Thread: Help. 454 eating distributor gear

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I've got a 454 that keeps eating the bronze distributor gear that's in it (told to use the softer b/c the cam is a roller). We thought it was the high volume oil pump but it still doing it a little. Any ideas?

Also, I'm having trouble with my fan belts flying off (alternator-crank-water-pump). I bought all aluminum pulleys and have tried to line it up the best I can. It's gotten better and typically stays on at idle but flies off if you get any real rpm.

Any ideas are sincerely appreciated.

First problem is probley cam walk, easy fix with one of these


http://store.summitracing.com/partde...=KeywordSearch


Second is pulley alignment assuming you have the correct pulleys installed.

Thanks for that tip; I've never even heard of one of those things and I've talked to dozens of people about this problem and had it looked at by a good mechanic.

"Also, I'm having trouble with my fan belts flying off (alternator-crank-water-pump). I bought all aluminum pulleys and have tried to line it up the best I can. It's gotten better and typically stays on at idle but flies off if you get any real rpm."

You're gonna have to line the pulleys up with a straight-edge. Even a good, straight yardstick will work.

Thanks for the tip! I figured alignment of some kind was the problem, but I've never had a motor fight me this hard on alignment. There's this slacking of the belt that occurs after I let off the gas (the motor is pushin 700 horsies) and is quite responsive so it revs up quick and comes back down quick. That coming back down or when I let off of a high idle is when the belt comes off.

Get ya some deep grooved pulleys, like this

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...=KeywordSearch

the cam button will help if you do not have one you will need one . and you will have to set the end play no more than .004 but if you have a mark 6 you do not need one .it has a plate that keeps it from waking that has two srews to front of block behind the top timming gear. i used this cam in the mark 4 and 5 to but you have to use the mark 6 timming set .why do i use this type of cam? you do not have to worry a bout a positive stop. the plate keeps the cam from moving there is something to look at . not all bronzes are equal some of the bronzes is to soft and with hi volume pump will take them out fast.and the dist gear need to be check to make sure the dist gear is running in the milddle so the dist is not to hi or low this will eat the gear out to .this can be check with white grease or oil paint past type at the hobbie store if you have a msd with slip coller you can move it if not you will have to play with shims or put the dist in a lathe and make a cut on it were it sites on the intake. here is some thing to think about to if the cam bore is not true. bore up hill or down hill and not true to the crank bore on the block the cam will move in or out .with flat lifter type cam this is not a big deal the lifters are cut with some crown on them keeping the cam from moving

Thanks a bunch! That info is truly insightful! Thanks to everybody who has posted. If there's anymore ideas out there, please give them.

Now that you mention it, I am having a problem with the distributor setting in right. Every distributor I've ever dealt with just sat right down on the intake but this one, at least before you bolt it down, wants to sit just a hair high. I assume shimming is advisable? Also, I'm having REAL trouble getting the distributor holder to actually hold the distributor and keeping it from turning. Does anyone know of a good distributor holder. Seems like a crappy design: the holder just sits cock-eye across the distributor base. Yes, I don't have a lot of experience with the fine points of tuning a motor. I can build one, but this is the first one that I've ever tried to get all the kinks worked out on. All my previous were just stock and went right together.

if this engine has been deck a lot and the heads to the block will get short and the dist will need to be check. there is some room on the oil pump drive but i have seen this if you bottom the oil drive it will push on the gears in the pump and tear the bottom of the pump and you will have a hard time keeping the dist from moving. do not shim it till you know were the dist gear is setting with the cam gear. check it the way i told you. there is no short cuts. if this is a dart block the dist will not sit in rigth the block needs to be trimed the back on 8wall hit the dist bore and will keep the dist up if you shim up to much you will lose the oil pump drive and burn the engine up from no oil and yes i have seen this to

Deep groove pulleys may make the problem worse, and will be a band-aid fix anyway. The solution is to align the pulleys. When you're revvin high, and big horses to boot, anything over 1/16" is gonna throw your belt. It can be a pain, but once it's right, then it's right.