Never a straight answer; lets try one more time

65ShelbyClone · Jul 9, 2005

I apologize for the vague thread title, but at this point it describes my situation best. Heres the background:

I have a carbed roller 302 going into the '68 and need a distributor. I wanted cheap electronic ignition, so I got a Duraspark for an '85 GT 5-speed from Autozone yesterday.

Heres the problem:

I have always heard/read that factory steel distributor gears are light gray colored and sometimes have yellow marking(my '89 GT's TFI did). Likewise, I have read that the iron gears are dark gray and have a sand cast texture to the top shoulder(where the pin goes through). My reman Duraspark has a dark gray gear, but is totally smooth with no cast finish. I spent 2.5-3 hours last nigh, searching both here, the Corral, and Google trying to find information and ALL of it was contradictory. I'm appealing to you all to help me make sure I have the right gear before I trash my cam and/or engine.

thehueypilot · Jul 9, 2005

I believe the steel gear is made from D2 and heat treated so if you take a file to it you should not be able to remove material from it. The iron gear you will be able to remove material from it. I ran the iron gear on my roller cam and caught it just before it wore all the teeth away. Ford Racing sells the steel gear you need. If the gear came from autozone you can bet it is the cheapest possible so it would be the iron gear.

65ShelbyClone · Jul 9, 2005

Thats the kind of info I was digging up. I have a steel gear from a .531" shaft TFI and it definitely is not heat treated(factory jy pulout from a roller 302). I dinged it in a few spots and put it in a lathe at work to clean it up. It cut about like a grade 3 bolt.....not very hard.

What would really be the end-all is pictures of an Autozone reman w/a known steel gear next to one with a known iron gear.

I'm looking on Kragen right now and they actually have different pictures for steel vs. iron units, but they're low res.

12sec67 · Jul 9, 2005

from my understanding the first year of the roller block was 1986, so that distrib should ---not---- have the correct gear.

i believe 86 were also carbed but with FI, 87 was the first year of EFI and 88 was first year of Mass AIR.

link to autozone: to 86 roller steel gear

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiB...stion&Parameters=|~WITH+STEEL+GEAR&PageSync=6

ashford · Jul 9, 2005

goto napa and ask for the distrubutor book. every year of the duraspark in that book has the option for the steel or cast gear. when i went they had both in stock so i looked one looks cast the other looks fully machined. either way with core it'll run you about 40-50 dollars which is about the same price as the aftermarket gear.

one other note the tfs distributor oil pump shaft is about a 1/4 inch shorter than the regular oil pump shaft and only splines about 3/16 of an inch on the duraspark dist.

65ShelbyClone · Jul 10, 2005

Thanks for the help everyone, but I got it sorted out after about 5 hours and 100 miles of driving. What happened was the Autozone part # for an '85 distributor was right, but the gear was wrong(iron). I took it back(to Autozone #1) and after looking up another part number, the guy called another store(Autozone #2) to see if it was in stock and it was. I drove to AZ #2 and the guy there was like "we dont have anything even close to that part number." He recommeneded I got to some unrelated parts store across town and that place told me to go to a machine shop. Pissed the hell off, I went to Kragen down the road and had them special order one at $95. I went back to AZ #1 and told the guy(diff than before) what happened, thats when I found out the original parts person gave me the wrong part # and sent me on a wild goose chase all over the goddamn city to begin with. Fed up and armed with the right part #, I went to Kragen to get my money back and then to AZ #2 for a second time and finally, FINALLY got the right part.

Cliffs version: Autozone wasted my time, money, and gas to get something they had to begin with.

Aside from my hellish day, I will take pictures of my C8 distributor and the steel-geared Duraspark so others can benefit from my trouble.

rbohm · Jul 10, 2005

12sec67 said:
from my understanding the first year of the roller block was 1986, so that distrib should ---not---- have the correct gear.

i believe 86 were also carbed but with FI, 87 was the first year of EFI and 88 was first year of Mass AIR.

link to autozone: to 86 roller steel gear

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiB...stion&Parameters=|~WITH+STEEL+GEAR&PageSync=6

85 was the first year for the roller cam, 86 was the first year for efi, and 87 was the first year for mass air in cali, 88 the first year for mass air everywhere.

Ronstang · Jul 10, 2005

rbohm said:
85 was the first year for the roller cam, 86 was the first year for efi, and 87 was the first year for mass air in cali, 88 the first year for mass air everywhere.

You are right on the first two but 88 was the first year for mass air in CA and 89 was first year for all Mustangs being mass air.

D.Hearne · Jul 10, 2005

65ShelbyClone said:
Cliffs version: Autozone wasted my time, money, and gas to get something they had to begin with.
.

This can happen at any parts house, not just Autozone. My kid used to work at an Autozone and even though he was 18 yrs old, he's got the experience to prevent what you went thru from happening. He now works for Advance Auto across the street. Autozone wasn't willing to pay him what Advance thought he was worth. It's been my experience that the "chain stores" have the most inexperienced parts counter people. Most were probably flipping burgers last week.

