Hi I have a 1994 toyota extended 4x4 pickup with a 5 speed transmission and a 3.0 v6. The engine has ended up with a rattling noise, so dad and I decided to look for the problem. We ended up looking at the right hand side cam for the noise and dad thought it was one of the bearings (I guess) on the cam and took it off and sanded it down some but thinks he has messed it up due to it being to tight on the cam. He called around today and was told that they don't sell them separate, that he would have to buy a new head to get them and the head is $700.00 The small thing that he messed up looks like a half moon and sits on the cam. What is this called and is there any where that you can buy them without having to buy the whole head?

 

Sounds like you're talking about a camshaft bearing cap. This is the top half of the bearing and bolts onto the head.

You could find a used one at a junkyard but a machine shop is going to need to do a job called "align boring". They can possibly do this to yours too, if it isn't too bad. They will basically mill a little off the flat contact surfaces of the cap and maybe the head also. Then they will use a bore to redo the holes that the cam goes through (called the bearings, although they are really just smooth surfaces that the cam sits on and have no replaceable or moving parts.) This will make the bearings (the holes) perfectly round and in line with each other again. The shop will need the assembled head with the cam to properly do the job.

This should be cheaper than buying a new head and will restore it to like new.