1953 210 with 17,500 miles on it since new. The car has been driving the last 20 years - not many miles per year though. I have the engine disassembled to replace the rear main seal and my question is: Do I replace the original fiber cam gear? Are they prone to early failures? I may put a couple of thousand miles on per year. It looks perfect.
Someone may come along with a different opinion but I would just keep it. If there's no visible damage and with so few miles I don't think there's anything to worry about. I did a similar thing on my 53 a couple of years ago and kept the OEM gear. No issues for me.
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1938 Master Business Coupe
1953 210 Sedan
I use the condition of the nozzle and the machined passage behind the front plate as a guide. If either or both are plugged with sludge causing the gear to run dry, I’d recommend replacement.
I use the condition of the nozzle and the machined passage behind the front plate as a guide. If either or both are plugged with sludge causing the gear to run dry, I’d recommend replacement.
That seems like a decent go/no-go method. The inside of the engine had that typical coating of black carbon on the non-rotating parts due to the use of non-dispersant oils back in the day but when I removed the plate that holds that oil feed it still looked clear and the nipple with the hole wasn't plugged up so I'm going to assume it was still oiling well. Thank you for the advice.