Cam Trouble!!!

[mopower04]

well, went to install my huges cam today and start to put together my 440, and the cam wont go in the bearings..... all the way in the block till the last lets say step till it was all the way in and its like its binding or wrong bearing or something, but wont go in and wont turn by hand. i did not tap the cam nor did i attempt to reef on it to turn it. i know it should slip in and turn by hand easy.... WTF??? bring it back to the machine shop an hour away? dont have a cam bearing tool, bent cam from shipping?? i'm getting kinda depressed about this because seems everytime i go to put this thing together something else needs to be addressed.......feels like it will never get done! ugh. HELP!!

[reeltime]

I have my block in the machine shop right now.The machinist would not install the cam bearings unless i sent the cam with the block.He said they must fit so that the cam will turn freely by hand.It sounds like one or more of your bearings is in a little crooked.The best way if you don't have the tool is cart it back to the machine shop and have them correct the problem.It seems these problems pop up from time to time, can you imagine if you had gottin it in and went for a drive only to spin one or more of the cam bearings, you would have possibly lost the whole engine !
Hang in there it will all come together , it's only time .
Good luck

[valiant64]

Are you sure the cam bearings are in correctly? Are the journals lubed? The cam should slide in very easily, if not something is definitely wrong. Find out whats up & let us know what you find.

[hotrod7043]

They are different bearings for different Journals arent they ? Better oof to let Mackine shop do ityou turn one or cock it you got problems, i reemeber a real experinced guy one day messed one up next to last one he werent happy.

[valiant64]

Yep, thats my thoughts on it as well.

[thatwasfunny]

shave e'm.

[mopower04]

well interesting cenerio. i ran home from the shop and grabbed my stock cam i pulled out of the 440 just for fun.....slid in fine and put a box end wrench on the bolt/handle i used and turned it one finger! efforless. problem with the cam?????

[Mecki]

I was just about to suggest trying with the old cam. I have usually used the old cam as a tool, after checking that it's straight and the journals not too worn, to find out if there are some spots to be shaved on the new bearings. There usually are.

Time to do some measuring: journals and straightness of the new cam and check the journals on the old cam.

[valiant64]

Glad it wasnt a bearing problem after all. I've never had a new cam that wasnt straight or had the wrong size journals, but I once received a cam from Isky that was broken in half, thanks again UPS! I would crack Dave Hughes upside the head with that cam if the journals were the wrong size though! Just kiddin'.

[440roadrunner]

Can you "mike" the new/ old bearing journals against each other?

Finding a bent cam isn't that hard, even without special equipment. You can make V blocks out of hardwood, support the ends of the cam, and rig a temporary "indicator" made out of lots of things, with a screw that you can bring down close to a couple of the middle journals, turn the cam, and see if it's out

[Dick]

I would get right on the phone and call Hughes Engines. Tell them exactly what you found and put the problem in their hands. They are good people. I would bet they ship you another cam ASAP.

[Dave 572]

There's been a few cam problems with several different grinders lately.Look for "CC" stamped on the cam.Crane supplies those cores,and has been having some issues lately.

[ehostler]

Like Dick said, call Hughes and explain the situation.

[mopower04]

yeah, i'm planning on calling huges tomarrow, see what they say. i measured the bearing journals on the cam, both the stock one and the huges cam they they were both within .002 of each other and both still within factory specs according to my how to build mopar big blocks book. but the stock cam slides right in!! still cant get that huges cam to fit! i'm kinda interested as i'm sure you all are to see what the outcome will be and i sure will let you know!!

[ehostler]

I doubt that the problem is with the bearing journals of the cam. I'm sure that it has more to do with the size of the lobes.

The last cam that I installed had to be rotated back and forth and wiggled around a little, to get it all the way in. That was because the lobes were a little on the tall side.

[mopower04]

i've thought about the lobes being tall, but i can get all 5 journals on the cam up and sitting about maybe a 1/8" and thats where it stops.

[Mecki]

Sounds familiar. That's a good situation. 1/8" in shows, that the bearing and journal sizes are not way off. Now look at the bearings. The design of the bearings made of a steel strap with a joint is not the greatest. At the joint, the bearing metal is usually slightly deformed after installation. If you can feel it, it's about .001" or more. That's about the difference between slide in and hammer fit. You should be able to see if the journals have been binding in these areas. Using the old camshaft as a tool with dry journals and turning it while applying side thrust to it in different directions, will put clear marks to any high spots in the bearings. Usually the higher spots, especially at the joints, are very small. Some times, tapping the old shaft with a piece of wood and a hammer, against the known binding spots is enough. The bearing metal is very soft and a small, slightly higher spot does not need so much pressure to even out. Bigger areas need to be shaved.

[mopower04]

well huges is going good for thir word. i called them monday and told them what happend and they are confident the cam was bent either from shipping, or some kind of defect or something. but they shipped one out right away so i'll be able to get it in this weekend and see if that was the problem.

[owatajrkiam]

Now,..THAT'S service!

Glen

[ehostler]

Sounds like you got the right guy on the phone.

[Mecki]

Good service and PR. Maybe I'll buy my next cam from them also.

Let's hope your cam was bent and this solves the problem. Would have been interesting to know though, if it really was bent.

I would suggest getting a dial indicator. You can do a lot of different measuring with it beside straightness of shafts and you will find it useful in many jobs you do on your car. It's a good investment and takes out a lot of guessing.

[fastnos]

Originally Posted by mopower04

well huges is going good for thir word. i called them monday and told them what happend and they are confident the cam was bent either from shipping, or some kind of defect or something. but they shipped one out right away so i'll be able to get it in this weekend and see if that was the problem.

Now that is what I like to hear about customer service! Too many times, you hear about "People" that don't/won't stand behind there products. Stories like this make me steer my money towards the great vendors, and steer away from the shady ones. Hope the new cam fixes the problem asap.

[mopower04]

well huges held up their end, got the new cam and!!!!....it still doesnt work. so i called my machine shop today and they said bring the cam and the block down sounds like a tight bearing they'll take care of it! so thats also cool. i'm just looking forward to getting this little problem solved!

[thatwasfunny]

Originally Posted by thatwasfunny

shave e'm.

Thats probably what they're now going to do.

[hotrod7043]

Or the are going to replace the bearing that got srewed up when the installed it.Or they will hone it.

[Dick]

Originally Posted by hotrod7043

Or the are going to replace the bearing that got srewed up when the installed it.Or they will hone it.

I don't think you want to hone a babbitt bearing.

[Dick]

If all the bearings checked out for proper size and a good cam still wont slide in, either the bores are not in line or one of the shells was cocked during installation.

[mopar1962]

hughes makes a good cam I would take it back to the machine shop and have things miked before anything else.

[mopar1962]

yup, and I wouldnt settle for anything else than brand new cam bearings

[BigBlockDude]

Had the same problem on my 440. Had to shave'em too. My boss has seen it on big blocks several times.