Well, I "dodged" a major bullet this weekend by replacing my damaged #4 cam bearing with the short block still in the truck. I was very nerve-racking work, but I got it installed correctly on the first try. If anyone is interested, I will write up a DIY on how I did it.

I'm still not sure how the bearing got damaged to begin with. At first, I thought for sure I had damaged it when removing the old cam, but now I'm not so sure. After examining the old bearing, it looks like it ran that way for a while, with small pieces of babbit flaking off. At any rate, it still needed to be replaced or it would have failed eventually.

Like any story, there is always "the rest of the story" (like Paul Harvey says). When I tried to install the new cam after replacing #4 bearing, it was very tight and it took two hands to turn the cam. So after a little research, I decided the best plan of action was to polish down the new bearing with a Norton Bear Pad which I just happened to have. I used WD40 and the pad and just kind of "wet-sanded" the inside of the bearing as evenly as possible by hand. I wrapped duct tape around my fingers after developing blisters from working through just the oval slot in the valley, lol. After much polishing and fitting, I was able to get the cam to turn freely with one hand. Not the ideal way to go about things, but satisfied with the way it turned out. Next: degree in cam and install heads, front cover, water pump, and balancer. The next major battle will be the kegger mod.

Some pics -- hope these come out:

 

Good Job!

Looks like you have the same cam bearing installer I have.

 

I've always been a sucker for a good DIY,

Wouldn't mind seeing a cam swap DIY around here either.

 

nice job.
did you have any symptoms on the old bearing ? knock, low oil pressure, etc ?
or did you just find it by accident ?

 

Thanks. I will put togeter diy's on the cam bearing and cam checking procedures after I get more done on the engine. I will also list the cam bearing tool set on dodgeforum for anyone who wants it.

dhvaughan, I just found it that way. Don't know for sure if it was my fault or the bearing material just started to fail. A possible theory is that it could of been damaged during installation at the factory.

Today I decided to use my new crank socket and giant degree wheel. The thing is big enough to serve a large pizza on, lol. When I ordered it, I didn't see where it said 18". I really like the crank socket, but they didn't thread it down to the shoulder, so I had to improvise something to take up the space since I didn't have a 1" washer. Yes, that is a pipe escutchen .

What I found out after several tries is the cam's intake centerline is 114 degrees installed straight up when it needs to be 111. The timing chain set I got from Hughes has keyways for 2 degrees advance or retard so I will see which one to use. I think it will be 2 degrees retard, but not sure. The correction will get me to 112 which is within the tolerance allowed by Hughes. I'm glad I took the time to check this.

Some pics:

Anyone need a slightly used Snap-On cam bearing tool set?

Crank socket. Don't know how I ever got along without one.

Set up for obtaining true TDC. Crank socket makes it very easy to zero the wheel.

Set up for measuring tappet lift while turning cam.

11 degrees ATC @ .050 tappet lift (intake valve is opening).

37 degrees ABC @ .050 tappet lift (intake valve is closing).

 

Wow! a degree wheel!

I am SO IMPRESSED, good job!
Now you can see exactly how you cam lines up before deciding to advance or retard it.

It's not uncommon to find the timing set out a few degrees. I've seen as much as 7 degrees off spec and even an expensive brand name one doesn't ensure it's perfect.

I would recommend advancing the cam slightly to compensate for chain stretch. They all stretch a bit once in service for a bit.

 

LOL, I think that big blue wheel is impressive too, .

I wound up doing like you said and advancing the cam 2 degrees. It degreed-in right on the money every time after that.

In the past, I never felt the need to check cam timing against the card because I didn't think it really made that much difference with a mild grind, but with the wheel, you can really see the difference a few degrees make.

 

Update: This past weekend I cleaned up a lot of my fasteners, etc., and installed the front cover and heads. It is a relief to have the heads on over the cylinders. Hope to mod the keg next weekend. Thinking of taking an inch off the runners, but not sure what the runner length should be for a 5.9. I'm thinking 14 inch total length, but does anyone know for sure?

Some pics of new heads:

Getting ready.


Don't forget the head gaskets!


Torqued into place.

 

nice! whats that guage jobber tell you?

This is why I'm still scared about swaping my cam lol

 

Those gauges are there to tell you that you have installed the cam lined up exactly as the manufacturer has specified. It keeps you from slightly advancing or retarding the cam unnecessarily or actually retarding or advancing to compensate for an off grind.

If you're going for absolute top end HP and torque, it's a must. If you can deal with a slightly retarded or advanced cam (costs you a few HP and ft/lbs) you can trust the manufacturer's markings in most cases.
As rabbler stated though, they can be farther off than 1 or 2 degrees and the only way to know for sure is to hook up the gauges and degree wheel.