Cam Movement

Does anybody know what keeps the cam in the 460 from moving? Does the cam bolt keep the cam from moving backwards or does the bearing in the back of the block keep the cam from moving towards the back of the motor? I have excessive movement in my cam. The cam bolt backed out which allowed the cam to shift towards the back of the block.

Generally, the cam plug keeps it from moving back, but so does the distributor and cam gear interface.
If the cam is trying to walk backwards the cam plug should be installed a little deeper, but I cannot imagine it going too far with the distributor installed!!
Check the gear teeth on both the cam and dist. to see if they are excessively worn.

NO,NO,NO.the cam plug should never TOUCH the cam, the thrust plate,and the cam gear working together hold it it place., bolt was either too long,or not TQ correctly.

BOSS 429 wrote:NO,NO,NO.the cam plug should never TOUCH the cam, the thrust plate,and the cam gear working together hold it it place., bolt was either too long,or not TQ correctly.  

YES ... if the bolt loosened for whatever reason, the cam gear probably also backed-off some.

Two threads with the same message question within a couple minutes ...?

You may have a cam gear that is machined for a needle bearing thrust plate instead of a standard thrust plate. That would allow an 1/8th of an inch ( or so) end play. That is assuming the trust plate was installed in the first place. EVERY 385 series (370-460) has a thrust plate to locate the cam.