AMC DISTRIBUTOR GEARS MATCHED SET
Where they may work if replaced individually, the failure rate increases greatly if you don’t replace both the distributor gear and the camshaft drive gear on an AMC V8 as a matched set. There are at least 3 versions of gears, each with a slightly different pitch, so it’s hard to know which one is in your engine. This is why a lot of AMC distributors are sold without a gear. Also, it never hurts to coat the distributor gear and the cam gear with break in paste on any engine to help “bedding” in of the components . In the case of AMC’s, do not get this paste into the 4 holes on the cam gear . The distributor drive gear has four holes amongst the gear teeth where pressurized oil is fed to the distributor gear. When this gear is installed, it is critical that these holes are not obstructed by the camshaft snout. The camshaft to the end of the gear has an open area so oil can feed through these holes. Make sure the oil holes all align and if they do not you can use a round file to clearance . In the case of a higher RPM AMC engines, it’s a good idea to have the gears hardness tested .

Paul Wampler
Engine Performance Warehouse
Denver, CO
August, 2014