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So I finally decided to dive into my cam swap this weekend and come to find out my cam bearings were pretty much shot. The only reason I decided to do this in the first place is because my water pump was going bad and I thought since I have it apart I might as well change cams/lifters. It was running perfect so I would have never known had this whole situation arose but its still not what I was expecting. Just needed to vent a little. Thanks...
'89 GW, 360, Skip White HEI, Melling MTA-1 Cam, Performer Intake, Summit 600 Carb, 3.73 gears, 4" Suspension Lift, 32" Wild County MTX (mine)
'70 Wag, bone stock Buick 350, 3.73 gears (my dad's, grandfather bought it brand new)
'83 Wag Limited, completely stock 360, 3.31 gears, 92K original miles (family's rig)
yep,a bummer. but better to catch it now. bad cam bearings are the oil pressure killer. the other bearings follow suit. thank the lousy oil system AMC designed.
it's usually the front couple bearings that are bad. you can do a cob job fix and change out only them,otherwise the motor comes out to do them all.
It's like you're unraveling a big cable-knit sweater that someone keeps knitting...and knitting...and knitting...and knitting...
Yep the front bearing was scored pretty bad and the 2nd/3rd ones are starting to delaminate. Couldn't really see the rear one but I imagine its probably delaminating too. The old cam looked just fine which I thought was strange. Either way it looks like I'll be taking the motor into the machine shop next week.
'89 GW, 360, Skip White HEI, Melling MTA-1 Cam, Performer Intake, Summit 600 Carb, 3.73 gears, 4" Suspension Lift, 32" Wild County MTX (mine)
'70 Wag, bone stock Buick 350, 3.73 gears (my dad's, grandfather bought it brand new)
'83 Wag Limited, completely stock 360, 3.31 gears, 92K original miles (family's rig)
So I've been talking to machine shops in the area and only one of them said that they would replace the cam bearings with the crank/pistons still in the motor, but it would be double the cost of the job if everything was taken out. I didn't want to pull the crank/pistons because that would basically mean I'd pretty much have to replace everything (i.e. main bearings, rod bearings, rings, etc.) and that would be a lot more than just paying double for the cam bearing replacement. Is this true or can I reuse the bearings/rings and would just have to replace the head gaskets when I tear everything down?
'89 GW, 360, Skip White HEI, Melling MTA-1 Cam, Performer Intake, Summit 600 Carb, 3.73 gears, 4" Suspension Lift, 32" Wild County MTX (mine)
'70 Wag, bone stock Buick 350, 3.73 gears (my dad's, grandfather bought it brand new)
'83 Wag Limited, completely stock 360, 3.31 gears, 92K original miles (family's rig)
You can re-use them. But thats a lot of work to not replace them. And you don't have to pull the heads to do any of that. I have always pulled the pistons from below. Hell I have rebuilt an engine while it is still inside the vehicle all through the bottom.
It may also come to pass that you pull everything, see the mains are bad, and have to change them. If they are too bad, it will be difficult to get the current clearances again.
the heads have to come off to pull the pistons. they cannot come out the bottom,only up and out the top. on any car engine i've seen.
can the rings be reused? yes,you could physically put them in. they'll never re-seat,you'll have massive blowby. you can reuse bearings but they'll likey be on the ratty side,and it's kinda like rinsing out an oil filter and reusing it. also,the rear cam plug has to come out,and be re-installed,so open access to the back of the motor is needed.
they want double the money because it can be a pain to work around the rotating assembly. i've done it with the rotating assembly in place,it's a pain but doable.
It's like you're unraveling a big cable-knit sweater that someone keeps knitting...and knitting...and knitting...and knitting...
Ok thanks. I think I'll take it to the guy like it is. All the main bearings looked good so the extra money for the cam bearing replacement is going to be a lot less than rebuilding everything.
'89 GW, 360, Skip White HEI, Melling MTA-1 Cam, Performer Intake, Summit 600 Carb, 3.73 gears, 4" Suspension Lift, 32" Wild County MTX (mine)
'70 Wag, bone stock Buick 350, 3.73 gears (my dad's, grandfather bought it brand new)
'83 Wag Limited, completely stock 360, 3.31 gears, 92K original miles (family's rig)
The only reason I decided to do this in the first place is because my water pump was going bad and I thought since I have it apart I might as well change cams/lifters. It was running perfect so I would have never known had this whole situation arose but its still not what I was expecting. Just needed to vent a little. Thanks... 
