Distributor gear worn

[Jeepking1995]

So I have a stroker that has been rebuild twice due to cam bearing failures where they squeezed out, did a lot of research and talked to a lot of people, I decided to run ACL bearings, .025 clearance between cam bearing and journal, Swap spring bolt for solid pin, and run 20w-50 oil, after 200 miles I pulled the distributor for a separate reason, turns out my distributor gear is worn bad along with the cam gear that drives it, my oil pressure is at 60psi warm and when I rev it, it drops about 5 psi, from what I've read the oil is too thick and is cavitating, and because the oil is too thick it's putting strain on the oil pump drive gear wich is the distributor and cam gears, so I am getting a new distributor gear and hoping the cam wich is worn will hold up, I'm also going to run 10w-30 again, hopefully my bearing clearance is OK for that grade of oil and my oil pump isn't damaged, what is everyones thoughts on this situation, send it? I honestly have a feeling my bearings are going to fail again and have no idea what else to do

[Russ Pottenger]

Are you running a Melling M-81A or equivalent?

[mpgMike]

The heavier the oil viscosity, the more torque it takes to drive the oil pump. Your failure seems to be in the mechanism driving the oil pump. The engines were rated for 10W-30. I personally run 5W-30 in my 4.6 stroker and have excellent oil pressure. You will obviously need to do a repair, but when you get it back together, may I suggest running a lighter oil? Don't forget to use break-in oil with your new cam and hold it a little over 2k RPM for at least 20 minutes to break in the cam & lifters.

[dwg86]

You said you swapped the spring and pin for solid pin. How much did you set the camshaft endplay to? What brand camshaft did you use? Where you running an aftermarket distributor gear or factory?

[Jeepking1995]

Its a comp cams I set the endplay to .010-.015 if I remember right I did my research, as for the cam gear, this will be the 3rd cam it's been against, I was sure to inspect before install and there was no sign of wear