Rover 215 camshaft gear issue
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 12:25 pm
Good morning.
I had a customer drop off a 1994 Rover 215 engine with an aftermarket camshaft that he rebuilt and wanted to start and break in the camshaft on my test stand.
Prior to start up, I primed the engine with a dummy distributor and drill which yielded a pressure of 40 psi.
After setting the distributor back in place, engine was timed and run for the break in period for the new camshaft.
After 12 minutes, the engine just cut off. Oil pressure was between 35 psi at 2000 rpms prior to cut off.
After close examination, I found that the camshaft drive gear for the distributor stripped.
Yesterday, I took the front cover off to find the issue with the gear.
Disassembling the timing gear I found the following:
1. No lubrication on the drive gear at all.
2. The washer holding the drive gear totally enclosed the keyway. There were no grooves on the washer to allow oil to go thru.
3. The drive gear was solid on both sides - no groove on either side.
4.Keyway in camshaft had the correct spacing to allow oil to pass thru.
5.The hole in the camshaft to allow oil was not in line with the keyway. The hole was offset from the keyway in which the timing gear was covering the hole.
It was obvious that there was no lubrication to the drive gear.
The main question that I have - should the oil weep hole be in line with the keyway?
Thank you for your help.
I had a customer drop off a 1994 Rover 215 engine with an aftermarket camshaft that he rebuilt and wanted to start and break in the camshaft on my test stand.
Prior to start up, I primed the engine with a dummy distributor and drill which yielded a pressure of 40 psi.
After setting the distributor back in place, engine was timed and run for the break in period for the new camshaft.
After 12 minutes, the engine just cut off. Oil pressure was between 35 psi at 2000 rpms prior to cut off.
After close examination, I found that the camshaft drive gear for the distributor stripped.
Yesterday, I took the front cover off to find the issue with the gear.
Disassembling the timing gear I found the following:
1. No lubrication on the drive gear at all.
2. The washer holding the drive gear totally enclosed the keyway. There were no grooves on the washer to allow oil to go thru.
3. The drive gear was solid on both sides - no groove on either side.
4.Keyway in camshaft had the correct spacing to allow oil to pass thru.
5.The hole in the camshaft to allow oil was not in line with the keyway. The hole was offset from the keyway in which the timing gear was covering the hole.
It was obvious that there was no lubrication to the drive gear.
The main question that I have - should the oil weep hole be in line with the keyway?
Thank you for your help.