LS cam bearings - centering front to back?

[PLohr]

Hello,
I hope I haven't overlooked a thread which dealt with this - I searched for the answer but did not find it.
Any reason not to center the cam bearings in order to align them with the cam journals and block's oil passages? I am talking about the front to back location of the each cam bearing.
Here's the story. I installed new cam bearings (Dura-Bond CHP-25T) precisely where GM had installed the original cam bearings (front to back). The cam bearings aren't aligned with the cam journals (front to back) by approximately 1/16" to 1/8". Apparently GM didn't have too much concern about this (like I said, GM didn't align the cam bearings either). The cam retention plate and cam gear were installed while checking this. After I pulled the camshaft back out of the block, I found that the oil holes were misaligned in the same direction and by about the same amount that the cam journals were misaligned. As an example, if the cam bearing appeared to be shifted 1/8" rearward of the cam journal, the oil hole would be misaligned by the same 1/8" in the same direction.

I am guessing that the cam bearing oil hole area is reduced by as much as 20% in the worst case.

If any of this is unclear, please tell me. Perhaps I need to make a simple drawing to explain this better.

Thank you for any help,
Paul Lohr

[Rowdy Yates]

Call and ask for Jason @ Texas Speed & Performance.

[CGT]

Hello,
I hope I haven't overlooked a thread which dealt with this - I searched for the answer but did not find it.
Any reason not to center the cam bearings in order to align them with the cam journals and block's oil passages? I am talking about the front to back location of the each cam bearing.
Here's the story. I installed new cam bearings (Dura-Bond CHP-25T) precisely where GM had installed the original cam bearings (front to back). The cam bearings aren't aligned with the cam journals (front to back) by approximately 1/16" to 1/8". Apparently GM didn't have too much concern about this (like I said, GM didn't align the cam bearings either). The cam retention plate and cam gear were installed while checking this. After I pulled the camshaft back out of the block, I found that the oil holes were misaligned in the same direction and by about the same amount that the cam journals were misaligned. As an example, if the cam bearing appeared to be shifted 1/8" rearward of the cam journal, the oil hole would be misaligned by the same 1/8" in the same direction.

I am guessing that the cam bearing oil hole area is reduced by as much as 20% in the worst case.

If any of this is unclear, please tell me. Perhaps I need to make a simple drawing to explain this better.

Thank you for any help,
Paul Lohr

I always try to center them, check for oil hole alignment with a 90°pick. If its centered and the pick goes through I'm happy. Ive put bearings in quite a few of them. I guess I never payed a lot of attention to their placement from GM. But I haven't had any issues regardless.

[PLohr]

Guys, thank you for your help. This has worked out just fine.