4W4K3

Hey everyone. I'm looking for a pair of new cam gears for my '85 and stumbled across these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/292076770249

Has anyone used those? I've read through the old threads about the original cam gears (928-105-530-01) going NLA, then eventually being replaced by 928-105-530-04. I'll probably pull the trigger on the official part but just curious on anyone's experience with this ebay alternative.

Cheers!

ROG100

Those cam gears are very good quality and I know a number of users that, so far, had no issues.
One big issue is that they do not have the timing marks on the back of the cam. Providing you know how to set up the timing without the marks you are good to go.

4W4K3

Thanks Roger! I'm going to give them a shot. Will marking the existing placement of the cam gears with a paint pen to the new ones suffice to maintain timing?

ROG100

Should be good.

Jerry Feather

I have some of these but I have not put them into service yet. They do have the marks on the back side. Look closely at the second picture where the part number is embossed and you can see the marks also embossed. They appear to be of excellent quality. There was a previous thread on this Forum about these.

4W4K3

Even better! They should be arriving this weekend. I'm just thrilled there was a solid alternative solution out there.

ROG100

Be very careful about misinformation regarding the timing marks. They have the "large" timing mark on the front of the cam gear - about 1/2" wide. They do not have the precise "small notch" on the rear of the cam gear which is used to set the timing.
If you use the "large" timing mark you could be way off on the timing.
Line up the old and new gear together and mark the small notch position on to the new gear from the old and all should be good.

soontobered84

But Roger, that would take all the "fun" out of changing cam gears!!

Jerry Feather

Amazing. What is referred to as the wide timing mark on the front of the sprocket is actually a wide recessed spot on the sprocket inside of which is a very precise single line/mark for timing. If you cannot align that with the line on the head, then by all means take your small file and duplicate that mark on the back of the sprocket; but the line appears to be almost exactly at the front (or back) of one of the sprocket teeth, so it should be no issue to align that with the head without putting a similar mark on the other side of the sprocket.

the flyin' scotsman

Its been a while so I checked a factory cam gear I have in my used parts collection.

The front notch is a direct translation of the gear key way which cannot be seen when installed. The rear timing notch is a precise indicator of where the gear should align with the mark on the cylinder head when #1 cylinder is at TDC. The rear notch is in the valley between 2 teeth (not on a tooth).

After these marks are aligned fine tuning can be then done per the WSM or Kens cam timing tool.

4W4K3

I wanted to follow back up on this, my car is back together and the new cam gears were perfect. For anyone else doing this job, definitely use a paint pen for the existing timing marks.

My right gear "jumped" while I was installing the timing belt, so be aware if you are moving the gear too far to the right or left that it may happen. As long as you have the flywheel locked you should be fine. Just a scary thing to see at first! I had to use a strap wrench and carefully bring the gear back to position. After getting everything lined up, the left gear was off by 1.5 teeth. I was able to correct this by removing the belt and then moving the left gear further counter clockwise than I would think was needed, but after the belt was tensioned it lined up perfectly.

As always, thank you all for your knowledge and support!

NickTucker

I am considering jumping into this fish pond. Both of mine are shot, $400+ each is a big pill to swallow, but so is an engine rebuild. Not an area to be dollar foolish...

Good to hear some have some experience with these gears. Can you give any updates if you have used them?

4W4K3

Hey Nick, yep 1500 miles later and they have performed perfect. I would highly recommend.

NickTucker

Thanks 4W4K3!

Geza

I have them - no issues - very pleased, nice product. Hard anodized as advertised - you can verify by putting a multi-meter on them and check for no continuity.