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LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Mileage on Cam Bearings

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Old May 8, 2009 | 04:30 PM
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Default Mileage on Cam Bearings
hey guys i just put a cam an heads, Does anybody know at what mileage do the cam bearings wear out?
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Old May 8, 2009 | 04:57 PM
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at 155k miles mine were completely gone. id figure around 120-130 is when theyll wear out
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Old May 8, 2009 | 05:00 PM
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Ha...well one of mine was gaffle blasted (my term for F-Up) and my motor only had 72k. If you can get access to them change them out.
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Old May 8, 2009 | 05:15 PM
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Pull out the old cam and inspect the cam bearings. If they are shot, replacing them requires dropping the motor.
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Old May 8, 2009 | 09:29 PM
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It really depends how well maintained, how hard your car was driven, what type of cam and spring pressures you were running with, and if the cam swap was ever done if they got nicked.

Mine looked good at 140k when I rebuilt, but the car was 100% factory so idk.
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Old May 8, 2009 | 09:42 PM
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my front bearing looks great right now 127K. Have yet to check the rest tho.
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Old May 8, 2009 | 09:47 PM
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Originally Posted by blake110106
my front bearing looks great right now 127K. Have yet to check the rest tho.
Normally the front bearing will wear first/the most b/c it has the most load on it.
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Old May 8, 2009 | 11:16 PM
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not to high jack but what would a bad cam bearing look like and to change them out does it require dropping the crank is it a hard thing to do or does it require a machine shop?
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Old May 9, 2009 | 09:35 AM
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A bad cam bearing will be severely with either groves, gouges, be out of round, or discoloration. To pull them out the crank really needs to come out so you can see what you're doing and to drop the bearings in and hook them to the tool. They sell a cam bearing drive tool that you really need to have to install them, if you don't have one it needs to go to the machine shop. Also a spun cam bearing could have possibly trashed the block and at very least will need to have the cam journals line honed.
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Old May 9, 2009 | 09:45 AM
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by discoloration do you mean a bronze color or burn like metal to metal contact
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Old May 9, 2009 | 10:11 AM
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burn like metal to metal, ,grooves etc

ie here http://home.comcast.net/~rebel1608/cam-bear.JPG
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Old May 10, 2009 | 12:45 PM
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what if they are completly bronze
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Old May 10, 2009 | 03:40 PM
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Like copper colored? If they ate all the way down to the copper level, yeah they're shot, but I don't think LT1's came from the factory with any copper/lead bearings I thought they were all aluminum...
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Old May 10, 2009 | 03:48 PM
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Mine were still nice and shiny w/ 75k just that the front one had a chip out of it.
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Old May 10, 2009 | 05:11 PM
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no these are copper bronz lookiin thats why i haen't put my nw motor in yet ... i am wondering if i can pull the crank and freshn up the botttom end and change the cam bearings without pullin the pistons
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Old May 10, 2009 | 05:26 PM
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You should be able to, as long as you can drop the cam bearings in and hook them to the tool you should be ok.
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Old May 11, 2009 | 11:36 AM
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Originally Posted by saylorZ28
no these are copper bronz lookiin thats why i haen't put my nw motor in yet ... i am wondering if i can pull the crank and freshn up the botttom end and change the cam bearings without pullin the pistons
What exactly do you mean by freshen up the bottom end? If you are thinking about doing what I think you are, you might as well drop the motor and do a full rebuild...you can't simply pull the crank and install new main and rod bearings, you need to get the block machined.
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Old May 11, 2009 | 04:15 PM
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When I pulled my stock cam out, it was very bronze colored on all the lobes. It looked kinda burnt. Does that tell me anything?
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Old May 11, 2009 | 05:19 PM
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Originally Posted by moderate Z28
When I pulled my stock cam out, it was very bronze colored on all the lobes. It looked kinda burnt. Does that tell me anything?
Pics? Some wear is normal.
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Old May 11, 2009 | 05:35 PM
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Its in the attic now I believe. I'll try to get some pics.
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