How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear?

How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/03/10 10:49 PM

It looks fine

It has about 200-300 passes on it! If I decide to replace it should I buy one that is pinned or is that not necessary?
Thanks Mike

Posted By: BigDog68Dart

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/03/10 11:57 PM

Just a hint , also check the wear on the bottom, mine seems to wear there, and I've heard it can be harmful to oil pump, I replace mine yearly, when I go thur engine140 passes+= Your results may vary with cam and spring combo! my two cents, hope it helps you !

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Posted By: MRMOPAR622

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/04/10 01:56 AM

I checked mine and it look fine,till I held it up beside a new one. The gears were wore to about 1/2 the thickness of a new one.

Posted By: ProSport

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/04/10 02:21 AM

^ Yep, what these guys said. ^

The gear will look fine but the bottom will be worn. I'm gonna replace mine again before the season starts.

Posted By: 70dusterjohn

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/04/10 03:48 AM

I replace mine every year. Its just easier to do that then fix the motor.

Posted By: MR_P_BODY

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/04/10 04:00 AM

My currant engine doesnt use a intermediate shaft,
I run a dry sump block and pump so it uses a gear on
the dist ... its been in there 2 years and looks perfect,
I'm thinking about pulling the engine down in the spring
so I'll check it again

Posted By: BradH

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/04/10 06:28 AM

You guys aren't helping alleviate my concerns that a bronze gear is a high-wear item for a street car w/a roller cam...

Posted By: 70satelliteguy

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/04/10 12:18 PM

I guess I will go ahead and replace it then but How about the 440 Source one at $69.00 vs. the MP one that sells in Jeg's and Summit for $119

Thanks Mike

Posted By: moper

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/04/10 12:21 PM

Quote:

You guys aren't helping alleviate my concerns that a bronze gear is a high-wear item for a street car w/a roller cam...

We you hoping for otherwise? lol I'd at least inspect it every year or 2K miles. It's less work than changing plugs so make it part of the routine. As far as one 1/2 the price of the others on the market... My .02...Not for a part as critical as the oil pump drive.

Posted By: JUST_N_TIME

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/04/10 10:08 PM

That may be true if you knew for sure the Mopar one didn't come from the same Asian foundry - which I'll bet it does. At least 440 will tell you it comes from Asia and charge 1/2 the price.
Mopar didn't go broke on their parts business $$$$.

Posted By: sg66mopar

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/04/10 10:53 PM

I bought the MP piece from Jegs last year and it was made in China. I used it anyway and the bottom is pretty worn from about 200 passes.

I also have a replacement gear only from Comp Cams but I bent two 1/2" diameter drifts trying to press the shaft out of the gear. Then there's the issue of getting the new gear back on the shaft in the right location!

Posted By: BradH

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/04/10 10:58 PM

When you guys say the bottom is worn, do you mean where the bronze gear butts up against the bushing in the block? If so, that might explain why the Chenoweth guys modified one right there and installed a roller bearing as a thrust surface.

Posted By: BradH

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/04/10 10:59 PM

Quote:

I bought the MP piece from Jegs last year and it was made in China.

Surprise, surprise...

Posted By: sg66mopar

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/04/10 11:04 PM

Yep, bronze against bronze

Haven't seen any other options. Sounds like major surgery to do a Torrington thrust bearing.

Posted By: DoubleD

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/05/10 03:45 PM

you can use a hardened thrust washer from a transmission - been doing for years takes a few minutes with a lathe - works fine forget the torrington bearing - too many small pieces to go wondering around when it fails

Posted By: sg66mopar

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/05/10 04:12 PM

Quote:

you can use a hardened thrust washer from a transmission - been doing for years takes a few minutes with a lathe - works fine forget the torrington bearing - too many small pieces to go wondering around when it fails

Sounds like a great plan, simple too.

Posted By: ZIPPY

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/05/10 07:11 PM

Quote:

I bought the MP piece from Jegs last year and it was made in China.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surprise, surprise...

Don't mean to be a butinski but that's a great big
steaming pile of bull feces.

P3690875, for example, consists of a gear that used to come from Daytona Beach Florida, pressed on to a shaft made by a machine shop in Mt. Clemens Michigan. The machine shop not only makes the drive shaft but does the press and pin operation.

P3690876: same
P3690874: same

Crane won't make MP any more gears because they don't exist anymore, so they're getting hard to find.

However, "stuff" happens and I'll give almost anyone the benefit of the doubt... so tell you what:

Send me the part, your receipt, and the packaging it came with with using my UPS account number. Mopar Performance and Chrysler Legal will do the rest.

