Spacer between cam gear and thrust plate

[jjg73]

Does a small spacer or thrust washer go between the cam gear and thrust plate? 340 running comp cams gear and cam. Was unsure if the gear itself ran against the thrust plate when fully seated or needed a small amount of play. Thanks!

 

[JimCoronette]

The gear should have built in spacing even when fully seated, no spacer required.

 

[jjg73]

The gear should have built in spacing even when fully seated, no spacer required.

Ok so will the gear come in contact then with the thrust plate at some point then? Also does the woodruff key notch into the eccentric? I lost the old one and having a difficult time finding the OE replacement

 

[JimCoronette]

I didn't see any noticeable wear from the cam gear on my thrust plate, so I'd say no.

I think that the distributor gear keeps the cam from riding too far forward or
backward.

Yes the key holds the cam gear and fuel pump eccentric cam in location on the camshaft. The washer and bolt hold the eccentric on the camshaft.

 

[440Coronet500]

The thrust plate is there to control the thrust of the camshaft. SB have the distributor located at the rear of the engine. As the cam/oil pump drive rotates it produces a forward thrust, hence the thrust plate. This is also why BB don't have a thrust plate, distributor in the front produces a rearward thrust, hence no thrust plate required. Hope this helps! 440'

 

[jjg73]

That is a perfect explanation! Thank you very much for that! Just trying to get the answers as to why I see what I see and not just a simple fix and be on my way!

 

[440Coronet500]

Remember to get the fuel pump eccentric and cupped retaining washer installed correct. The cam gear is retained by clamp load. The keyway is only for alignment and is not there to transmit torque between the gear/camshaft. The cupped retaining washer should be replaced when installing a new camshaft. Dura-Bond makes the kits there available from Summit for about 20 bucks. 440'

 

[jjg73]

Remember to get the fuel pump eccentric and cupped retaining washer installed correct. The cam gear is retained by clamp load. The keyway is only for alignment and is not there to transmit torque between the gear/camshaft. The cupped retaining washer should be replaced when installing a new camshaft. Dura-Bond makes the kits there available from Summit for about 20 bucks. 440'

Excellent, thank you! Hopefully the mailing system is still working well I haven't ordered anything since this "pandemic" has been going on. Looking at the bolt torque in the book it didn't seem that high of a torque to hold it in, and I definitely thought the woodruff held it in...

 

[440Coronet500]

I believe it's 35 ftlbs for the cam bolt. I usually put non locking loc-tite (blue) on the cam bolt during installation. 440'