Resolved Does anybody recognise this distributor gear?

[x_man586]

So this Facebook fox body has an aftermarket cam. The guy I bought it from did no engine work and he said this was the engine that was in it when he bought it. He started to pull the motor because it was leaking oil and he already had the distributor removed. He also had a spare distributor that he gave me. The gears on each one are different. One goes in the motor fine the other one binds up. The one that binds up has the classic squared off edge to each tooth. The one that fits in the motor fine has a noticeable machined point at the edge of each tooth. Do you think this gear was made this way or is it the wrong gear material and has simply worn this way?

 

[nickyb]

That gear looks tore up,if it was in that engines , you gonna need a rebuild.

 

[General karthief]

Cut the filter open and look for the dreaded sparkles, if you can pull the oil pan too.
Yeah the gear don't look good.

 

[General karthief]

Cut the filter open and look for the dreaded sparkles, if you can pull the oil pan too.
Yeah the gear don't look good.

 

[x_man586]

I kind of figured. No worries the car was a good deal regardless of the shape of the engine. The compression numbers are all over the place too.

 

[x_man586]

Was this because this is a cast iron gear and it should have been steel? Whoever installed the cam didn’t change the gear on the distributor to the same material?

 

[nickyb]

Was this because this is a cast iron gear and it should have been steel? Whoever installed the cam didn’t change the gear on the distributor to the same material?

Most likely, but who knows what knuckle dragger put it together.

 

[Noobz347]

Search Ebay for NOS parts and totally rebuild the thing.

What I can see of the housing, looks to be in excellent condition.

@AeroCoupe identified that spot where the shaft goes into the bottom of the housing, in another thread. It gets a groove there.

The one in your photo looks pristine.

 

[x_man586]

While we are all here. Is there anything I need to worry about in this picture. How does the gear on the camshaft look? I know there could be bits of metal in the camshaft bearings.

 

[General karthief]

What do you want to do? Slap it together and see how it runs? You say the compression is 'all over the place' what are the readings?

 

[AeroCoupe]

And here is that thread:

Engine Post in thread '86-93 V8 Distributor Collar Differences'

Feb 16, 2025

Got it disassembled and the TFI module tested good so that's a win. The shaft was gummed up and I could not separate it from the housing so had to use some PB Blaster and let it soak. Got that apart and cleaned the gear, collar, and shaft so all those are good to go. Ordered some brash tube brushes to clean the old oil from the housing and once that is done I will clean up the outside of the housing and then put it back together.

Does anyone know how to test the PIP out of the distributor?

• AeroCoupe

 

[x_man586]

According to my harbor freight compression tester.#1 175 #2 215 #3 205 #4 200 #5 225 #6 215 #7 140 #8 started to build up then nothing, Also #1 and #5 showed less than 100 psi the second time. I did the test twice since the readings weren't consistent. I'm guessing this is valve related. Because the engine was not running when I got it I want to get it running simply to test everything before I start removing stuff to repair/refinish. I want to have a blueprint for the whole car before I start removing parts. The gears on the distributors I have look to be cast iron. Should they have installed a steel one?

 

[AeroCoupe]

Should have been steel with a roller cam. You need to have the motor up to operating temperature when doing a compression test. A leak down test will be of more benefit with a cold motor.

 

[General karthief]

If the engine condition is unknown, I'd make it run if possible with a small amount of labor/expense, but you have to weigh the effort, you may be farther ahead to get a running engine or just rebuild that one, more so if it's the original block.
Depends on your goals.

 

[x_man586]

I understand your point. And half of it at least is the fact that it’s close to running and even if it is a waste of time I still want to try.

 

[General karthief]

I understand your point. And half of it at least is the fact that it’s close to running and even if it is a waste of time I still want to try.

Yeah, i'd try to fire it up too but that depends on many factors.
Give it a whirl

 

[x_man586]

Unrelated question am I supposed to have both the vacuum advance on the distributor and this vacuum timing sensor connected?

 

[x_man586]

Well, I’ve got some lifter noise. But this Chinese eBay knock off Edelbrock 1406 is good.

 

[x_man586]

I don’t know if this will work

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[Noobz347]

My thought process:

Pull the heads and lifters. Put some Marvel Mystery Oil down each cylinder and roll the thing over by hand.

You will be able to get a good look at:

Gaskets and seals
Valves
Pistons
Cylinder walls
cam lobes
distributor drive gear
Lifter wear pattern

All in one shot! Plus new head, valve cover, and intake and exhaust gaskets.

It occurs to me that there might be a reason that distributor gear is mauled up. Pulling the heads will tell you if there's more to the story.

Then, I would "send it".