Is my Cam gear shot?

[bad_religion_au]

I know they are pretty bad photo's, but i just pulled my timing case cover off to re-seal it from the leak, and noticed that there is a ring of resin like material between the centre of my cam gear, and the gear "ring".

I noticed this resin/plastic is cracked in places and there is a chunk about an inch long missing from the resin. I have never looked at the cam gear before, so is this normal, or is it time to change out the cam gear?

I have a spare one that came with a stack of parts (a rebuild that the P/O never did) that looks like it is made as a single piece (no groove or resin between the ring gear and the centre hub), Will this fit the camshaft that is in the rig, or are they different sizes where they press onto the cam?

Also are the gears just held on with the circlip? do they normally require heating/freezing to seperate or put back together?

I have tried to hilight what i think are problems in the gear in the photo's, but they are cell phone pics, and it's dark...

Also to add, it was running like a top, I just got sick of the leak from the timing cover.

 

[grant5127]

Yes.. that is the dampener ring and its on its way out...(harmfull HCs have taken its toll)... the other gear without it is aftermarket and with no dampener will produce a gear to gear noise (whine) that is not desired by many.. I always just pull the cam and use a press to r&r the gear...

 

[bad_religion_au]

Thanks, so re using this one is a bad idea i assume? Is that dampening ring all that holds the gear to the hub??? that'd be bad if it let go.

gear whine won't bother me as much as not driving the 45 would.

what are harmful HC's? hydrocarbons?

guess i get to pull the cam! gives me an excuse to redo side cover/rocker cover/ front plate gaskets i suppose...

 

[Spike Strip]

Re-using is bad. When it fails it will do bad things to the rest of the stuff around it.

I don't notice the whine (if any) on mine. Stock type gears are still available from Toyota if you prefer going that way.

 

[Steamer]

I wonder, has anyone seen one of these cam gears slip or come apart? I ask this because when I changed mine it looked like yours with the cracks and voids & with a little prying with a screwdriver behind it I could make oil ooze out of the cracks. After pressing on a new gear, Just for kicks I tried to press apart the used two piece gear in a 50 ton press & couldn't do it. I got it to flex a tiny bit but fearing a shatter I backed off and it returned when released. And this was after having used a torch on the gear when I tried to press it off the cam with an under powered arbor press & failed. When I was done with it I felt that the old gear with the cracked insert would lasted a long time. Just wondering.