Distributor and cam gears

["Nick P Alfano" <nick.alfano@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Marty,

If you have the matched gears that were on the engine and they are in good 
shape, I would use them.  The key thing here is that they are a matched 
set that has ran together in the past so the wear pattern is the same. 
Make sure the geometry and end play is the same and you should be fine. 
Just don't mix used gears.  Crown has had a problem with their gears off 
and on for years now.  I don't think I would use a set again until they 
have been trouble free for a few years. 

On another note, a machine shop in town had another Comp cam go bad just 
after the break in period.  It was in a fresh 360 with a Comp hydraulic 
cam, Comp lifters and matching Comp single springs.  After about 45 
minutes of run time, the cam was completely destroyed.  Every lobe but 2, 
wiped out.  3 lifters were mushroomed so bad they had to be pushed down 
into the cam journal valley to get them out.  The bearings and crank were 
both all gouged up forcing the crank to be turned 20/20.  They had to 
completely rebuild the engine again.  Comps response, the EPA does not 
allow us to use the same hardening process anymore so our cams are not 
hardened as well as they used to be.  They refused to pay for any of the 
damage and only said that they may replace the cam and lifters. 

Nick Alfano


Message-ID: <20050304220639.39485.qmail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 14:06:39 -0800 (PST)
From: Marty Bricker <mbrickerusn@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Distributor and cam gears
To: northtexasamc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, AMC List <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

I'm just about ready to rebuild my 401.  I'm
installing a Reed Cam and MSD Ready to Run dist.  Reed
doesn't have a matched set of gears for their cam. 
The dist has a gear on it.  With all of the talk about
gear problems I certainly don't want to wreck my
engine.  What's the consensus on approaching this? 
The engine has the original cam and dist, can I just
reuse those gears?  Thanks.
Marty