Hey everyone! My stock distributor failed a couple years ago, so I replaced it with what I could find - O'Reilly's parts.

It got me back up and running, but finally failed again. So I warranty exchanged it to get me back up on the road again
I'd really like to get a good one that isn't going to just die in a couple years again. But I can't find one with a cast iron gear!

After searching eBay, I found an MSD one for a 5.0 mustang , advertised as having a cast iron gear. Stoked!

But after it finally arrived, I saw a big orange warning on it that said "hey this is a steel gear".

So I can't find an iron distributor anywhere but the cheap parts stores.

Would the steel gear really eat up my cam?

When I went to O'Reilly's to warranty exchange my distributor, the website said that the distributor was for a cast iron camshaft. But it also said that the gear on it was steel. Almost makes me think the distributor that was in it for a couple years WAS actually steel.

So I guess my question is, will my MSD streetfire part # 5594 distributor work on my flat tappet cam bronco?

If not, do you have any recommendations as to where I can get a distributor that will work for more than a couple years? I can't believe how difficult it is to find one for these trucks.

Thanks

 

Yes, the steel gear will eat your flat tappet camshaft.

If you can't find a distributor with a cast iron gear, just buy:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/msd-85832/make/ford

And change it yourself, it's just a roll pin. For that matter, if you've got an old distributor sitting around, just swap the gear off of it.

 

Best would be to rebuild an old Motorcraft or just replace the PIP.

still, I put in a cheap Chinese “World Power Systems” distributor 3 years ago that is still running today.

 

Thanks, that is what I will do. This will fit the distributor right? It mentions a shaft diameter and I can't find a listed shaft diameter on the distributor I bought. Is it a standard size? Thank you!

 

Called MSD, the shaft diameter is correct. I ordered the gear. Fingers crossed I don't mess up the shaft trying to replace that gear.

Thanks for the help everyone.

If I didn't already buy this distributor, I'd have rebuilt one

 

I think it was Scndsin that used the electrical parts from his old Ford distributor to upgrade the parts store “rebuilt” unit to end up with a good reliable distributor.

 

Not to cast any aspersions at your mechanical abilities, but you'd *really* need to try hard to screw up the shaft, swapping one of these gears. It doesn't require Hercules with a 12# sledge to get the roll pin out.

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence! I'm still going to be super careful with it

 

Yeah, I bought one of the box store China made replacements & essentially used the body.

Went back with a new Motorcraft PIP & the original stock shaft, gear & shutter wheel.

Went so far as to re-used the stock roll pins after a friend sheared 2 roll pins in his China replacement.

You can get the pins out with the right size drift/punches & reasonable force. Figure out a support for the shaft first.

The replacement gear almost came off by simply twisting.

The stock gear will need a press or a good 3-jaw puller.

Look close & you can see the side where the pins were driven in. Continue driving them out from that side.

 

random photo for reference. do you see the small circular thing on the gear? thats a roll pin, just needs to be pushed or lightly tapped all the way out, then the gear should come off the shaft

 

Don't these need to be pressed on / pulled off?

 

Not in my experience, no, sometimes I've had to use a rubber mallet or brass drift to get it moving, but it's never risen to the level of needing an actual press.

 

I had to use a press to remove/replace the gear. I also used a reman'd dizzy from Autozone, and no issues. They sell them with cast and steel gears.

 

​​​​​​How long have you been running it? My O'Reilly's dizzy, part number fd04, only lasted a few years before it just died. I replaced it with an AutoZone unit, also fd04 on the part number. It ran fine for a couple days, but then started running like crap when cold. Could be something else I guess, but I really want to see what the distributor does. Classic weak/inconsistent spark symptoms. I'm really hoping this msd unit will last awhile. And if it does die, I will have an AutoZone unit ready to go as a backup. So I won't even need to get a tow, I'll just be ready to drop it in wherever I am. My other ignition components are replaced with "nice" parts, it's just my distributor that is not good.

So my spare parts I keep on hand will be an ignition coil, a distributor, a fuel pump, and spark plug wires. And of course a spare tire.

Thanks for the help everyone! I am going to cruise into town tomorrow and grab a gear puller. Thank goodness I already have a socket to tap the new one back on.

 

The difference in a aftermarket PIP & a Motorcraft PIP: