I screwed up and didn’t have my machinist check the oil pump and distributer drive shaft fit in the distributer Dura Bond bushing on my new 500 bracket engine. Yep, you guessed it the shaft doesn’t fit in the installed bushing. Since he is a local shop and doesn’t specialize in MOPAR build I’m sure he didn’t use the bushing installation and burnishing tool C-3053 when he installed the bushing. He probably just drove it in which would be okay if the shaft fit. Per my Dodge shop manual; As the burnisher is pulled through the bushing by tightening the removal nut, the bushing is expanded tight in the block and burnished to the correct size so the shaft will fit. The engine is installed and almost ready to start. I spent the past three hours looking on E Bay for a C-3053 tool. None are listed. I found a couple places that sell new ones, $100 to $140 depending on who you buy from. Way too much for a one time deal. I’m going to check around in the morning and see if anyone locally has a C-3053 tool that I can borrow. If I can’t find one, what are my options short of spending $100 on a C-3053 bushing installation and burnishing tool? If no other options are available and I can’t find a tool to barrow, I’ll have buy the tool. I need to get this thing running, racing started last week end here!

With the oil pump removed . Put some lubricant on the intermediate shaft and tap it down through the bushing. Get a big screw driver and something that you will be able to turn it with and spin the shaft around a few times until you feel it loosen up and you'll be good to go .

I have always knocked them in the block and used an old distributor/oil pump driveshaft with a helical type cut in the shaft. Acts more like a ream than a burnishing tool. The cut I made with a exhaust cut off tool and cut it in a spiral pattern like a drill bit. It has worked for me so far. HTH Beep

Quote:

---

I have always knocked them in the block and used an old distributor/oil pump driveshaft with a helical type cut in the shaft. Acts more like a ream than a burnishing tool. The cut I made with a exhaust cut off tool and cut it in a spiral pattern like a drill bit. It has worked for me so far.

---

The shop manual specifically says in bold “DO NOT REAM THIS BUSHING”, but it doesn’t say why. This is an option though.

Long story short, I borrowed the correct burnishing tool from a Dodge dealer I traded with quite a bit. I left a deposit but the tool did not cost anything to use. Worth asking.

Quote:

---

I borrowed the correct burnishing tool from a Dodge dealer I traded with quite a bit. I left a deposit but the tool did not cost anything to use.

---

That is one of the things I was planning on checking in the morning.

I have read this also, but as hard as they drive in, I can't imagine that it is an issue with the bushing holding in the block. Now that it is an old drive shaft that I use, it is not oversized as some reamers may be. It should still be checked before the cam is put in to see how tight it is. I just took one out of my cracked race block and I had to beat it out in pieces with a chisel. The intermediate shaft looked good as well. Let us know what you find/use. Beep

I bought one from miller last year. Can't remember how much it was but I think I paid $150 for the remover and installer. It works really slick. I've spent more money on more ridiculous stuff.

I use the oil pump drive shaft to install the new bushings, no reamers, machining or honeing needed I use to use a brass punch to drive them in and then fight getting the tops back in shape so the shaft would slide into them properly without binding or sticking You might want to look at the top of the bushing to see if that is what he did If so you can use a reamer or a drill bit to remove the damaged area, do it slowly and take your time Remove the oil pump first and flush the passage out well before reassembling it and using it

I have had to chuck up the drive shaft in drill press and spin while holding a strip of emeory cloth to the shaft to polish and remove a .001 or 2 for better fit....

A couple of things. Remove the oil pump, and see if the shaft slides into the bushing. I had an oil pump, where the broach was too small. Second, if the bushing is still too tight, check with RyanJ on where to buy the bushing that is sized to be installed without the Miller tool.

I use a small flexhone to size to fit.

Another option is to use a Pioneer # PC780 bushing instead of the Mopar bushing. The Pioneer bushing is sized to fit the distributor drive shaft properly after it is driven into the bore in the block without any resizing. This Pioneer bushing should be available at most automotive parts stores or machine shops for about $2-$3.

i would just pop it out from the pump hole area and fit it outside the block where you can work easier.

I will add my standard statement to this thread, "Doing it wrong and getting away with isn't the same as doing it right".

so what is the min/max clearence .001to.004 with the high end causing dist ware on its bushing?how much does oil type[10w or 20w or 70w] come into play here?

Right or wrong I fixed the problem. I have three new shafts so I tried each one. I also measured the shaft diameter of each one. There was about .001 to .0015 difference between the largest to smallest. The smallest diameter shaft would slip about 5/16 inch into the bushing before binding. I chucked this shaft up in my drill press and polished the shaft with 360 emery cloth for about 30 seconds followed by 600 sandpaper. The shaft went in about two inches before binding, so I gave it another 30 seconds. This time the shaft went all the way in with a nice sung fit. Thanks guys for all the good ideas.