Oil pump driveshaft gear question

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txstang84

txstang84

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Hey all, potentially simple question here...I want to use a hydraulic roller cam in my 383, and from what I can tell, I need to run a bronze gear and every one of them I've seen says not for extended street use. I'd like to be able to run this for exactly that-extended trips if I so desire. Is there an alternative or am I gonna have to ditch the roller idea and go with a standard flat tappet so I can drive it more frequently or over long distance?
 
You are misunderstanding what they mean by "limited use". The bronze gears can wear out faster. That's why they are bronze. So the drive wears and not the cam. Basically plan to inspect yours after 6mths (end of summer) and if it's shwoing wear, expect to change it. I know some cars that I've seen zero wear, others that will go through one in about 6K miles. So if you are looking for a high milage engine, you will want to keep an eye on the drive gear. They don't mean long distance trips. They mean long service life.
I am not sure who makes iron gear roller cams for big blocks. I think you can usually get that as an option but it's more money. Some manufacturers make small block cams that way too.
 
is the hydraulic roller cam ground on a billet steel core?
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I suspect it is, but I'm used to working on Ford 302s...and the later models had billet roller cams, but used a steel gear.

They don't mean long distance trips. They mean long service life.
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...that's all I needed to know. To me, mileage is mileage...obviously 1/4 mile cars are hard on parts due to high loads and RPMs, but if I'm running a car at the 1/4, that probably means I'm not driving a long distance to get there, and if I [attempt to] drive 800 miles to my Dad's place at an average somewhere north of 2k RPM, then I'm using it for a much greater duty cycle...in other words, should I expect it to fail or wear at an excessive rate. Thank you for your reply-that's kinda what I needed.

As a reply though-it's a Crane cam...they state a bronze gear must be used.
 
...guess I should've called Crane in the first place. The tech I just spoke with stated that low speed running and trying to use a HV or HP oil pump is what greatly reduces the service life, and since I'll be using it as mostly street driven vehicle he recommended a coated steel gear that would hold up anywhere from 3 to 10 times longer.
 
Well, they would know better than I. My rule is always billet cam = bronze gear but like I said, it's "like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get" in terms of life span of the bronze drive...lol
 
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