The Ford Barn

gitudor1930 · 11-08-2020, 04:51 AM

1930 Fordor engine stopped turning suddenly last fall. Sat for winter and tried it again this spring. Would not move and cylinders didn't move when put in gear. .. Suspected stuck cylinders so filled them with ATF , waited , tried turning with crank, not much luck.then again..then rocked back and forth in gear and could see cylinders trying to move. Eventually freed up , but found it had been a stuck distributor drive gear and rocking had sheared teeth off.
It looks like it had lost the tab to the oil pump at some time before that - the break was not fresh on the tab. Did not find the tab in the oil pan.
Put in a drive gear from another Model A and it seemed to start doing the same thing.
Pulled camshaft and it appears fine. No marks on teeth...Timing gear is ok as well. Put camshaft back in and all seems well now but have only turned motor a few times. any thoughts before I put it all back together? Thanks

Bob Bidonde · 11-08-2020, 07:37 AM

Where did the broken teeth go?

Kurt in NJ · 11-08-2020, 08:08 AM

I have seen the oil pump tab sheared off on engines that were sitting with water in the pan that were turned over ---water frozen in the pump preventerd it from turning

abachman3 · 11-08-2020, 11:33 AM

I just had a case where the distributor shaft, in the distributor, froze in place and locked up the distributor causing the the shaft tab to shear off and the motor to stop.

Jack Shaft · 11-08-2020, 01:04 PM

Check your spring and plunger in the timing gear cover,the camshaft endplay actually 'floats',the plunger is under spring pressure.Id check the timing gear as well,basically something stopped when it shouldn't have causing what you are seeing.For a proper repair you need to find the root cause.

redmodelt · 11-08-2020, 02:09 PM

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I would think as there is not much room, that the tab might still be in the slot in the oil pump shaft. Did you pull the windage tray? If it did make it into the pan, which don't think it could, it could be stuck in some sludge or? Maybe it fell out when the engine was turned over to take pan off if you pulled the engine? Or just got dropped on the floor when you removed the oil pump.

gitudor1930 · 11-10-2020, 09:43 PM

Don't know , there were no chunks...Assumed they were ground up

gitudor1930 · 11-10-2020, 09:45 PM

Thanks for the spring idea....It seems in ok shape , but does not have 30-35 lbs of pressure as Andrews manual indicates. I can easily push it in .
Will replace that.

11-08-2020, 04:51 AM	#1
gitudor1930 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 4	Distributor drive gear shear 1930 Fordor engine stopped turning suddenly last fall. Sat for winter and tried it again this spring. Would not move and cylinders didn't move when put in gear. .. Suspected stuck cylinders so filled them with ATF , waited , tried turning with crank, not much luck.then again..then rocked back and forth in gear and could see cylinders trying to move. Eventually freed up , but found it had been a stuck distributor drive gear and rocking had sheared teeth off. It looks like it had lost the tab to the oil pump at some time before that - the break was not fresh on the tab. Did not find the tab in the oil pan. Put in a drive gear from another Model A and it seemed to start doing the same thing. Pulled camshaft and it appears fine. No marks on teeth...Timing gear is ok as well. Put camshaft back in and all seems well now but have only turned motor a few times. any thoughts before I put it all back together? Thanks

11-08-2020, 07:37 AM	#2
Bob Bidonde Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 3,463	Re: Distributor drive gear shear Where did the broken teeth go? __________________ Bob Bidonde

11-08-2020, 08:08 AM	#3
Kurt in NJ Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: on the Littlefield Posts: 6,156	Re: Distributor drive gear shear I have seen the oil pump tab sheared off on engines that were sitting with water in the pan that were turned over ---water frozen in the pump preventerd it from turning

11-08-2020, 11:33 AM	#4
abachman3 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Western Springs, IL Posts: 323	Re: Distributor drive gear shear I just had a case where the distributor shaft, in the distributor, froze in place and locked up the distributor causing the the shaft tab to shear off and the motor to stop.

11-08-2020, 01:04 PM	#5
Jack Shaft BANNED Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 1,196	Re: Distributor drive gear shear Check your spring and plunger in the timing gear cover,the camshaft endplay actually 'floats',the plunger is under spring pressure.Id check the timing gear as well,basically something stopped when it shouldn't have causing what you are seeing.For a proper repair you need to find the root cause.

11-08-2020, 02:09 PM	#6
redmodelt Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Portland OR Posts: 6,340	Re: Distributor drive gear shear Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) I would think as there is not much room, that the tab might still be in the slot in the oil pump shaft. Did you pull the windage tray? If it did make it into the pan, which don't think it could, it could be stuck in some sludge or? Maybe it fell out when the engine was turned over to take pan off if you pulled the engine? Or just got dropped on the floor when you removed the oil pump. __________________ I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas!

11-10-2020, 09:43 PM	#7
gitudor1930 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 4	Re: Distributor drive gear shear Don't know , there were no chunks...Assumed they were ground up

11-10-2020, 09:45 PM	#8
gitudor1930 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 4	Re: Distributor drive gear shear Thanks for the spring idea....It seems in ok shape , but does not have 30-35 lbs of pressure as Andrews manual indicates. I can easily push it in . Will replace that.