Cam Bearings, Rebuilders Please Advise!!!

[Pramantha]

I opened a 'new, fully loaded' ISX CM871 cylinder head today (ebay) and found all the cam bearings poorly aligned! Thanks to @Rawze I checked them. What do?! I want to use this head and move forward if possible, the rest is good to go.

Do I risk trying to rotate them in the bores?

Do they have to be removed and repressed in the correct alignment?

Not fun on a Friday afternoon when the head was supposed to be going on...   

[tree98]

Rawze and waterloo just ran into this. It turned out to be ok even though it looked wrong. Is it just the end bearings?

[Pramantha]

thanks @tree98, I was thinking the same thing but no, these are all of the valve cam bearings. The photos are of interior lobe bearings...

I checked the factory head and you are correct the end bearings can be slightly off and there is a space behind them so it makes sense but the central lobe oil holes are all perfectly aligned on the factory cam...

For a second I wondered if it could be on purpose but I don't see how this could possibly be an advantage or help...

[Waterloo]

Just went through the same scenario yesterday. The end cam bearings were off, two of them. We went to Mr Haggai’s shop and discovered every head we checked was the same. Just on the ends. We looked at four heads, and my old one for a total of five. All were the same. If it is just the two end cam bearings I would say use it. Your photos look like what we saw. At the ENDS, not in the middle of the head, middle of the head I would make some phone calls.

[Pramantha]

Thanks Waterloo, you are confirming my fears, these bearings are in the middle, I'm sure I can't leave them like this and that it wasn't intentional for some added oiling advantage...Just poor workmanship. With the head off pressing in replacements and getting a partial refund might be my best option...

[Waterloo]

From what I saw today, I would throw .60 in the oil pump, 6 dimes, and you should be ok. As long as oil is getting through you should be good, especially if you up the oil pressure. I would probably use it.

[Rawze]

(05-04-2018 )Pramantha Wrote:  I opened a 'new, fully loaded' ISX CM871 cylinder head today (ebay) and found all the cam bearings poorly aligned! Thanks to @Rawze I checked them. What do?! I want to use this head and move forward if possible, the rest is good to go.

Do I risk trying to rotate them in the bores?

Do they have to be removed and repressed in the correct alignment?

Not fun on a Friday afternoon when the head was supposed to be going on...

I'ts called "jumping over a dollar to save a dime". -- Go with certified OEM or pay the price later on. - I would not put ANYTHING I got off fleee-bay inside my engine!.

[Pramantha]

But even if they are way off in the middle of the cam? This is the fourth from the front...

   

[Pramantha]

(05-04-2018 )Rawze Wrote:  I'ts called "jumping over a dollar to save a dime". -- Go with certified OEM or pay the price later on. - I would not put ANYTHING I got off fleee-bay inside my engine!.

Well yeah Rawze but where is the fun in that?! If you're always doing everything the right way all the time then there is like no room for improvement. I mean, operating at 100%, where are you gonna go from there? Nowhere. See? Whereas me, I've got this whole big adventure ahead of me, just moving on up all the time and there you are, just stagnant at 100%. :big_smile2: