Quote:

Quote:

Yo,

I finally had time to call around today and have yet to talk to any shop that has heard of or experienced problems with the coated gear. It seems that as long as the 10lb / 1000 RPM rule is followed, oil gets warmed up prior to abuse, and a reasonable viscosity is used no problems would be expected. If you have 100 psi cold at 100 rpm with 20w50 and hammer it out of the shop two minutes after start up this gear is not for you. Hope this helps out.



Did you speak with Crane at all? None of them cautioned against using them with HV pumps? If that is the case, I am going to cancel the order on my milodon gear tomorrow, as it hasn't even shipped yet (out of stock).

Thanks for the info!




Chase and I were " chewing the fat" recently on this topic, and here are some notes:


First, if it’s a new steel roller camshaft, prior to installation, put the wire wheel on the bench grinder, and THOROUGHLY burnish the gear surfaces. This will really help distributor gear life.

If the new roller cam is already in the engine, the coated steel gear should be good to use with any material camshaft, when using a sane oil pump. If you have a reasonable performance pump (plus 10-20 pounds), the coated gear should still be acceptable. If you have a HVHP oil pump (40-60# at idle, 100+# at 5000) with stock/near-stock bearing clearances, you’re going to need a bronze gear, and check it frequently to gauge the wear rate. Way too much load for reasonable longevity. The bottom line is, too many people really run TOO much oil pressure, and its a feel good maneuver many times more than anything. With the quality of todays oils, I dont think its half as much as important as people think.

If it’s a used roller cam, the bronze gear is necessary so it can mate to the existing worn cam gear surfaces.

Not all “bronze” gears are the same. Crane’s gears are a high grade of silicon bronze, that are a bit tougher than some of the softer items out there.I have seen some of the " bargain" bronze gears, and I wouldnt put them on a Fisher Price built car.Junk.I would have to confirm this to be 100% accurate, but my own research tells me there are only a few companies actually making the GOOD bronze gears for everyone. The Crane has always been my favorite, but cant say I have had problems ever with Milodon and MP as well. Setting up thrust and having a tight bushing helps.


Crane does offer small block MOPAR roller camshafts with pressed-on iron distributor drive gears, so a standard distributor gear can be used. I think some others do as well.

In a street driven application, a bronze gear may just simply be considered a consumable item over time. They can last from 10,000 to 40,000 miles, and perform perfectly fine in that period. Hell, if you changed it our every three years, big deal.

The influx of new camshafts, cores, hydraulic roller popularity as well as other industry changes, simply has made the need for a more universal gear show up. ( my opinion). That being said, the manufacters tried to develop a more, one size fits all cam gear. That and the fact people thought bronze gears were only for race cars, and, expensive, certainly came into play.

RIP Monte Smith

Your work is a reflection of yourself, autograph it with quality.

WD for Diamond Pistons,Sidewinder cylinder heads, Wiseco, K1 rods and cranks,BAM lifters, Morel lifters, Molnar Technologies, Harland Sharp, Pro Gear, Cometic, King Engine Bearings and many others.