Worn distributor gear (Page 1/2) Greg872.8SE APR 01, 09:05 PM Good evening all. I hope everyone out there is healthy. I have some time off due to the Coronavirus so I’ve decided to fix a couple oil leaks on my 2.8. Quick history, engine was rebuilt 4 years ago and only has about 1K miles on it. The first leak was the oil pan underneath the timing cover. I kept putting off fixing it “till next weekend”. I drove it once every month or two to keep all the fluids circulating and the leak at the distributor developed. The following parts were replaced associated with the worn gear, cam (Sealed Power OE replacement nothing fancy), distributor (Cardone), and oil pump (Melling high volume). I used Permatex ultra slick engine lube during assembly, primed the engine while it was still on the stand (no leaks then!), broke the cam in per Sealed Power instructions, I used standard Mobile 1 5W30 with a break in additive, changed oil at 500 miles. Car started easily and ran great after rebuild. Oil pressure was HIGH at idle on cold start, 75. And dropped to about 40 once warm, also at idle. I have a new standard volume oil pump (FS), high temp distributor o-ring (Rodney’s, also got his magnetic plug), and gear (GM). Any theories on what I might have did wrong on the rebuild? Also when replacing the gear on the distributor the washer and toothed lock washer fit very loose on the shaft, is that normal? Do they self center by centrifugal force? Thanks for looking and any response is appreciated. Gall757 APR 01, 10:11 PM welcome to the forum, greg. I'm confused by your description. Do you have a new distributor and also rebuilding your old one? Patrick APR 01, 10:29 PM quote Originally posted by Greg872.8SE: Any theories on what I might have did wrong on the rebuild? What exactly is the issue? If you replaced the camshaft, I hope you also replaced the lifters. quote Originally posted by Greg872.8SE: ...when replacing the gear on the distributor the washer and toothed lock washer fit very loose on the shaft, is that normal? It may be considered "normal" by some, but it's not ideal. In the old days, we shimmed that gap. Depending on the body of the distributor (in this case, aluminum), there's is a certain spec to strive for. I think I actually posted it here years ago. Greg872.8SE APR 01, 11:15 PM Thanks for responding gentlemen. Gall, yes it was a new distributor when I rebuilt the engine. I found a replacement gear to replace the worn gear. I’m not doing a distributor rebuild, this one only has about 1000 miles in it. Patrick, the issue is an extremely worn distributor gear, yes lifters were replaced, entire engine was rebuilt, I didn’t want to list everything just the parts that may have caused the worn gear. Patrick APR 01, 11:44 PM quote Originally posted by Greg872.8SE: Patrick, the issue is an extremely worn distributor gear... Since the rebuild? What was the gear like before the rebuild? I remember someone posted here a while back that had issues (forget exactly what they were), but it turned out the problem was created because he had run the engine for a prolonged period of time with the distributor not seated properly. It was in just far enough to barely engage the camshaft and distributor gears. Greg872.8SE APR 02, 08:56 AM [quote][QUOTE]Originally posted by Patrick: Since the rebuild? What was the gear like before the rebuild? There was nothing wrong with the original gear. I replaced the distributor because it was very corroded, the car was a storage bin and shelf in the garage for almost 14 yrs. Gall757 APR 02, 03:19 PM If I read this thread right, you have a new distributor with 1000 miles of use and the gear is already bad. I suspect the cam gear is not compatible, or the distributor was not fully seated. Patrick APR 02, 04:49 PM quote Originally posted by Greg872.8SE: I replaced the distributor because it was very corroded... Worse than this? Corrosion inside the distributor is normal. I cleaned up the one above, and it's still working fine a decade or so later. Was the shaft and/or rotor of your new distributor binding at all, or did it spin freely? Greg872.8SE APR 02, 10:39 PM Patrick that is awesome! From what I remember yeah it was every bit as bad. I wish I would have kept it and cleaned it up as a spare. Gall, I’m hoping you and Patrick are right about the distributor not being fully seated. I didnt want to hear about the cam not being compatible. I believe I bought the cam thru Advanced Auto Parts online so I’m gonna try and track down the part number and possibly talk to someone at Sealed Power. I was trying to post a picture but I’m getting an error that says ‘not available right now’ I’ll try again tomorrow morning. I was trying to show how loose the flat washer and toothed washer are on the distributor shaft. Thanks again gentlemen. Patrick APR 03, 01:41 AM I looked up my old posts here about distributor end play. Found a link to good info in This thread at a Chevy forum. With an aluminum distributor body, I think I'd aim for .010" to .015"