Thread: Ever Had Distributor Gear Failure?

Originally Posted by RoverP6B

Has your V8 engine ever suffered from the above? If so, how many kilometres had the engine covered, and did you receive any warning signs prior to failure?

When the skew gears were replaced, was a fault found that may have caused the failure or was it more down to just wear and tear and the style in which you drove?

Appreciate your feedback,
Ron.

I have seen one. it was caused by very poor oil filtering due to a badly fitted oil cooler, and subsequent blocking of the oil weep hole in the cam gear. This was after 20 000km or so. Other possible causes include: unsuitable oil, (black and gold etc.). too much pressure from the oil pump, incorrect assembly of the cam spacer.

Reading links from the 202 dissy thread, failure from abnormally high oil pump drive load at racing speeds is possible.

If the camshaft has been replaced with an aftermarket Billet cam then usually the cam manufacturer recommends that a compatible dissy gear be matched to the harder than stock camshaft gear, usually a composite bronze or other comparable dissy gear, Regards Frank.

Tank wrote,...

If the camshaft has been replaced with an aftermarket Billet cam then usually the cam manufacturer recommends that a compatible dissy gear be matched to the harder than stock camshaft gear, usually a composite bronze or other comparable dissy gear, Regards Frank.

Hello Frank,

I was not aware of the camshaft gear being an integral part of aftermarket items available for the Rover V8. Can you please site an example of a manufacturer that does this?

It was my understanding that the camshaft gear as applying to Rover V8 camshafts, was seperate and was located on the nose of the shaft, retained by a key. So you buy the camshaft of your choice and then you buy the camshaft gear, either OEM or pattern part.

Ron.

In 27 years of being associated with Land Rovers and in clubs I have never heard of anyone having that problem. In fact this is the first time I have ever seen the problem on a forum.

Maybe if the spring in the oil pump relief valve were changed to a stiffer one , it could put extra load on the gear. You didn't do that did you?

BTW , yes the skew gear is separate from the cam. I just pulled the front end of engine to turn the damn thing around as I had it on backwards.
Regards Philip A

Ive seen 2 damaged ones, both were from improper fitment to the camshaft and its locating keyway. From memory both engines were in for overhaul and upgrades due to age but both were running at the time.

PhilipA wrote,...

In 27 years of being associated with Land Rovers and in clubs I have never heard of anyone having that problem. In fact this is the first time I have ever seen the problem on a forum.

Maybe if the spring in the oil pump relief valve were changed to a stiffer one , it could put extra load on the gear. You didn't do that did you?

Hello Philip,

Please don't get me wrong,..I have not had a problem in this regard, merely just asking. My original 3.5 engine ran for 33 years and 327,000km and on removal the skew gears displayed insignificant wear, almost like they had never been used.

But on the other hand I have seen pics on another forum where the gears failed in only a few thousand km, the teeth worn away. Incorrect fitment was the problem so it seemed.

I have also heard that increasing oil pressure above the factory standard can also lead to premature failure.

There has also been a suggestion that the camshaft retaining plate or the cam button can be responsible for increasing the wear that the gears experience.

Ron.

Originally Posted by RoverP6B

Tank wrote,...

Hello Frank,

I was not aware of the camshaft gear being an integral part of aftermarket items available for the Rover V8. Can you please site an example of a manufacturer that does this?

It was my understanding that the camshaft gear as applying to Rover V8 camshafts, was seperate and was located on the nose of the shaft, retained by a key. So you buy the camshaft of your choice and then you buy the camshaft gear, either OEM or pattern part.

Ron.

Ron , my mistake, I foolishly believed that like every other engine manufacturer LR would have the dissy drive gear as an integral part of the camshaft casting. No wonder LR V8's have so many problems I have never seen such a ****ed up idea for locating the dissy drive gear, with a keyway for christ's sake, a bit of wear on the key and timing would be all over the place.
Never ever having looked at a LR V8 cam I foolishly assumed that like all other v8 cams its' dissy drive would be part of the cam, so as I said prev. if the aftermarket cam was a billet cam it would have a harder gear drive and destroy a stock dissy gear. Sorry for the confusion, I will consult the Work Shop manual in future before I shoot my self in the foot, Regards Frank.

of course...

its a bit like landrover wheels that are always falling off because they only have 5 wheel nuts instead of 6 like a landcruiser used to...


haaaang on......