My Pertronix distributor currently has a bronze drive gear on it to go with my billet solid roller cam. The gear only has about 300 miles on it. I am about to swap in a new distributor(same kind, old one got damaged) and I am wondering: Can I re-use the bronze gear? Or am I better off just to spend the extra bread and get a new gear also? I think hotroddon works for Pertronix and gave me a ton of help the first time around. So Don, if you see this, please chime in.
Make sure the dimension is the same, normally have to drill the shaft when replacing gear. Maybe you know this already.
Yep. I had read about drilling it out. Should be the same dimensions for everything since the replacement distributor is identical to what I have(minus the damage, ha ha). I didn't know how soft exactly bronze is or how hard it would be to remove from the old distributor. I was mainly wanting reassurance that I wouldn't be likely to screw the gear up swapping it from one distributor to the other.
No, it doesn't work that way, at least with OEM distributor it's not OK to simply swap the old distributor gear over. At least with Fords, the height dimension of the gears are all over the place, as well as where the pilot hole is located. The distance between the mounting flange on the housing and the bottom of the gear has a tolerance of .005" Maybe it's OK with the distributor setup you're using but measure everything to be sure. It's not as simple as it seems.
The Bronze gear is the sacrificial part........ If any doubts, just replace it. Measurements are to be made before ordering a replacement......That means having it OFF your dist, and having numbers BEFORE you order the replacement........... Friendly advice...... Proceed at your own will.......
I'd use a "steel" gear instead of the bronze one... I wouldn't want bronze shavings in my oiling system....
Everyone I have consulted so far(including the cam manufacturer) has said the steel gear is a no no with the billet cam.
Ummmm.... Gee fellas, Ford did exactly that with all the H.O. 302 engines from '85-'93... And all of them had roller cams in them....
Aftermarket, but not factory. Called pressed-on proiferal gear cams....nearly all your current cam company's offer this as an option on all but the biggest race steel billet cam cores.. The last bearing journal and the gear are made of iron and pressed onto the steel shaft roller cam blank. It's a nice option, at least for SBC and BBC....I don't know if they can do this with Ford cams being the gear is at the front journal and the press-fit would be responsible for driving the entire rest of the cam and valvetrain..
Engine is a 383 sbc. This is the cam https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-12-863-9/overview/make/chevrolet
I realize that. I have an overpriced composite gear on the shelf. But the shop that put the engine together refused to use that composite gear. I have a couple friends who have built performance engines/cars for years and they also said that they weren't a fan of the composite gear.
Ask yourself this question. If you pulled the distributer and put it back in would you change the gear? If the gear is not worn use it if its worn replace it.
Some cam gears are hardened and will chew OEM dissy gears in no time.. I've had it happened to me a couple of time's over the years ...you need to check with Pertronix they have a dissy gear for you billet cam
Billet camshafts that need a bronze distributer gear, have a high wear rate in my experience. In my case, with a 506 BBC with a Comp Cams billet solid roller camshaft, it started to wear in 250 miles. Could tell by ignition timing going down and play at the rotor. I have seen other engines with the same results. Comp Cams makes a polymer/composite dist. gear. I was skeptical about using a "plastic gear" but its been in my engine for over 10,000 miles with no wear or failure. Even though they recommend you don't use a high volume oil pump, I do have a high volume oil pump and run 10/30 oil. It is pricey at around $135.00 though. Bill
$135 for the composite gear doesn’t sound so bad considering your bronze gear started to go away at 250 miles. With 10,000 miles on the plastic gear you would have had to purchase forty $30 gears to do that. Even if you conservatively had only bought twenty gears that would still be $600. Sometimes it pays to bite the bullet and spend wisely.
I already have the composite gear because I purchased it when this engine was built originally. The shop refused to use the composite gear so it is still on the shelf. I guess I'll give that a try.
In Australia we are well known for shortening words and putting 'Y' on the end of the shortened word. Therefore we call it a 'dissy'. We don't get as hung up as others do about the correct pronunciation of words.
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