Distributor gear wear pattern ??

What should the wear pattern on the gear look like ? I have the shiny area a little towards the bottom, should it be centered on the gear ?

I am using a gasket under the dizzy, if I leave that off the gears would sit lower but then it will most likely leak... not ??

I've read somewhere NOT to use any gaskets under the dizzy.... ???

Here is what DUI told me when I added their HEI:

If there is no up and down movement in the shaft, then the distributor is bottomed on the oil pump. You will need to add a nylon distributor shim of correct thickness until the up and down play is achieved. Nylon distributor shims are available from Performance Distributors in thicknesses of .030", .060" and .100". When the correct shim has been determined, add the gasket and proceed with the final installation. Always use a gasket with the shims. Warning! Do not stack gaskets in an attempt to raise the distributor height on the intake. Gaskets will compress and the distributor will eventually bottom out. Always use a shim when necessary.
Another method of checking for bottoming, is applying machinists dye to the distributor gear. Spin the engine by hand several rotations. Remove the distributor and inspect the wear pattern. You should have an even pattern through the middle of the gear. If this is not the case, add distributor shims until the correct pattern is obtained.

well, I guess I have to pull the dizzy once again ... or I just lift it a little bit and cut the gasket, then lower it back down....

MYBAD79 said:

What should the wear pattern on the gear look like ? I have the shiny area a little towards the bottom, should it be centered on the gear ?

I am using a gasket under the dizzy, if I leave that off the gears would sit lower but then it will most likely leak... not ??

I've read somewhere NOT to use any gaskets under the dizzy.... ???

Click to expand...

More often then not, the dizzy needs to be shimmed up due to decking.
Having it too high is unusual, but not as bad as bottoming out on the pump extension shaft.
Perhaps your intake gaskets and head gaskets are thicker than normal, or the manifold/dizzy machined incorrectly.
That gasket is a dust/water intrusion gasket, and sees no pressure, but DOES keep dust out, and helps seal the internal compartment.
I would be tempted to disassemble the dizzy, and have the bottom collar turned down a tad, then shim it to heighth correctly.

I always used a gasket like provided to stop oil from leaking, no choice on that one....the end play I have used is usually pretty snug, but I have noted that top bearing can be pushed down a tad to increase it, and so I just bolt the dizzy down and check that end play by pulling the shaft up/down and if it has less the 1/16 inch of play, I leave it.....am I rong??? I look at all that play in the inherent design, and think of a crank trigger so wonder if I should bother or not....doing it the cheep way, get the pulley indexed with 4 holes drilled, and use a Ford or other crank sensor....

:chinese: