Reply to "Joules5: non bypassing oil filter"

> The Blue Oval Performance/Crane steel gear sounds like the hot tip to me.

I'm hoping it is the gear to run with an 8620 core as that's what I purchased.
For austempered ductile iron cores, I'd probably try the Ford Motorsport gear,
though the Crane gear should work. I've got 200K miles on the stock hydraulic
roller cam and gear in my Mustang so I know it works.

> My observations about the distributor gear & cam lobe wear problems are: the
> problems seemed to arise with the shift of parts manufacturing in China; not
> every cam or every distributor gear had a problem. So is it a quality control
> issue?

Part of it was quality control but not all. I think some is due to materials
and also the removal of the ZDDP anti-scuffing additive from automotive oils.
ZDDP is a zinc additive that helps prevent scuffing (important when new cars
came with flat tappet cams) but was removed because it hurts catalytic
converter life when an engine starts burning oil. GM engine oil supplement
(EOS) has a lot of ZDDP in it. Also, diesel or motorcycle oil has ZDDP.
15W-40 Mobil Delvac is a conventional oil for diesels with ZDDP and 5W-40
Delvac 1 is synthetic (Delvac 1 is the diesel oil equivalent to Mobil
1). I'm told Bardahl 1 is the same stuff as GM EOS but is much cheaper
(available at Wal Mart). I run Delvac in my flat tappet engines.

> (my excuse is old age)

Heh, heh, heh.

Dan Jones