Silent Cam Gear

[SkidRo]

My 140 cam gear has two set screws. I noticed them when I had the powerpack out for gaskets and seals. Unfortunately, I did not record any data on the cam or cam gear so I have no idea what's in the engine as I bought it this way. It does have a gentle lope to it.

[erco]

I'm still running the same 2304 cam & gear (GM, IIRC) I bought from Clarks 40 years ago. Low miles, cam still measured good when I tore down the engine last year.

[pvholgado]

They call it silent because the car will be silent after it fails. I remember the old nylon faced gear son mouse motors (Chevy small block) back in the '70s. The nylon would fail and throw the timing chain. Always replaced them with a solid steel gear. Dennis

lost ONE IN MY 69' GOAT- AT 60K MILES-

[Dennis66]

Yeah, my kid brother rolled one in his '69 Kingswood wagon. 350k had it wound up tight. Bent 14 of the16 valves. We always replaced the nylon coated gears with a solid steel. Dennis

[cnicol]

Your cam's set screws are an advanced counter-measure that prevents the gear from slipping. This modification is usually reserved for high-performance or racing engines.

Is your cam gear all aluminum?

"Silent" cam gears were either an aluminum hub with nylon teeth or all-fiber construction. Neither of these composite gears are as durable as the proven all-aluminum gear.