Posted By: '72CudaRacer

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/05/10 11:29 PM

Quote:

you can use a hardened thrust washer from a transmission - been doing for years takes a few minutes with a lathe - works fine forget the torrington bearing - too many small pieces to go wondering around when it fails

Would you put the hardened washer between the gear and bushing, or remove the top part of the bushing (thrust surface)?

Posted By: DoubleD

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/05/10 11:41 PM

Quote:

Quote:

you can use a hardened thrust washer from a transmission - been doing for years takes a few minutes with a lathe - works fine forget the torrington bearing - too many small pieces to go wondering around when it fails

Would you put the hardened washer between the gear and bushing, or remove the top part of the bushing (thrust surface)?

I turn down the gear side a little to accommodate the washer - never tried the bushing

Posted By: sg66mopar

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/06/10 12:29 AM

I mentioned the thrust washer idea to Scott Koffel this afternoon. He said it shouldn't be necessary and almost every time they've seen a wear problem it's been caused by not enough clearance, not the bronze against bronze situation.

Posted By: DoubleD

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/06/10 02:09 AM

Scott is absolutely right - I use the washer to correct a the tolerance most of the wear comes from a tight fitting aftermarket distributor - or a tight bushing left a little high - or in the opposite scenario a loose fitting distributor. It's probably overkill but it seems to keep the wear down

Posted By: sg66mopar

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/06/10 02:30 AM

Quote:

Quote:

I bought the MP piece from Jegs last year and it was made in China.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't mean to be a butinski but that's a great big
steaming pile of bull feces.

P3690875, for example, consists of a gear that used to come from Daytona Beach Florida, pressed on to a shaft made by a machine shop in Mt. Clemens Michigan. The machine shop not only makes the drive shaft but does the press and pin operation.

P3690876: same
P3690874: same

Crane won't make MP any more gears because they don't exist anymore, so they're getting hard to find.

However, "stuff" happens and I'll give almost anyone the benefit of the doubt... so tell you what:

Send me the part, your receipt, and the packaging it came with with using my UPS account number. Mopar Performance and Chrysler Legal will do the rest.

Not sure I quite follow. Yeah I have the part and I'm sure the receipt's around somewhere, but the box? That was a year ago. No such luck.

Posted By: ZIPPY

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/06/10 03:19 PM

If they're selling knockoffs, I think Chrysler legal would probably be real interested to know.

Since the package should have the country of origin label, it'd be a pretty important piece of the puzzle.

It's been a couple years since I bought one personally but I have access to all the Chrysler screens that list where pieces are supposed to come from. That part is domestic content (except for maybe the raw metal, which is pretty hard to research), so the deal you mentioned sounds fishy.

Don't mean to come off overly harsh, just tired of reading about stuff here supposedly made in China, then doing my own research and finding out it really isn't....Or at least, isn't supposed to be.

Posted By: sg66mopar

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/06/10 04:48 PM

I gonna need a new gear this season. Maybe I'll buy the same one I did last year and see what the packaging says.

Posted By: ZIPPY

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor gear? - 02/06/10 08:47 PM

I'd really like to see.

I'd buy one myself but started buying just the gear, since there were a bunch of Crane closeout gears on sale here recently.

Even if it was a Mopar error (wrong country of origin on the label) and the part is still ok, that still needs to be fixed and I can make sure it gets some attention.

Lots of possibilities there, and hopefully it's nothing sinister. I'm a worrywart and always think the worst, and sometimes it bites me.

Posted By: fourgearsavoy

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor ge - 02/06/10 09:33 PM

Zippy you aren't really claiming that Mopar Performance doesn't import Chinese goods are you?
I know a few engine shops that quit carrying MP stuff because they got tired of peeling the China stickers off of the parts.
Gus

Posted By: ZIPPY

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor ge - 02/06/10 10:01 PM

No I'm not claiming that as I know different....some things do come from China (and other places) but...not this particular part.

Stuff like heads, camshafts, intakes, cast valve covers and this intermediate shaft are still USA content for now, and hope it stays that way.

Leaf Springs and water pumps have come from Mexico for many years now, because Chrysler as a whole doesn't make that stuff anywhere else anymore.

My Mexican Hooker headers and mexican MSD coil seem to both work fine, no complaints.

Posted By: 67HEMI

Re: How often should I replace my Bronze distributor ge - 02/07/10 06:06 PM

I use the Milodon in mine.