home made cam bearing tool

48099 Views 14 Replies 9 Participants Last post by MRGM, Apr 5, 2010

jeepers creepers

Discussion Starter · Mar 27, 2008

i did it to remove and replace the camshaft bearings in the Chevy SB, no hammer or beating needed and risk to damage the new bearings.
not a big deal but it works fine and fast.
it's composed with two aluminum bushings, one with that one with blind hole threaded that goes into the bearing inner diamater and the other one that goes in the block's bearings lodging, just to keep the threaded bar centered ,a big washer and the threaded bar of course about 5/8 diameter with relative nut, that's it, evarybody can do that with just a lathe.
the first bushing (threaded) can as you can see in the picture also be twisted inside the camshaft "tunnel" so you don't need to pass it through all the bearings journals during the process.

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Holder350

· #2 · Mar 27, 2008

Sweet tool!

Last time I had a machine shop put my bearings in they put one in crooked and the cam wouldn't go in. :drunk:

scholman

· #3 · Mar 27, 2008

jeepers creepers,

I like the tool but I like the driver and pilot guide to be made of steel. I have made these for years. I find the aluminum distorts and can get stuck on the bearing. With steel I don't worry about this. Alsi I make the driver about .010 smaller than the bearing because as the bearing gets "pressed" into the engine they crush and if the fit on the driver is too small the driver gets stuck. Yes this happened to me on the first one I made.

Great pictures!

Scholman

oldschoolrods

· #4 · Mar 27, 2008

I like it :thumbup: ......if only I had a lathe

Kevin45

· #5 · Mar 28, 2008

Looks like the ones I made other than the driver end. One suggestion though...Don't use "all-thread" Thread a rod at each end or a simpler way is to take a rod, drill and tap the ends, and insert a long setscrew of the proper size in each and and bottom it out. A long threaded rod around bearings is just a pet peeve of mine. You may not nick a cam bearing, but you may use it for something else and can catch the edge of a seal or something with the threaded portion

jeepers creepers

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 28, 2008

thank you guys,

i was in doubt about the material to use for that so i thought steel too but i did them with aluminum to avoid damage at the bearings itself, it would be sensed if beating or hammer is used but it insn't my case , next time i'll do them with steel because i saw that rod is pretty much centered and cannot nick or bent anything.
i agree about usinf a partially threaded rod to avoid damage at the bearings and faster too :welcome:
i already experienced that when in the journals bearings are crushed so i' took off a little bit more with the late in the diameter.
have a great day!

22068

· #7 · Mar 28, 2008

I have a home made cam tool too but I used brass and it's still a hammer type. A friend that builds a lot of engines has a store bought tool and always has trouble installing bearings in big block Mopars but since using the home made tool, all that crap has gone away....no more 'tight' cams. Now if only I can get it back from him lol

Kevin45

· #8 · Mar 30, 2008

One thing you can do to keep the bearing tool straight is to take a piece of plactic, nylon, or even aluminum and make a giude pluf for the front. So when you put the bearing on the cam tool, slide everything back, then slip the plug on and let it catch the front. Bore the hole thru the center to fit the diameter of you cam bearing shaft and turn the O.D. down to fit the front journal. This keep the tool in alignment and eliminates the chance of getting the bearing in crooked.

Kevin

MRGM

· #9 · Mar 17, 2010

love this tool. Glad I seen this.

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jeepers creepers

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 17, 2010

MRGM said:
love this tool. Glad I seen this.

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thank you, it's so much apprecciated,i've made some little modification and the cast iron ring has been replaced by an aluminum bushing, i can grab pictures if you want and all the dimensions if you want to build your own one, just let me know,
talk soon

MRGM

· #11 · Mar 17, 2010

Heck yea... :thumbup:

jeepers creepers

Discussion Starter · #12 · Apr 4, 2010

sorry for the delay, i've loaded some pictures of it.
as some fellow said, is much better to use a partially threaded rod, so you can avoid to nick the cam and save a lot of time, i didn't because i'm not using that so often.

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ChevelleSS_LS6

· #13 · Apr 5, 2010

jeepers creepers said:
sorry for the delay, i've loaded some pictures of it.
as some fellow said, is much better to use a partially threaded rod, so you can avoid to nick the cam and save a lot of time, i didn't because i'm not using that so often.

A little masking tape over the threads would take care of that as well.

cobalt327

· #14 · Apr 5, 2010

Slip a length of fuel hose right over those pesky threads.

MRGM

· #15 · Apr 5, 2010

very nice! thanks.

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