Is there any specs on the groove for the grooved camshaft - depth and width? What is recommended? Another related matter - the holes in the center bearing that supplies oil to the rockers - should they be as big as the holes in the block? A friend told me that one of the oil passage holes in the cam bearing (the one toward the the crank?) overlapped the hole in the the block leaving the oil passage about 1/3 the intended opening size. The other holes in the bearing aligned ok Should the smaller hole be made bigger to the size of the block? Thanks

54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

Mike.  Thanks for finding that posting and putting up the link for it.

 

Marv.  The problem with many of the new replacement Y-Block Ford cam bearings is that they are now constructed using a much softer babitt material than the originals.  As a result, bearings made from this softer material have a propensity for advanced bearing wear or deformation into the camshaft groove and especially where the valve spring pressure has been increased.  This same issue shows up with the Ford 427 sideoiler engines where the #2 & #4 cam journals use a similar groove for top-end oiling.

 

Regarding the depth of the groove in the center camshaft journal itself, here’s the spec posted by Dennis K. awhile back.

 

And here’s the link to that particular thread.

http://www.y-blocksforever.com/forums/Topic11666-3-2.aspx

 

Based on the original Ford specification for the camshaft groove, a groove machined into the block behind the center cam bearing should be at least this deep and even deeper would be desirable.  My own preference is to go at least 1/16” wide by 1/16” deep.  Any excess in oil flow to the top can be regulated with drilled set screws that are threaded into the bottom of those rocker stands where the oil comes out of the heads.  A favorite orifice size in these set screws for top end restriction would be 0.078” (5/64” drill).  If the hole size is 0.125”, there’s a good chance that oil flow to the top end can be excessive and especially if the rocker shaft oil tubes are still being used.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Thanks Ted for the reply regarding the change in the bearing material composition. I was not aware that the new bushings are mfg with a softer material this will definitely lead to a faster wear than the old stock. Thank you.

One point I was trying to bring out is the change to the bushing design where the mfg has attempted to fix the poor oiling problems. With this change now we likely will have excess oiling to the top end unless we add a restriction to control the flow. This is something for the re-builder to watch for.

marv