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Bronze Oil Pump Drive Gear

69 GeeTeeX

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Location
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Has anyone driven a newly rebuilt street engine for a couple hundred miles using a bronze gear and then changed over to a Melonized gear using the same camshaft? Just removed the bronze and installed the melonized? Hughes says on their website you can do this if the camshaft gear is cleaned? No other details.
 
I haven’t but I have used bronze with hydraulic roller cams. If Hughe’s recommends only the melonized gear I would swap them out. Not sure how you could clean the cam gear other than spraying a type of cleaner down on it then changing the oil. I sure wouldn’t pull the cam for a gear cleaning.
 
I can use either gear material but prefer the longevity of the melonized VS changing bronze gears every year because it’s softer. This is a street engine only.
 
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I purchased a melonized gear from Hughes. Called about using it after using bronze. Was told that if cam gear was clean, "absolutely" no bronze left on cam gear, then ok. Reasoning was the bronze is so soft and will kind of "ball up" if even the slightest bit left. If I understood correctly. Due to other reasons, I replaced my cam and went w the melonized.
 
Makes sense, I wondered why they said it had to be clean. So they’re saying clean as in no bronze material stuck onto the cam gear.

The melonized was on back order when I built the engine so I figured I would use bronze since it was the only option available, then change out later.
 
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I see your concern. What next? Continue with bronze or remove cam for cleaning before melonized installation?
 
You guys that are using the melonized gear for BB from Hughes, do you have a link or item number? Thanks.
 
Has anyone driven a newly rebuilt street engine for a couple hundred miles using a bronze gear and then changed over to a Melonized gear using the same camshaft? Just removed the bronze and installed the melonized? Hughes says on their website you can do this if the camshaft gear is cleaned? No other details.
My girlfriend’s father has, he cleaned it though. No problems.
 
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