Or a factory steel gear....I just had to send mine back to MSD to have the iron gear pressed off....After about 50 miles the steel cam had already started to chew and smear the teeth on the iron gear pretty noticeably. It was CrapTastic. Scott Posted using two Dixie cups and a medium length piece of string.
Yes they both will work, my prefrance is for the bronze just for durability. I have found them to wear a bit more evenly without putting much wear on the cam gear.
Damn Scott, that sucks. Just be glad it didn't shatter the iron gear. Had that happen once while doing a run in to set timing. Cost me a lower end and oil pump. Thats hard to explain to the wife lol.
I was kinda worried about that....On one hand I was afraid the bronze would wear too fast cause its so soft,but on the other hand,the steel on steel is bound to be pretty lash-y I would think...? In the end I went with steel,just due to the factory use of steel gears and the number of high mileage 5.0s out there running strong. We will see how smart my choice was once I get a few thousand miles on the thing...it might just implode on me.lol! Scott Posted using two Dixie cups and a medium length piece of string.
Oh shiiiiiiiit! That's the kind of bad luck that usually seems to follow me around! Scott Posted using two Dixie cups and a medium length piece of string.
Sound like a typical Ford to me, wouldn't run. LOL But seriously check for a vacuum leak, that will make one surge. What about the MSD I had a 6al go bad and it had erratic spark and trimming issues. Make sure the cab gaskets are sealing good. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
To answer a few questions. Gas is new. Distributor has the right gear. I will hunt down a vacuum gage and try that method. I will go thru, once again, of finding TDC of #1. Balancer is aftermarket, the right one with the marks highly visible and not a cheap off shore version. I am still confused as to why the light works off #5 and not #1
Have you pulled the #1 spark plug and verified that you are actually getting spark at that plug? Could be a bad contact in the dist cap.
If durability is a concern, use the steel gear. Ford installed a steel gear on the factory distributors with roller cams and personally I've only seen blown up bronze gears not steel ones.
Yeah I got a bad ford motorsport wire out of the box one time. It drove my nuts trying to figure it out. I cut open the bad wire and it had about one inch of core missing in the middle of the wire. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using H.A.M.B. mobile app
If it ran well before you changed manifolds then I would suspect a vacuum leak. If it ran well before and you changed cam then I would suspect a timing problem. Use Berrymans Carb cleaner as a vacuum leak finder. Get motor running and spray Berrymans around the manifold and the base of the carbs. If the motor dies then that is where your leak is. Also one thing that has served my well in the past is to pull the valve covers, Bring #1 cyl up to TDC and see where the timing mark is on the Dampener. This will tell you if the internals are close to correct. Then Check the lash on all Cyl. Then check each plug wire with a meter and reassemble. Good luck
If you have to change wires to get a reading it sounds like #1 is not firing!Also if the timing marks are close when using #5 wire I would say it is way out of time! I would OHM out #1 and also check the cap! JMO , ROY.
Checked #1 with the meter and reading1248. Researching the net tells me that a Ford Racing 9mm wire should read 1000 ohms per foot and this one is 18 inches so low but is it good enough?
All I swapped out was the manifold plus added a manual fuel pump. I will have a look for a manifold leak as well. Thanks to all that are contributing.
I have used the bronze gear on many and never had a problem. Everything from stock up to stroker builds. They have always worked great. But thats me.
Update so far, no vacuum leak, runs decent but still not able to time using #1 wire. Have it around 12-14 off #5 with no vacuum advance. Lots of power off the line, wants to stall on deceleration and idles crappy. Been on several round the block and to the local auto store maybe 3-4 miles away. Seems to be running really rich and plugs are black.
Not trying to be rude, but you do know that the cylinders on a Ford are numbered differently than a Chevy right? #1 on a Ford 302 is: Passenger 1--2--3--4 Driver 5--6--7--8
Bronze gears wear out faster. Steel gears do not as long as it's a roller cam. Also, did you check your distributor cap? Connections? Plugs go bad?
Those Mallory Unilites are sensitive to power spikes, and if the brown wire is loose (ground) it will burn up. I would try a new module. I cooked mine - ran real rough
If all we did here was swap intakes,and add some carb, we should look at these- Intake leaks= confirmed a NO around the intake. Carbs themselves?,firing order= if dist(not dizzy) has been removed and re-installed,(firing order)timing,and carb setting. We cant be too far off.... let's not get too crazy with OP's,and focus on the problems.
I think I may have found the issue and will post the results if positive. Might be a case of technology getting in the way of a simple system...stay tuned.
For the record, if you buy a timing light with a timing advance knob, learn how to use it !! With the knob set to the max, it does not give an accurate reading but will give some indication, although not the right one, of what another plug is firing at. Tightened the carbs to the manifold which seems to help. I think that my vacuum advance is not working as no change after timing with it plugged in. Back to the drawing board. Thanks to all that offered their assistance and another reason why I spend way too much time on here.
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