[DeTomaso] Front Cam Bearing

[Chance Dorsey]

Thanks for the info.  It was pushed back all the way to about a tenth of an inch.  So I put a piece of aluminum on the lathe and had a homemade "cam bearing relocation device" in about 10 minutes.  I'm glad to say the bearing is at spec now.  It's sitting right at .005.

As always Jack, thanks for the help!

Chance Dorsey

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: JDeRyke at aol.com 
  To: chance.dorsey at yahoo.com ; detomaso at realbig.com 
  Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 1:57 PM
  Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Front Cam Bearing


  In a message dated 2/4/11 10:05:48 AM, chance.dorsey at yahoo.com writes:


    Does the .003 to .005 space create a restriction to the amount of oil that goes between the bearing and the face of the thrust bearing?


  No- the thrust plate surface gets oiled by whatever leakage goes fwd between the #1 bearing & cam journal. On the right side of the #1 cam bearing bore is a tiny 'scallop' in the casting that leads to a small drilled passage for oiling the base of distributor drive gear where it touches the block. If you set the #1 bearing flush with the outside, this passage is effectively covered and little or no oil goes to the gear interface. Ford says 0.003" but anything up to about 0.010" works fine. 
  The other thing of course, is to have the main camshaft oil feed hole up from the crank clear, as well as the side passage to the cam gear where it intersects the distributor drive gear. The block oil passages are 2-3X larger than the holes in the cam bearings, so there's some variance possible. Years ago I traced out all this and published an 'oiling map' of the unbelievably complex oiling system in the standard 351-C block, that showed all the feeds and passages. But I neglected to specify the #1 bearing set-back amount. 
  Its also pretty easy to install or adjust the bearing positions by using a mandrel sized for each bearing, with a threaded hole and a long threaded rod that runs to the back (or front) of the block. By progressively tightening a nut on the rod against a washer across the block, the bearing can be slowly pulled into place. Much more precise than trying to calibrate hammer blows driving the bearing in place. 
  Machinests don't like fooling with 351-C cam bearings 'cause all 5 are different sizes, meaning you need 5 different mandrels to install them, and 5 different set-ups if a few need honing after installation of new ones. But your #1 bearing should be OK as is. Good luck- J DeRyke