Anybody ever got a bad Engle cam? Cam ok but brgs rough now

[oldcarnut]

I'm a little frustrated as I write but here's the issue.  I finally got a break in months to do little engine assy. and the cam will not slip in the bearings.  It's an Engle K56.  Similar situation to this thread only it won't even go into the bearing journal let alone be a tight fit.  
I took another camshaft ( a new one but I had it so long I didn't remember the specs) and tried it and it went ok just a little tight so I notched it like John did in the thread and cleared and scraped the high spots and now it fits and turns free.  The Engle cam won't even budge into the bearing.  I've cleaned out the block several times today from babbit scrapings and the bearings are starting to look more used than new.  The bearing journals on each cam measure the same.  Anything else I can look at before I take it somewhere to check it between centers for straightness? That's as far as it goes in the pic.
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,13905.0.html

[firefighter3931]

It's possible that the cam core is warped but it could also be the block. In the link below is some good explanation of the correction for this problem assuming that the camshaft checks out OK for straightness :

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/mopp_0810_mopar_cam_journal_sizing/index.html



Ron

[Cooter]

I have run into this on two (2) 440 blocks. Most times I have to have the cam bearings honed until the cam will fit properly. I believe as stated, it has something to do with core shift...Not uncommon...Not nesessarily a cam manufacturer problem..

[oldcarnut]

Thanks for the replies.  I took it to the shop today to get checked.  Should know something by tomorrow after he finishes the crank he was working on.  I thought that after the first cam fit the other would have at least tried to start.  He mentioned also about other Chrysler big blocks having the same issues.  Will post what he found.

[oldcarnut]

Forgot to follow up on this.  Cam checked out ok so I took it back home to try again.  Long story short after trying a hone and a couple other things I wasn't too happy with the results.  I took the block, a 3rd set of brgs  , along with the Engle cam and the new cam made with the cuts in the brgs to the machine shop.  He modifed the the other cut cam journals more like a reamer and said he practically did the same thing I was doing as thats what they do in their other engines to get the fit.  The cam goes in freely now but I'm not feeling good about the finish on a couple bearings as they took more harder scraping than the others even though he said they would be ok.  Are destined to failure or will they sufice and smooth out with wear?  #3 and #4 are the worst pictured.   Haven't had enough engine building experiences to really know myself.

[elacruze]

They're fine, a little roughness will hold oil and they don't have near the speed or loading of rod bearings.

[firefighter3931]

They're fine, a little roughness will hold oil and they don't have near the speed or loading of rod bearings.

Agreed, that's nothing to worry about.....carry on 



Ron

[oldcarnut]

Thanks guys.  I took a break from working on house stuff to try and get started on checking my clearances. I don't want to have to wait and watch the months roll by and no progress getting done.  Some are a little out but I'll post what I get for comment.  Seems like there is always something that comes up with this one. I appreciate the help/advice