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1995 F150 extended cap xlt 5.8L V8. build date 06-1995. Needs distributor is this motor a roller cam? They all want to sell them with cast gears. Rollers need steel gears. Kinda like if I have to change gears might as well as just put the PIP sensor in myself.
Ok pulled distributor part # on distributor is f4te-12127-aa that crosses to to a steel gear. So thats what I ordered.
I know it has been awhile, but this issue is driving me completely bonkers. Did the steel gear work??
My OE distributor (95 F150 5.8l Windsor, 11/94 build date) has the same part number as yours but I am unable to find any source that lists a distributor for this application that has a steel distributor gear. I can find steel gears for a 93 on RockAuto (WORLD POWER SYSTEMS DST2700 {#F4TE12127AA, F4TZ12127A}) which supposedly matches the OE p/n.
I also just got off the phone with the local Ford dealer who, while unable to provide a distributor, did tell me that 95 F-150 5.8L (non-Lightning) only shows roller cams so a steel gear should be used. He also said that you can tell them apart because the reduced diameter on the gear where the roll pin is located will not have any machine marks on it if it is cast iron and will be fully machined if steel. Great except the gear on my my OE distributor appears to be cast! (see attachment).
My next step is to pull the valve cover and rocker and measure the length of the push rod, which I understand will be about 7.5" for a roller and 8.1" for a flat tappet. While I hate to go to that trouble I believe it should settle the issue. However, if it is a roller cam (as I suspect) then can anyone explain why it appears no one sells a steel gear distributor for that application? Has something changed in the metallurgy they use that allows a cast gear with a roller cam?
According to my wife I have burned about three full days, on and off again, trying to resolve this, so I gratefully appreciate any info that helps resolve the question.
Spark test it. Use a small grinder and and touch it on the shank if it is steel it will make a lot of sparks and they will be very bright gold to nearly white in color. If it is cast there will be very few sparks and what you do get will be dull and very reddish.
I ended up pulling the DS valve cover and one of the push rods. It measures 7.520". As best I can tell, stock for the roller is 7.550" (flat tappet is 8.150") and the oil holes on the ends take 0.025" off the length, so mine would be 7.545". Therefore this is a roller cam engine, which probably comes as a surprise to few on this forum. The issue I have now is that I cannot find a steel gear distributor anywhere. All the places I have checked only show a cast iron gear distributor for this application (1995 5.8L) which leaves me baffled.
just my $0.02 maybe its like our ICM(grey/black) they dont know, have wrong part #, if you put in any year except 96 you only get cast iron choice, put in 96 5.8l see pic this is a choice only if 96 5.8l put in at Rock Auto
just my $0.02 maybe its like our ICM(grey/black) they dont know, have wrong part #, if you put in any year except 96 you only get cast iron choice, put in 96 5.8l see pic this is a choice only if 96 5.8l put in at Rock Auto
Hmmm - that is interesting. That same p/n is also shown as the distro for Lightning versions in 1993, which I thought were flat tappet (see https://www.hemmings.com/blog/articl...ord-lightning/)
. Note both the top one (the World Power Systems) and the bottom one (Cardone) show both my OE p/n and the one you found for the 96. Do the flat tappet Lightning cams have steel gears??
I dont believe I've ever heard they did, but theres one guy on here with thread going says his 93? 94? 95?(dont remember) says his cam is flat tappet, then posted pic of intake valley, and you could see spider/dog bones in pic? so never say never...maybe, but, when my pip failed a couple years back, I decided to get JY with all the horror stories! getting from big parts stores, when I pulled my old dizzy, it had a yellow paint mark on it, and so did the 94 I got from JY? hmmm, my old bosses 91 didnt have a paint mark? may just be coincidence?
Yes, PIP failure. That is possibly what led to all of this. I had the PIP fail five or six years ago (though it took me a lot of detective work to figure it out) and I ended up just disassembling the OE distro and replacing the PIP. Sometime thereafter (my memory is not sharp on the exact timing) I noticed that I was getting pinging at highway speeds under light acceleration (say, going up a mild hill that did not cause a down shift). I replaced the spark plugs and wires, doing my level best not to run the 5 and 6 wires near each other, but the issue has persisted. Timing is set to 10 deg BTDC with the shorting plug removed and I don't think there is much else I can do to affect the timing. Running premium fuel in *seems* to reduce the problem, but it does not eliminate it. The next most likely thing is that I dorked something up on the distro rebuild, but I can't really say what that could be. I thought it would be easy (and cheap) enough to just replace the distro with a new one, but that obviously did not turn out to be easy. I only have about 120k on it, but was recently thinking maybe I have carbon build up in the cylinders that is increasing compression ratio and causing the pinging, but, again, just grasping at straws. Open to ideas....
Had to argue with parts counter man several years ago when I needed steel gear distributor for mustang roller cam 5.0. Privately owned auto parts store. Once I got my money back, he lost my business forever. I constantly get incorrect parts from any box auto store and ebay and amazon. They don't care, they'll refund your money, but it's the wasted time, and hassle and packaging and shipping crap.
Yes, PIP failure. That is possibly what led to all of this. I had the PIP fail five or six years ago (though it took me a lot of detective work to figure it out) and I ended up just disassembling the OE distro and replacing the PIP. Sometime thereafter (my memory is not sharp on the exact timing) I noticed that I was getting pinging at highway speeds under light acceleration (say, going up a mild hill that did not cause a down shift). I replaced the spark plugs and wires, doing my level best not to run the 5 and 6 wires near each other, but the issue has persisted. Timing is set to 10 deg BTDC with the shorting plug removed and I don't think there is much else I can do to affect the timing. Running premium fuel in *seems* to reduce the problem, but it does not eliminate it. The next most likely thing is that I dorked something up on the distro rebuild, but I can't really say what that could be. I thought it would be easy (and cheap) enough to just replace the distro with a new one, but that obviously did not turn out to be easy. I only have about 120k on it, but was recently thinking maybe I have carbon build up in the cylinders that is increasing compression ratio and causing the pinging, but, again, just grasping at straws. Open to ideas....
I always post this, and I'm sure it gets old. But, you need to verify that your balancer timing marks are correct. At the age of our trucks the outer ring has the possibility of having slipped and setting timing at 10 degrees may not be ten degrees
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I only have about 120k on it, but was recently thinking maybe I have carbon build up in the cylinders that is increasing compression ratio and causing the pinging, but, again, just grasping at straws. Open to ideas.... 
