber expander on exspensive ones that adjust to many sizes, but if you are working on a small block Ford or Chevy they have one that is a universal between the two. you can get them on ebay

what is the surface of the tool made of? I’m curious about how the soft babbit isn’t damaged during installation.

Is this tool also used to remove the bearings?

Its actually better to install the front bearing from the rear – that way you can use the cone pilot to ensure a straight installation. I also use a small flashlight in a darkened room to check for oil hole alignment – much easier to see if you have things centered. You don’t want to push the bearings in too far or the adjoining lifter can hit the bearing.

Dude, watch the video again, all you need to know is right there.

on the FE does the oil hole go down towards the crank or up towards the lifter valley?

the blocks in the garage until I had the guts to attempt this on a FE. this video is going to make it happen soon.

I build these as I need them for special lengths. Gotta lathe? they are pretty easy to machine yourself.
JE…

Who is the manufacturer of the short handled installation tool ? Thanks.