Distributor Gears..
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2005
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Distributor Gears..
Is there a Good way to determine what type of gear is at the end my Distributor?- I either have a Cast iron, or a Steel gear-
Why did they do this?
-My Stator, or (pick-up coil) is toast inside my Distributor.
And I have the two choices of either replacing it with a Rebuild, or tearing down Mine, and replacing the bad stator- thing is, from what I understand, after Ive purchased the stator, and tore the distributor down, and then replaced everything- If the armature touches the stator due to a worn shaft,internal distributor bushing- I have to get another Distributor,- which would lead me to buy the rebuild instead of pot luck at the junky.
And the part store frowns on electrical returns,- so Id have to eat the new stator.- I'm thinking Id be better off just buying the rebuild.
-which brings me back to the original Question about the difference between the Two drive gears at the end of the Distributor..
can anyone help with this Question??
Why did they do this?
-My Stator, or (pick-up coil) is toast inside my Distributor.
And I have the two choices of either replacing it with a Rebuild, or tearing down Mine, and replacing the bad stator- thing is, from what I understand, after Ive purchased the stator, and tore the distributor down, and then replaced everything- If the armature touches the stator due to a worn shaft,internal distributor bushing- I have to get another Distributor,- which would lead me to buy the rebuild instead of pot luck at the junky.
And the part store frowns on electrical returns,- so Id have to eat the new stator.- I'm thinking Id be better off just buying the rebuild.
-which brings me back to the original Question about the difference between the Two drive gears at the end of the Distributor..
can anyone help with this Question??
Tuned
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 263
Likes: 6
From: Blue Ball, PA
If I remember correctly, the cast iron gear is used with the "older" flat tappet camshafts and the steel gear is used with the "newer" roller camshafts. I may have the gears reversed, but I'm 85% sure I'm correct. What year truck do you have? What motor?
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 480
Likes: 1
From: Elyria, Ohio
As stated cast iron flat tappet cam uses cast iron gear. Steel roller uses gear made of steel, or bronze, or there is now a polymer type gear. Steel would be the most durable for the roller cam.
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2005
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-How can you tell by lookin at one? -I dont wanna tear down the front of the motor to see what kinda cam shaft I have. - When you mentioned "Older, and Newer" did you mean certain "years"??
-I gotta bring the old one down to the Parts store anyway for the core charge.
I just hope that I can visually see the difference between the two gears.
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 273
Likes: 0
Is there a Good way to determine what type of gear is at the end my Distributor?- I either have a Cast iron, or a Steel gear-
Why did they do this?
-My Stator, or (pick-up coil) is toast inside my Distributor.
And I have the two choices of either replacing it with a Rebuild, or tearing down Mine, and replacing the bad stator- thing is, from what I understand, after Ive purchased the stator, and tore the distributor down, and then replaced everything- If the armature touches the stator due to a worn shaft,internal distributor bushing- I have to get another Distributor,- which would lead me to buy the rebuild instead of pot luck at the junky.
And the part store frowns on electrical returns,- so Id have to eat the new stator.- I'm thinking Id be better off just buying the rebuild.
-which brings me back to the original Question about the difference between the Two drive gears at the end of the Distributor..
can anyone help with this Question??
Why did they do this?
-My Stator, or (pick-up coil) is toast inside my Distributor.
And I have the two choices of either replacing it with a Rebuild, or tearing down Mine, and replacing the bad stator- thing is, from what I understand, after Ive purchased the stator, and tore the distributor down, and then replaced everything- If the armature touches the stator due to a worn shaft,internal distributor bushing- I have to get another Distributor,- which would lead me to buy the rebuild instead of pot luck at the junky.
And the part store frowns on electrical returns,- so Id have to eat the new stator.- I'm thinking Id be better off just buying the rebuild.
-which brings me back to the original Question about the difference between the Two drive gears at the end of the Distributor..
can anyone help with this Question??
Is there a visual difference between the two gears????
Tuned
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 263
Likes: 6
From: Blue Ball, PA
I know Ford started putting roller camshafts (steel distributor gear) in Mustangs in '85. I'm not sure when Ford started putting them in trucks. Possibly as early as '88 but again I'm not sure. The parts store should be able to tell you which one you need. You could go to partsamerica.com or autozone.com and do a search for a distributor for an '88 F150 XLT Lariat with a 5.0L and it should tell you which one you need. You then can go to your parts store with some confidence in talking with the parts guy.
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Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2005
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I know Ford started putting roller camshafts (steel distributor gear) in Mustangs in '85. I'm not sure when Ford started putting them in trucks. Possibly as early as '88 but again I'm not sure. The parts store should be able to tell you which one you need. You could go to partsamerica.com or autozone.com and do a search for a distributor for an '88 F150 XLT Lariat with a 5.0L and it should tell you which one you need. You then can go to your parts store with some confidence in talking with the parts guy.
thanks
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Joined: Dec 2006
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if you pay the shipping i'll give you the distributor out of my 89 5.0 works great nothing wrong with it i swapped over to a carb and don't need the distributor anymore it has an msd cap and rotor i beleive with less than 5000miles on them
give me a PM with your address and i'll get a shipping quote and you can send me a money order or something
give me a PM with your address and i'll get a shipping quote and you can send me a money order or something
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