installing my cam into my ls2 with brand new bearings and i had issues with hole 4 closest to the rear of the block
at first my cam would barely go into hole for and stop completely and i couldnt even force it in so i bought a new set of bearings and tried again, this time it went through and my cam spins fine but its not buttery smooth like my crank, also took apart a l76 and spun the cam and it was buttery
so i checked my cam clearance, set my bore gauge up and my 4th cam journal is 1.166 so i set it up for that and have about a half to 1 thou of clearance which its should be a .100 more
the cam spins but when im spinning it i let off the cam and it instantly stops, my crank if i spin and let off the crank it spins for a little bit than stops.
been looking for .001+ extra clearance cam bearings and there isnt even a thing, and saw forums saying grinding a thou off your cam which i am not doing because i would f something up.
my questions is with all the information what is the next step or is my cam spinning but not buttery smooth okay to run with

 

Just take it and have someone do it for you no sense in knocking them out. Where are you in Texas?

I personally would find the softest way to remove the surface of the cam bearing but you don't even feel comfortable polishing a journal so do it by the book and hunt down cam bearings or have someone touch your cam?

 

so your saying to take my bearings to a machine shop and have them remove a thou because you said a lot of things in one sentence

 

If the cam spins by hand-SEND IT! When you were installing the bearings (bushings actually-but hey EVERYONE calls them bearings so let's go with it) are you 100% sure you got the right bearing in the right location? And........ did you lube the heck out of the hole in the block BEFORE attempting to drive the bearing in? And...... did you lube the heck out of the OD of the bearing before you tried to drive it in? I just installed a complete set of cam bearings in a block today.. .took less than 10 minutes for all 5... My cam drops right in and spins by hand with no issues. It's not rocket science-it just takes a LOT of lube, and you must start them carefully and straight... it helps if you have done a bunch of them before though... Lube is your friend. I use a mixture of moly engine assembly grease with gear oil mixed in.... then use a small acid brush and coat the entire inner surface of the block, and the outter surface of the bearing...

 

okay if one is slightly crooked is there a easy way you personally fix it, i have the black tool from summit to hammer them in, i just put the cam in and it spins and feels decent not as good as my crank

 

Cam bearings (bushings) are designed to go in dry, just like all other bearings. Oil behind a bearing is a bad idea. I’ve never oiled a cam bearing, just drive them in dry.

 

I meant polish the cam journal or polish the bearing but if it spins without resistance send it. I also meant to call myself crazy. You made it seem like there was extra resistance you were worried about while comparing it to a crank. Can you view the bearing. Is any of it getting shiny? If you didnt have to fight it in like the first set I would go with it

 

best video i could give and best your gonna get since you cant feel it turning over

 

I was thinking the same thing. Did a double take when I read it.

 

My experience has been that driving them in with lube on BOTH the O/D of the bearing (bushing) and I/D of the block journal hole allows them to go in much easier. I've done over 50 LS engines this way and have not had a problem with a cam bearing walking, or creating a problem, to date. Please note, I'm not arguing doing it one way or the other.. I'm simply telling you exactly how I do it and that it is not resulting in any problems for me. If you want to drive them in dry---by all means- DO THAT!

For reference, the ONLY time I have ever damaged a cam bearing (bushing) while driving it in was when I was attempting to drive it in dry.... it literally galled up the O/D of the bearing and was rolling metal up and off the outside O/D of the bushing. Once I figured out that using lube would avoid damaging the bearing (bushing) I have always driven them in wet and have NEVER damaged one since then.... If you guys can drive them in dry and not damage them-by all means-do so.

I know that +/- 50 engines is not a lot to some of you... but to me.. if there was going to be a problem with doing it my way, I think I would have seen it, or experienced it, by now. If I thought there was ANY chance that doing it this way could result in a failed engine-I would stop doing it this way immediately. The most recent engine I built for my own personal truck-a 2012 Silverado with an aluminum 5.3LS I drove them in wet... guess what... I'm driving it every single day and no problems. I've built 5 engines for customers since then and 40+ prior to that.... shocking...no problems with any of them yet. I've been driving them in WET for over the last 3 years and..... not a single cam bearing failure yet... The ONLY engine failure I've had in the last 3 years is a dropped valve seat from a set of 706 heads that were machined to accept 2.00" valves... You can guess that was not my fault as I had a machine shop do the seats, valves, and valve job. That is the ONLY engine I've built that has had a problem in the last 3 years... and all the cam bearings put in LUBED/WET........you guys do what is best for YOU... I'll keep putting them in lubed. I'm building on average 1-2 engines a month now... I'll keep driving them in wet until I have real world examples of this method being a problem. Building a 408 stroker right now with 823 heads, Texas Speed Cam that is 229/244 629/614 lift... Cast iron block that I drove the cam bearings in wet... I have 100% faith that the last thing to worry about is a cam bearing issue.. That thought does not even begin to cross my mind. I appreciate the concern from you guys as I know your hearts are in the right place......... but I'll tell you that your concern is misplaced. I respect a lot of you guys as you have walked the walk, and talked the talk, for many years before I was even born. I LOVE that this web site is a place where professionals can share their opinions that can help steer others clear of disaster. I am by NO MEANS on par with many of you.. but putting cam bearings in wet is one of those things that I'll live with doing UNTIL it bites me in the bottom... which I have no clear signs of happening yet. If beginners should be putting them in dry because it could potentially help them avoid disaster-then I will keep my mouth shut... Maybe I've just been lucky so far and I am flirting with disaster. Until one of my cam bearings fails, or walks, I'm going to keep doing it this way. If I need to stop posting about doing it this way to prevent a beginner from making a huge mistake, I'll accept that and not post this anymore. I don't want to cause anyone any problems in their engine builds, or in any way in life. Peace peeps!

 

I would agree with using a light coat of lube on the O.D. of the bearing. I wouldn't double up on the lube though. Oil from the block will get on the O.D. of the bearing while in use, so I don't see a problem with a little bit of lube. I definitely wouldn't get too crazy with it, though. I have seen where driving them in dry can cause galling, as stated above. A little bit of lube on the leading edge of the bearing can help get it going in straight.

 

It puts the lube in the cam bore..... (reference to Joe Dirt).

 

I once had the rearmost cam bearing walk forward, which ruined the engine even though I shut it off when I saw the moment all oil pressure was lost. I lubed the bearing AND the aluminum bearing saddle when I installed the bearing shells. Mine could've been the result of the block having been rebuilt numerous times, idk. But, if youre going to lube both surfaces, I recommend staking the block bearing diameters. You dont need a 5lb sledgehammer. Just use a medium sized ball pein hammer, and both a long, and short, small diameter punch. Stake them on both sides of the blocks bearing diameter. All you need is a small burr to ensure the shell can't move either way Just use common sense. If you start wailing the Hell out of anything, expect bad results. I would also recommend doing this on aluminum blocks only.

 

The cam has virtually zero counter wt while the crank considerable.
Why would you expect them to "spin the same"?
Asking for a friend.