I really can not say anything about the end play on the cam. The same builder put it in both times and it is working fine now. It does have a HV
oil pump and still does. The only difference between the two builds is the dizzy gear used. everything else was done exactly the same by the same person. At the time of the first build, the poly gears were not available yet. They were available when the engine was repaired, and i asked both the builder and Comp if that is what should be used and neither at the time recommended it. The builder because it was so new and he had little experience with the plastic gear, and Comp just wouldn't commit after the first failure. I know that regular hyd. roller cams use a steel gear with no problem. However this is a "Retro Fit" roller cam and for some reason, they are different. As I have mentioned before, there is even a difference in the Comp Cams catalog. The regular roller cams have a note beside the listing specifying a steel dizzy gear. The Retro Fit rollers do not have this note. So even in the Comp Cams own catalog, there is a discrepency between the two types of roller cams. The only parts i installed were the dizzy, the carb and the alternator. The rest of the engine was built by the builder. And to clarify about him recommending a cast gear, that was only on the engines that were built with the same cam as mine. He of course does not recommend a cast gear for all applications. He has built over a dozen engines that have the exact same components as mine. I was only saying he recommended a cast gear in those applications. And again all the other engines that are exactly like mine have not had a problem using a cast gear. Oh and Comp told the BBB that the cam is not what wore out. They told them the dizzy gear failed and the cam is fine. I think you can clearly see from the pic that was a lie.
Hope that clarifies things
Mike