440 stroker block Cam bearing damage

[Andy440rt]

Unfortunately a family member painted this 440 stroker block , got some paint in the internals then proceeded to stick a screwdriver wrapped around with a towel to clean out the paint but somehow caused this damage to the cam bearing. How bad is this ? Will I have to swap this out for a new bearing ? I have no why he did this honestly. I can feel the scratches with my nail so they are pretty deep I suppose

 

[pnora]

I doubt that will be a problem. Lots of times they actually scrape the bearing down in order to fit the cam.

 

[moparedtn]

Lightly polish it with some fine grain emery and go on with life.

 

[1970lime]

I have seen worse "scratches" on cam bearings, that didn't cause any issues.

 

[Andy440rt]

I have seen worse "scratches" on cam bearings, that didn't cause any issues.

Thank you

 

[Andy440rt]

Lightly polish it with some fine grain emery and go on with life.

Understood

 

[Beekeeper]

Run it

 

[66Satellite47]

Put the cam in with light oil, rotate the sprocket. If it turns smoothly all around, good to go. Cam bearings often don't look pretty.
A good block painting plan saves a lot of time.

 

[HawkRod]

Agree with what others have said above. If your cam turns smoothly, you should be fine.

Just don't make the mistake and think these statements are transferrable to main and rod bearings! The cam has very little load on it, but the mains and rods take a lot of abuse.

 

[Andy440rt]

Thank you guys

 

[69Bee]

I would skip the emery/sand paper step. The bearings are babbitt, and will embed ANY grit applied, and will scratch the cam and possibly destroy the bearings. Just put it together and run it.

 

[440 Source]

It will be fine. Recommend polishing it a bit with some scotchbrite to remove any high spots.

 

[lewtot184]

camshaft bearings are soft and have a lot of conformability designed into them. dont put any abrasives on them. i prefer assembly lube on those bearings when installing a cam.