Bearing Failure

[Master-Shake]

Lets say you had a rebuilt engine. New cam,main, and rod bearings. After 2500miles it started knocking. Oil pressure was alway good up until this point. Tore it apart and every bearing was destroyed. The rod/mains were copper and black colored all over, and the cam bearings were copper colored only in the center of the bearings. Could the cam bearings have been installed incorrectly, causing them to get some oil lubrication, but serverly limiting the amount getting to the bottom of the engine?

Someone mentioned this to me and it fit the description of my old 355

[FSTFBDY]

What engine are you talking about now?

[Master-Shake]

What engine are you talking about now?

the only one that every bearing got wiped out in, the tree-fity-five

[70MC]

Can't say for sure but, i don't think installing the cam bearings in any position would harm anything, but the cam, and maybe not even the cam. The reason is, there is an annular grove behind the cam bearings that the oil flows thru, so no matter which way the oil holes for the cam is facing it won't affect the oil going to the crank. Different builders have their own idea which way is the best "clocking" for the oil holes for the cam, but most would recomend the oil holes be facing toward the intake as to put the oil pressure where it will do the most good, counter reacting the valve spring pressure trying to push the cam toward the crank. The cam bearings can be pressed too far in or not far enough, and cover the annular grove, which will starve the cam bearings of oil but not the crank. This applies to stock SBCs, since aftermarket blocks do not have an annular grove, you have you have to match the hole in the block with the hole in the cam bearings. That is because aftermarket blocks have priorty oiling and oils the crank first,then the cam.

[8 Second Nova]

Groove :wave:

[70MC]

Grovie:thumbnew: