So I have an 84 F250 351W 4x2. So I bought the truck it had a bad distributor gear. So I go out and just buy a new distrib and cap and such. So I finally get around to installing it and get it in and settled and I go to start and she fires for maybe 4 or 5 pistols then nada. So I check my coil and such then Im like "crank the engine without cap to watch the rotor". And nada it doesnt move. We all know what this means. So I pull it and it has 3 teeth missing just like the other one. Would it be the cam shaft thats the problem? Roasted bearing or something? should I get a stock replacement and pull her?

 

I don't know what's causing the distributor gear to loose it's teeth like that, but you need to get the pieces out of the engine, before running it anymore, otherwise you could cause severe damage.

I suspect that there is something wrong with the other gear in the engine that mates to the distributor gear.

And what happened to that gear, I can only guess, a siezed oil pump, or distributor, or something wrong with the cam that drives it.

I do know that all those gear teeth and pieces will do severe lower engine damage if not removed, if it hasn't already.

 

Hmmm, Yea Im going to drop the pan to get those pieces outta there just I guess I need to pull the cam or look at the oil pump. Ive never done that before so I guess I got some reading to do on getting to an oil pump

 

This might save you some time getting in ther, and give you a lot more elbow room.

FIRST get some ziplock bags and some masking tape. The bags are for screws and nuts, the tape is to label the bags and tape them to what the screws and stuff go to.

Unscrew and remove the grill. (Good time to paint it)

Drain and remove the radiator.

Remove and bag the belts.

Pull the fan and set it aside with its bolt bag.

Line up the engine on the TDC timing mark.

You now have a choice - pull the engine and put it on a stand, or undo one engine mount, jack the engine up, and put a block under the mount.

Either way the pan is coming off. I'd pull the water pump and timing cover at the same time. You may be looking at a complete engine teardown, there's no easy way to get a look at WTF is going on between the cam gear and distrib drive gear - but the strib should be freely rotating, JA?

So something is getting into the gear teeth to jam it while it is turning. How can that be? Your guess is as good as mine - I have not seen this before.

It could also be misaligned, but I don't see how that could be. I kind of wonder if the right cam is inside this engine, or if your cam bearings are shot...

IF the distributor was right for the engine, the problem is mechanical and the least that is called for is a pan-off visual inspection.

TIP: When you drain the oil, lay a section of window screen in the drain pan to find out what kind of stuff is in that oil. The pieces might be identifiable.

When I think about this, I keep wondering where something can be carried in the oil past the camshaft at the oil pump and strib drive gear. I keep thinking lifter valley drain back holes.

I keep thinkin' about the cam galley. The drive gear for the strib and the O/P is just before the end of the cam at the front of the engine. The very front of the cam is a bearing race - nothing can get out that way. Whatever else is going on, there are several strib gear teeth PLUS whatever caused all of this floating around in there.

You might want to hold off pulling the pan and concentrate on getting the cam out so you can look in the front of the cam galley for pieces of stuff.

So pulling down the front of the engine (and pulling the grill and radiator for more room to do that) makes more sense all the time.

Be damn careful of the upper left, and upper right waterpump bolt/studs. They're easy to break and hard to find.