Surely I am not the only one who dislikes installing cam bearings.

It was time for cam bearings in the 440/541. I made sure everything was clean and free of burrs after punching out the old bearings. The rear bearing went in with no issue but was tight when I fit the cam. After a bit of work with 2000 grit paper I got a proper fit.
The next bearing is really putting up a fight. I can see a few high points and keep dressing the bearings but haven't got it to fall into line yet. Life got in the way and I had to put it away after about 45 minutes. I really hope the other 3 bearings behave themselves a bit better.

I'm thinking about putting together a 2000 grit flapper and running it in there with a 90 degree drill head.

How do you guys work those things?

Bearing knife and scrape them as needed one at a time until the cam slides in and out and rotates freely, it ain't the bearings, it is usually the block cam bores being to small Dang Ma Mopar for not having them all correct to start with

Exactly! Almost every bb Mopar i’ve had to scrape the bearings with a bearing knife as Cab said. I hate this part of the process also.

I just fighting one 400 stroker. Cant even get cam in so tight bearings. I measure cam bore and every hole was too small. Not awfull small just a little bit under tolerance so bearing crush too much. machine shop line bore it and now its fine.

i put cam bearings in one of my blocks and all went reasonably well. i had a choice of 3 cams to stick in it. the first started getting tight about midway in the block; took cam out. second cam just fell in nicely and didn't try the third. anyhow, this got me thinking about the cam bearing journals being concentrate to the shaft. the consensus around here has been that the cam bearings in the block aren't machined straight. maybe so, but i don't think cam journals are any better. i took and old flat tappet factory cam and cut some notches in the journals and have used that to "cut" the bearings, but i really don't like doing this. i'd check the journals on the cam before i used any abrasive on the bearings.

You're cut cam journal method is about the best method after the "fact". Using any abrasive on babbit is a = good luck getting that emedded stuff out.

I haven't had any problems for many years now. I only use Durabond bearings and I believe that is one factor. I also take another precautionary step before the block is in its final wash in the jetwash tank. I take my extended diegrinder with a flap wheel on it and buff up all the cam bores and its amazing how many scrapes and gouges in the journal bores show up. I'm pretty aggressive in this process because I really don't want any issues in the final assembly process. J.Rob

I've got a camshaft with journal grooves like this that I use for a tight cam bearing. The trick is making sure the grooves are angled and that they extend past the end of the journal. It's kind of a back yard reamer. This is NOT mine, this is a photo of one like mine. I'm too lazy to go up to the shop and take a picture of mine.

I use the same thing.

I use a 12" drill bit extender, and wire wheel to prep the journal. Sometimes I even add a 6" one depending on the type of block.

Checking each bearing as they go in helps identify where the problems are.

Sliding the cam in and turning it showed high points near each oil port and some random spots in between. That let me know where to work each bearing.

It's a bit tough to get in there with a bearing scraper and I didn't want to gouge them.

As for grit from the sandpaper, I've never had any issues with good quality really fine grit. I try to clean the bearings after using paper on them.

I'm pretty sure the bearing journals were bored straight and the alignment issues come from heat cycling the block.

Probably 20% of the big block Mopars I have seen rebuilt have had cam bearing issues. I remember a friend of mine that called me about the 440 in his '69 GTX. Very nice, all original but the engine was puffing blue and he figured it needed rebuilt. It may have really only needed valve seals.Anyway, Mike took it to a local machine shop and just wanted a freshen up. He got it back, fired it up and spun the cam bearing out of it. He messed around with it long enough to ruin the block before he called me. That was probably in the late 80s. His shop told it must have been something that he done, so tough $hit.

I still have a stock cam with the grooves cut in the journals that I have used since the mid 70s. Has probably done several dozen big blocks over the years. Friends and machine shops have done more engines with it than I have.

I recommend NO abrasives on bearings. Cab is right use a bearing scraper. Rotating the cam will show the tight spots. And persian blueing will help show high spots. I have my scraper on the end of a piece of 3/4" aluminum so I can reach all the journals. Just drill a small hole in the aluminum and wedge the scraper in. Another help is before the block even goes to the machine shop. Drive out the old bearings and deburr the leading edge of all the cam journals and look for any other burrs that may create a problem. Another thing I do is use a bar of Ivory soap and rub it on the leading edge of the bearing when you install, is a good lube. And pray for guidance.

I bought the tool installed my new beautiful cam bearings. Not a scratch on them. Then proceeded to groove and old cam core and used it as a ream. I think I teared up a bit! I would hesitate using an abrasive on them. The grit gets embedded in the bearing material.