Please do not comment until the mods have changed this into a How To. It will make their job a little easier. Thank you.
This is a how to about installing camshaft bearings into a slant six engine. I almost didn't do this, but Kitty insisted because she has fun taking the pictures. I am glad she did now, because the slant is a little different with its offset camshaft. Being offset, the oiling holes from the mains are basically "blind". In other words, with the main caps off, you cannot see straight through the oiling holes to the camshaft bore like you can on a V8. At any rate, "here we go".
First, you need a willing flunkie with the correct tool. Imagine that! A tool with a tool. Here I am.
The tool I use is the Lisle 18000 camshaft bearing tool. I caught mine on sale for under 120 bucks. I have used the hound out of it too.
I want to thank Kitty for being a great sport taking all the pictures. She always does a wonderful job.
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Alright, with "all that" out of the way, here is how "I" load the cam bearing tool. First, line up the slots in the small collet with the larger collet that is the correct size for the bearing. Then, I always line up an oil hole with one of those slots. You'll see how this comes in handy in a minute. Keep reading.
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As I said, you cannot see through into the camshaft bore to see that the bearing is aligned. Rather than a hole, the camshaft bores have slots, about 1/4" wide and probably 3/4" long. This is what you line up the hole in the cam bearing with. In this picture, it is too dark to see the slot, but it is "around" three o'clock, lined up with the slot in the collet. Remember where I said lining up the cam bearing oil hole with the slot in the collet would come in handy?
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Always use something to lube the cam bearings going in. You do not want to gall the bearings. This could get small chunks of bearing between the bearing and bearing bore in the block. Do I need to keep explaining why that would be bad? I hope not. Lube the bearing liberally. I happened to have some STP oil treatment, so I used that. Most anything will work.
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Get the bearing in position with the oil hole in the bearing "about" in the middle of the oil slot in the camshaft bore. We somehow missed me using the white plastic cone on the other side of the block, but it is very important to keep that tight against the block. Failure to do this will result in a cam bearing knocked in crooked. Once you are sure it's straight, drive that puppy home.
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Drive the bearing until the side you are driving from is flush with the cam bearing bore. When correct, it will look like this. I use mechanic's wire to assure the hole is aligned with the slot in the block. This is another disadvantage of not being able to see straight through from the main bearing bore to the camshaft bore, but it's easily overcome.
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Keep driving the bearings in with the oil holes lined up with the slot in the collet for reference. That way, all you have to do is line the slot in the collet up with the middle of the oil slot and have at it. I use a large ball peen hammer, so that I don't have to wail hard on it. The extra weight just taps the bearings right in.
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Just keep on keepin on the same way. Line the oil hole up with the collet slot, line the collet slot up with the oil slot, lube the bearing and drive it in. Check each one with the mechanic's wire.
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Here, I am installing the rear bearing. For some reason, I drove it in too far. So I just kept driving it the same way, until it came out and I reinstalled it.
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Here is the bearing driven in too far. I guess I got too frisky with the hammer. LOL
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Here is the rear bearing installed correctly, after I drove it out and reinstalled.
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Hope this helps some of y'all who ain't skeered to so some of your own work. If you try it yourself and get hung up on something send me a PM and I'll try to help.
