Camshaft bearings

[chrisd87]

This evening I've started stripping down an engine that will find its way into Maggie once it's been overhauled. One cause for concern is the front camshaft bearing. Although it turned freely, it looks a little dodgy to me. The oilway leading to it had a fair bit of of crud in and around it, so I'm thinking the bearing might have been partially starved of oil at some point.

The camshaft itself looks to be in perfect condition, apart from the front bearing surface which is a bit ropey. That's not a problem as I've got a couple of spare cams, but I'm just rather hoping the bearing in the block isn't going to need replacing. What do people reckon?

[bmcecosse]

It's fine - don't worry about it. But do use a better cam if you have one - but make sure it is a 1098 cam - ie it has the same two 'rings' that can be seen in your pic. Or of course - get a better cam altogether! MG Metro is good - and some swear by the Swiftune SW5 cam....

[chrisd87]

Excellent, that's exactly what I wanted to hear! The bores of this engine are in pretty good condition so I was hoping that I could avoid any work on the block.

[TomLS]

As far as block work goes, I would suggest a clean But seriously, long lengths of pipe cleaner can be had for cheap, and its worth soaking some in degreaser and 'flossing' all the oilways you can (being careful not to leave any of your pipe cleaner in the oilways!)

I'm not doubting BMC, but its good to know that these engines obviously run forever - that baring looks... well, fudged to me! Can't tell if the brown 'stripe' around the rear third of the baring is old oil, or where the baring surface has worn away. It looks pretty scored too, but then if the cam is ok and you have a good oil pump it shouldn't cause too much pressure loss.
I've been doing some reading around the camshaft area too, an although I don't have any personal experience, the Kent 256 gets good reviews too (and is a fair bit cheaper than the SW5). It provides its torque and power within usable road values without sacrificing any bottom end or causing 'muscle car chop' on idle.
I do however have a Kent cam in my V8, with no other valve train mods (also a 'mild road' cam). I've not dynoed it, but compared to the standard cam it will pull a house down, the mid range is better, and top of the range certainly hasn't suffered.
I'm planning to fit a 256 when I rebuild a 1098 for my Traveller.

[bmcecosse]

The cam bearing is perfectly fit for purpose - it's not a racing engine......The MG Metro cam is better than the '256' . A '266' is still not as good either...... the advantage of the MG cam is that it has longer exhaust period - always a winner on the A series, and it does not have excessive lift - and so is ideal with the 940 head on a small bore block.