65ShelbyClone · Jul 10, 2005

You know, that's the problem. Most of the people there know jack about cars and are just there for a paycheck. Its even worse that so many people between three different parts stores were so clueless. Whats funny is on my last visit to Autozone #1, I told the other parts guy that I needed a steel gear and he says "Have a roller cam, huh?" He actually knew why. Then on my last visit to Autozone #2, the parts guy asked if I had a 5.0 and later told me he has one too.

12sec67 · Jul 10, 2005

hey 65SHELBYCLONE,

why don't you post the part number from autozone so everyone here can see it for future ref!

mustangdave · Jul 10, 2005

This is why I always look up the part number on their website before I go to get the part. They have tried to give me the wrong part several times but then I show them on their own screen where they made their mistake (lotsa fun embarassing them).

DarkBuddha · Jul 10, 2005

rbohm said:
85 was the first year for the roller cam, 86 was the first year for efi, and 87 was the first year for mass air in cali, 88 the first year for mass air everywhere.

BTW, TBI was available (and brand new) in '85, which was also the last year of the carb'd 5.0. I think that counts as EFI, even if it's not port injected, MAF, or SD type EFI, right? Still, strange to imagine Ford selling both TBI and carb'd versions of the same car... and the TBI version made less power to boot.

88 Fox GT · Jul 10, 2005

DarkBuddha said:
BTW, TBI was available (and brand new) in '85, which was also the last year of the carb'd 5.0. I think that counts as EFI, even if it's not port injected, MAF, or SD type EFI, right? Still, strange to imagine Ford selling both TBI and carb'd versions of the same car... and the TBI version made less power to boot.

When they did that, I don't think they were looking for power. Just experimentation and it prooved more reliable than a carb anyway. Quicker starting in all conditions and you no longer had to pump the throttle.

Here is your steel gear for a .531" shaft.
http://store.summitracing.com/partd...r&orig=1&N=0&part=MSD-85834&Ntk=KeywordSearch

Ronstang · Jul 10, 2005

DarkBuddha said:
BTW, TBI was available (and brand new) in '85, which was also the last year of the carb'd 5.0. I think that counts as EFI, even if it's not port injected, MAF, or SD type EFI, right? Still, strange to imagine Ford selling both TBI and carb'd versions of the same car... and the TBI version made less power to boot.

The TBI which Ford called CFI was used in 85 only on automatic transmission equipped GTs from what I remember. It is a complete crap system but was reliable and cheap....I guess that is why GM continued to use the same type of system for what seemed like eons.

twuxtop · Aug 28, 2005

okie dokie, is there a part number for the 87-92 roller dizzy.with steel hardened gear at proper depth for those years? is it year specific depth?(length of shaft or oil drive)

Hack · Aug 28, 2005

I'm really glad you got the problem solved. What a pain! I was going to suggest you have the parts guy pull both the iron and steel gear '85 Mustang distributors and compare them to be certain.

I'm doing a similar swap, so I've researched the '85 Mustang a little. In '85 both distributor gears were available, because Ford put the roller cam in cars with manual transmissions only. At least that's what my book "The Official Mustang 5.0 Technical Reference and Performance Handbook" by Kirshenbaum says. Of course, due to various reasons I would not be surprised by a manual without a roller cam or an automatic car with one. Edit: This may be too obvious, but I decided to say it anyway. If you have a motor from an '85 you should check the stock distributor gear before replacing it.

Regarding auto parts stores - it's great when you find the right one. I have a Bumper to Bumper warehouse store a couple miles from home. Those guys know my name. I called there when I started considering buying an '85 distributor and the first question was, "iron or steel gear?" Of course, there are a couple guys working the counter there that I'd prefer not to have help me. Kinda makes you want to turn around and walk back out.

347Fastback · Aug 28, 2005

I keep a steel gear in stock in my garage for days like this... also good idea to write part numbers down for future reference.

65ShelbyClone · Aug 28, 2005

12sec67 said:
hey 65SHELBYCLONE,

why don't you post the part number from autozone so everyone here can see it for future ref!

You know, its the same part number as their site says, but I got an iron-geared distributor in a steel-gear numbered box. Thats why I was getting so pissed.

The tricky part about this whole bit is 85 being the only year with a carbureted roller cam manual trans-only GT. Next time I probably will just get an iron gear dizzy and put a steel one on myself.

darkness falls · Aug 29, 2005

never mind..

Never a straight answer; lets try one more time

65ShelbyClone

thehueypilot

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65ShelbyClone

12sec67

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ashford

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rbohm

Ronstang

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D.Hearne

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65ShelbyClone

12sec67

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mustangdave

My rearend needs a stud and two nuts.

DarkBuddha

88 Fox GT

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Ronstang

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twuxtop

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Hack

347Fastback

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65ShelbyClone

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