[Purdy Swoft]

I think that one of the main causes of early cam gear failure is using a rag between the timing gears when installing . Using a rag will stop the gears from turning when tightening the nut but puts the strain on the teeth of the gears . I remove the side timing cover and use a C clamp to lock the cam gear against the side of the engine when tightening the cam gear . This is most important when using fiber gears . It is also not recommended to use a rag between metal gears because of the strain it can put on the teeth . Over the years I have had several fiber or laminated cam gears to strip early until I figured out what was causing the timing gears to strip .