Quote:
Originally Posted by boblyon1
Matt - just an aside to this thread. I have a 351W stroker in my 633 SPF and learned the hard way that the distributor gear tends to wear if you have a high performance oil pump. I didn't catch it in time and ruined the crank and had to re-build the engine. Good idea to check the distributor gear wear every now and then. My mechanic says the 351W is famous for this problem. |
Unfortunatly, this is true. Same with the 302W.
There are a lot of reasons for this, too. In all the research I'v done, I have not been able to point to one thing and say that's what causes it most of the time. But, here's a list of things that seem to be common facters (in no particular order). And, I suspect that if you add 2-3 together, it's more likely to occur.
- Wrong gear. Especially with aftermarket distributers and comp cams gears. I'm a victim of that, but it was my own dumb fault.
-- steel on iron is a bad thing, and wears really fast
-- bronze gears wear fairly quickly (relativly speaking)
- Incorrect installation. Again, especially with aftermarket parts. Builder doesn't check depth and engagement during installation.
- Shear pin breaks/shears: this is pretty common, but usually causes the engine to die uimmediatly, since the distributer also stops turning.
-- shear pin too small
--
oil is too "thick"
-- high pressure
oil pump
-- cheap/low quality oil pump, with too much drag
-- over revving the engine with cold oil and an open circuit cooler.
I don't think I'v ever heard of a sheared pin with a high quality (Ford or Melling) high volume pump. I'm sure it must happen somewhere, but it doesn't seem to be much of an issue.
I run a Ford HV/SP pump, ARP billit drive shaft, Mallory Unilite distributer. I get excellent oil pressure with Royal Purple 5W-30. 6 years of driving and racing, never a problem with those components.