intermediate shaft problem

[lordofrc]

i have a fresh 440 in my charger and it was running beautiful as far as i could tell until i gave it some gas and the thing came to a stop. after investigating i found that every tooth on the intermediate shaft that runs the distributor and oil pump was gone. It didnt look like they were broken off either, it looks as though they were ground off. Any advice, i dont really want to repeat this problem. Oh yeah, when i installed it i used plenty of assembly lube on it and the cam gear. The cam gear appears to be completly fine.

 

[Deleted member 214]

One place to check is the oil pump. If it is froze up it might cause your problem.

 

[Cranky]

Is this a stock shaft or an aftermarket piece? Almost sounds like you have the one that's used with a billet camshaft and the intermediate gear is bronze and will not work with any other type of cam.

 

[Meep-Meep]

One place to check is the oil pump. If it is froze up it might cause your problem.

Oh yeah, the old Honda CVCC engines did this all the time, except the oil pump and distributor were on two different places on the cam, so when the oil pump gear stripped the thing kept running until it blew up.

I'd definitely look into how freely the oil pump turns while it's attached to the block. Get a priming tool and try to turn it slowly. It should move pretty easily by hand, that is before you start to pick up oil. Also material compatibility can be a culprit too. Billet cams need a bronze gear.

 

[lordofrc]

i have a comp cams flat tappet hydraulic lifter cam, with what was a milodon steel intermediate gear. The oil pump feels okay, i used a power drill and it turned it just fine and puts out lots of oil pressure. I just got the new intermediate shaft but i am afraid to put it in, cause i dont want this to happen again.

 

[lordofrc]

is there any possibility that a faulty part may be at hand? Perhaps they didnt harden it enough in the quenching process... I really dont want to screw this motor up.

 

[beezee]

check the bushing in the block or install the intermediate shaft and check for excessive play

 

[Cranky]

The bushing could be worn to the point the cam is pushing the shaft away from it. Since the old one is gone, I'm wondering what is running around in your oil now and if any bearing or other damage....

 

[1wild&crazyguy]

I would check to se if the bushing was reamed to size, if the shaft was just shoved in and was sticking..it would then eat the bushing and gears.
There have been cases of the pump being froze ootb, happened with a 390 I built.