Thread: Gear Drive Question

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I am installing the Pete Jackson gear drive and what is the "Cam Button" for in the center of the cam gear?

The cam button keeps the cam from walking back and forth....Seeing as how there is no more chain to do it?

Why a gear drive, anyway??? All they do is put a lot of harmonics into the engine that aren't good for anything..... Just wanna sound like a blower???? Certainly no performance improvements to come from the switch.....

Yep Prostreet, like you I was going to run a gear drive because I do like the whine, but the guys on here talked me out of it, and every time this subject comes up on any forum there are tons of negative responses. People have said they have lost engines etc from them. So I stick to my tried and true double roller chains.

I think if you ask this question on 10 forums you will get almost 100 percent feedback not to do it. Lots of guys have said they have pulled them out after a short while and gone back to conventional chains.

Don

yea...i have read a lot of input on the gear drive and people have different opinions on the subject. I just thought i would try it seeming the engine is coming right back out in 9-10 monthes for the blower engine...also...yes i want it for the wanna blower wine...lol

It'll sound real cool to you for 10 minutes. After that, it's just a pain in the ***.

lol...thats what i keep hearing...it sounds cool driving by you but if your the person driving you'll be think "these things are coming out!!!"

do a search on here for "gear drive" you'll see some pretty interesting info.

I use them on everything I build. I have my own reasons for using them. In my opinion they do what I want to accomplish. The biggest problem in when people decide to buy one is how much they cost. This is a perfect product of you get what you pay for. By the way, if you buy a good one and set it up correctly they don't make any noise. Just my 2 cents.
Ken

I have run Pete Jackson gear drives in three small block Chevy engines, and [knock on wood], I have never had a problem. Another forum memeber said he knows a guy that has upwards of 80,000 miles on an engine with a PJ gear drive, and it is still going strong. I have read all about the harmonics issue, but I have never heard a report of a hot street engine failure because of a gear drive. If you use a brand name like PJ or Edelbrock, and it is installed correctly, I don't foresee a problem. If you want the noise, I say, "go for it."

I'm gonna be running my first pete jackson gear drive in my 351 Cleveland.
I too bought it for the whine, and easy degreeing of the cam.
I've always run the true double roll chains but decided to go with the gear drive
this time,since it's just a weeked car.
I had a choice to buy either noisy or quiet, I got the noisy.
Now after everyone's been talking about them I hope I made the right choice.
I want to hear other things that might be happening in the motor. Kurt

This has come up before, and people have opinions both ways.

Twenty-two years ago I bought a 69 Camaro, the guy I bought it from spent four years building it. His girl friend’s father built the engine, he built and raced big block Chevy engines in a 67 Camaro God rest his soul. Ron told me about the car and how he showed the young guy how to drive it hard because he put the engine together. I never had any problems with it. The guy I sold it to had to sell it because he couldn’t keep his foot out of it he got to many tickets. Ron used a PJ gear drive unit and I really like the sound. The car had a 350 trans with a shift kit, 4:11 rear end. If I drove the car for a long distance it was tough on the ears with the 4:11 keeping the rpm’s up. I couldn’t tell how fast I was going but running a little slower then the other cars I think it was around 2500 rpm, at the time I used the tach because the odometer was way off. The gear drive was loud. Today I don’t think I would be able to handle the noise with the constant ringing in my left ear now. Light to light it was great. I sold it bought it back, sold it again, then the guy that built it originally bought it back saying he would never sell it again. That car was so clean I would polish the floor pans underneath the car, it was black, black vinyl top, black interior.

Richard

This is a good example of, "if it works, don't fix it!" Sure, the odd gear drive works, but lots more fall to pieces and I've seen them take the front end right off the camshaft. I shouldn't complain, I've made some good dollars pulling them out of guy's engines, but I'd rather not have to do it.

i build and machine engines stock to race engines. them pj gear drives make good paper weights. if you know any thing about what they do and how they work you would not use one. the power stroke is not as smooth as one would think with the floating idler gears they turn the cam gear in to a ratchet and add harmonics they are not a donovan or milodon 3 gear drive they are not really the same but still strait cut steel gears will add harmonics if you can tell me how much is good for any engine? or to much you will know things bust less is better and that would be a chain or belt drive.no gear drives in any engines i build

Well, there you have it!

Yea...i put it on today and you were right...those things are loud as hell..lol