Swapping cams, noticed interesting bearing wear on the front cam bearing, not copper
06-25-2009, 09:36 PM
#1
Swapping cams, noticed interesting bearing wear on the front cam bearing, not copper I was tearing down the motor in may car today to swap the cam over for the turbo setup im putting together and noticed something weird. the front cam bearing has interesting wear on the top half of the bearing. the bottom has a little copper showing but the top doesnt
i wiped my finger around the bearing to get the oil off after i pulled the cam out and the top half of the bearing is rough. it has very small areas of buildup on the bearing that feel rough to the touch. oil pressure is fine, camshaft looks perfect
heres the best pic i could get of it at night
you can kinda see the areas to the left of where the flash hit.
what should i do here. i know you cant swap the bearing with the motor in the car and i really wasnt planning on pulling it.
any thoughts?
i wiped my finger around the bearing to get the oil off after i pulled the cam out and the top half of the bearing is rough. it has very small areas of buildup on the bearing that feel rough to the touch. oil pressure is fine, camshaft looks perfect
heres the best pic i could get of it at night
you can kinda see the areas to the left of where the flash hit.
what should i do here. i know you cant swap the bearing with the motor in the car and i really wasnt planning on pulling it.
any thoughts?
06-25-2009, 09:51 PM
#2
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As stupid as it may sound, I had 1 worse than that. My front bearing had copper showing and it also has a nice scratch in it....I re assembled it and works fine. I have good oil pressure too.
06-26-2009, 03:35 AM
#3
what works for one doesnt mean it will work for another always remembering its ur ride and when it breaks down no one but you will bear the financial burden. so sit down turn everything off and do what that little voice says and regardless its ur call.
06-26-2009, 04:29 AM
#4
It looks like there are small holes in the bearing (really hard to tell from photo's). I can't think of what would cause that and am wondering if that came from the factory with that condition. Does anything stick up or is the roughness you are feeling the little holes?
I am not sure on replacement. Some of the LS1 motors were alignment bored after bearing installation and some who have installed new cam bearings have spun them.
I am not sure on replacement. Some of the LS1 motors were alignment bored after bearing installation and some who have installed new cam bearings have spun them.
06-26-2009, 07:55 AM
#5
There are guys of whom have changed cam bearings, engine in car, during a cam swap. Am not suggesting to do it or not to do it, just that it has been done. Low oil temp or the use of racing weight oils in a daily driver can result in early cam bearing wear. Try to get into the habit of allowing daily driving oils to reach 212F - 220F before making hard pulls. Don't use racing weight oil (20W-50) unless @ the track & then allow it to reach 250F before making passes.
Oil temp is generally 20*F - 25*F hotter than coolant temps once cooling temp reaches normal operating range. This is noted in case you don't have an oil temp gauge. Good-luck
Oil temp is generally 20*F - 25*F hotter than coolant temps once cooling temp reaches normal operating range. This is noted in case you don't have an oil temp gauge. Good-luck
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06-26-2009, 11:26 AM
#8
I would clean it up with your fingernail and don't let it get into the oil feed holes. If you can get it smooth you should be OK. Question is what is the material? Is it metal? If it is then is something else causing this. Filter should have caught it. How do the lifters look? They get fed just prior to the cam.
06-26-2009, 01:55 PM
#9
Mine was the exact same way. It must have something to do how the cam rides in the bearings. It tries to torque up to one side and causes uneven wear. I slapped my new cam in and have had no issues at all 3000 miles later. My engine had 110,000 miles on it when I did the swap. It is niced to see you noticed this, as I am sure every high mileage LS1 is like this. Funny how other people don't mention it.
06-26-2009, 08:50 PM
#12
looked at it closer today. if "appears" as though the cam was riding primarily on the bottom portion of the cam bearing leaving just a c-hair worth of room on the top for deposits to form. the fm11 that was in it was the third cam in it and i never really looked too close at the bearing before. with how many miles are on the motor (104k) i kinda have been looking for things to go wrong. as for oil i run M1 10w30 and the car doesnt move til the coolant gets to 200
you can see a wear pattern on both sides of the bearing and after some careful fingernail scraping it is smooth again
survey says: let it ride
you can see a wear pattern on both sides of the bearing and after some careful fingernail scraping it is smooth again
survey says: let it ride
07-02-2009, 09:53 AM
#14
I've ran into a situation like that before. I took some 800-1000 grit sand paper, and did my best to clean up the bearing. Don't dig hard, just enough to get some of the pits out. It worked out fine and the car has been running for 25,000+.
Pits and crevices in cam bearings are never good, but I think you could lightly hit it with some high grit sand paper and be fine. I'm not guaranteeing it by any means, but I've done it and it worked out fine.
Pits and crevices in cam bearings are never good, but I think you could lightly hit it with some high grit sand paper and be fine. I'm not guaranteeing it by any means, but I've done it and it worked out fine.
