Distributor Gear Issues

So, I've had to replace the distributor 3 times in the last 2 weeks due to gears stripping. I have also replaced the shaft that drives the gear as the last time it stripped also. Well, this morning the 4th gear stripped on me while driving to work. How can I fix this and what is causing all of these problems? BTW the motor is an 86 2.3T

You got metal contaminants from the stripped gears, in the engine and most likely particle(s) are jamming up the oil pump, which either brakes the shaft drives the gear, or strips the gear. This will continue until the engine is thoroughly cleaned, including the oil pump (or replace it) We have seen this pattern many times before. Also check the distributor shaft for side play.

That's sucks !

I've also heard that a worn out Auxiliary Shaft causes this. Weather it be the shaft it self or the bearings.
I've read that the shaft housing area can become worn as well. I'm not 100% certain but look for sharp edges inside the housing it fits into.
Some say you can open up the oil port to that area and that helps. And of course, you now know to let your engine temps get up before driving off to work. Let your oil thin out from this moment on.


+1, yeah that sucks.
Thats one of my biggest worries with these engines. I read about it all the time. Try searching Auxiliary Shaft or Distributor Gear.
Dang

that happened to me about two years ago... Didn't bother trying to replace the dizzy gear or aux shaft, went with a new motor since it had to pretty much be taken out to drop the pan and clean it all out.

I do think that the problem stems from the fact that the oil additives the older motors need are no longer in the oil... More specifically, zinc (zddp).

Ideally, get an aux shaft and dizzy gear from the same motor, drop the oil pan, clean up the bits and pieces, change the oil pump and run a zddp additive!

A machinist told me that the Valvoline Racing Oil still has Zinc.
I'm just not sure what viscosities are available.
You guys should really try the Ford Diesel 15w-40. I've had excellent results. My oil stays clean through out the 3K mile life cycle. Good stuff and cheap at Walmart.

Get oil that is grade SL. IIRC SM has half the ZDDP and SN has basically none. Most Mobil 1 High Mileage is SL.

steve

I have had the same problem with the gear stripping also. New shaft and distributor.. and this has happened on 2 different motors... 1 new and one with about 85k .. one thing i did find is that BOTH distributors were missing the brass thrust washer between the gear and the housing.. dont know if this was the problem but i NOW pull the distributor every 5 to 10k and check the gear... oil may also play into this as i was running 10w40 and i think it may have been too thick and created a situation where the pump was straining to move it. also a high volume oil pump will strain the gears.. learned that the hard way.

I had this happen on one of mine too. After having it replaced a few times I wound up getting rid of the car. I was told by a mechanic that something else was bent.

I have read that going with a high pressure oil pump can cause this problem. Because of this I have only installed stock regular flow oil pumps, and to this day I have never had a gear strip(Knock on wood), not even in my race motor.