1915 C-25 Camshaft Removal

[21raceabout]

Any tips on removing the camshaft out of a 1915 Buick C-24/-25 engine?  Have removed all the common flat screwdriver type set screws in the vicinity of the cam bearings and tried some gentle nudging on the back of the timing gear to no avail.  I assume camshaft must come out the front.  Is it necessary to remove the bronze cap at the rear (how?) in order to  tap on the back of the cam (along with middle and front bearings) out of the crankcase? Oil pump has been removed already.  Thanks!

[Larry Schramm]

Do you have all of the lifters out?  Cam should come out the front.

[21raceabout]

Larry - Yes, all the lifters are out.  At this point the cam is the only thing left in the crankcase.  I assume the front and middle bearings will come out with the cam...any recommended place to tap with a (hardwood) drift...locally heat the crankcase first?

[Mark Shaw]

It should come out when you rotate & pull.

[21raceabout]

• Thanks Mark, we will give that a try

[21raceabout]

I got the cam shaft out today.  The front cam bearing has to come out with the cam shaft so it is a matter of getting that bronze plain bearing out of the aluminum crankcase.  In this case the two parts have been in close contact for the last 102 years.  I used a torch to heat the aluminum around the bearing and found that it took repeated heating cycles with some measured tapping on the base of the nearest cam lobes with a hardwood drift (went through several) to get it apart.  I suspect I was fighting that fact that although aluminum has a higher coefficient of expansion than bronze, it also has a higher rate of thermal conduction such that the aluminum dissipates the heat faster than the bronze requiring quick action each time the heat was removed.  It all worked out in the end with nothing broken or damaged.  Thanks to those who responded.