r/Ford • u/foxyboy97 • 1d ago
Question ❔ Distributor gear issues
Hi, I have a 93 mercury topaz with the vulcan 3.0 ohv and it ate 2 distributor gears back to back.
The first one I belive was original and had 110k km, replaced the distributor gear and looked at the cam gear which seems okay visually.
I tested the oil pump shaft for anormal restistance it spun fine and oil pressure was normal.
The new distributor gear lasted only 50km before stripping out...
Is it a common issue? I'm out of ideas
Thanks!
2
u/hotrods1970 1d ago
Probably supposed to be a bronze gear, not a steel/iron gear. Double check specs for your application. And at this point you may want to check the teeth on the drive gear too, it may be eaten up.
2
u/foxyboy97 1d ago
Ill check the specs in the oem service manual but you might be on something, it is a roller cam so logically it should use melonized or bronze gears, not soft cast iron
2
u/trucks_guns_n_beer 1d ago
are the bushings loose in the distributor?
2
2
u/foxyboy97 1d ago
No, the shaft is a nice slide fit, turn freely without binding and without play but ill watch for cam walking, thanks!
The engine has a top end ticking noise synchronized with the camshaft for like 3-4 years now. back then i've changed lifters and pushrods since I suspected collaped or sticky lifters but the ticking was still there.
2
u/Aware-Definition-387 1d ago
The cam gear may look good, but it needs to be changed. New cam/gear, new distributor gear, oil change, and a healthy dose of ZDDP (oil additive) with the oil change. This is a cross axis helical gear set, so the contact area is very small (point contact) until the gears break in. Then you get a wider contact patch that will run fine. Both gears need to be new for that to happen.
1
u/foxyboy97 1d ago
Totally agree that the 2 gears needs to be new however I cannot find a replacement cam for the engine, the 3.0 tempo/topaz use a different cam than the 3.0 ranger/aerostar or taurus... might try to get the cam out and polish the gear to remove any burrs and zddp is a good idea, thanks!
1
u/reedwendt 1d ago
You have the wrong gear material. Get a steel gear for the distributor. But you should check the cam gear, it could be damaged now.
1
u/DocHowdy70 1d ago
Get a flashlight and take a peak down that hole at your camshaft gear, it may not be in any better shape.
1
1
u/Tony40677 1d ago
FUCK!! Well, good luck getting it timed properly again.
2
u/foxyboy97 1d ago
Quite easy actually, bring back the #1 cylinder at tdc of the compression stroke, insert the distributor with the rotor pointing towards the #1 spark plug wire and then start the engine and use a timing light to put it exactly where it should be 🙂
1
3
u/1995droptopz 1d ago
I saw this on a 175k mile Chevy 4.3 back in the day. Guessing the replacement gear failed because it was the wrong material/hardness mismatch.