Gents, having now got the broken oil relief valve plug out of my crankcase, next job is to change the worn camshaft centre bearing outer race.

Looking at the job, and never done it before it looks a simple job of persuading it out with a hammer and punch, and carefully knocking a new one in.

Are there any simpler methods? which end is best to knock it out from?, and would cooking the crankcase in the stove to make it grow help?

Many thanks in advance

Hedd

They are drifted out (and back in) but be careful and keep things square. It is possible to break the alloy housing (been there etc. etc.). Rather than warming the whole cranckase, I use one of those hot air guns to heat only the immediate area.

Good luck.

STEVE

Hedd

I couldnt source an outer race when I rebuilt my engine, BUT I did get new rollers (9 off them) and checked the cam journal for size. I cant find the bit of paper with the size on but it may be in my garage copy of the companion? Apparently the cam journal can wear and become undersize? I have also read somewere of a bush being made for this area by the racing boys, and even the outer race being rotated 180 degrees to put the wear on the top!!

Steve

I had a camshaft bearing outer race & set of rollers from Seven Workshop, Bradford on Avon not long ago. When it came to fitting, heating the crankcase with a blowlamp so that the oil just started to smoke caused the housing to expand so much the bearing rattled around! Refit in same manner but hold the bearing in right place until the crankcase cools & grips it. Doing it this way avoids scraping metal off the housing trying to press the bearing in cold. When heating, so long as there is oil on the surface, you are nowhere near doing any damage to the aluminium.

Martin

I'm re-building an engine previously re-built by a nincompoop, the original engine as tried knocked, turned out the main bearings were shot, but having distmantled the engine I find 3 broken taps etc in the crankcase. Now I'm doing another crankcase and am fitting the good bits from the other. The 'good' crankcase has a very worn outer to a point where there is a groove in it!, the one in the 'old' crankcase has no obvious wear, so I intend to use that as I've measured it the rollers and the cam and they are ok.

I'll have a go at getting the good outer out of the old crankcase first I think!

Now done, what a doddle. Didn't tell the wife the crankcase was in the oven with the pizza mind!