Right, but the gear is measured for 4.991 - 4.996 placement from housing flange to bottom of gear.

With a new gear and shaft new holes have to be drilled. If for example the proper gear clearance measurement is only obtained with the collar pushed up against the housing (or vice versa) then that's the same point I want to measure to locate this new gear on the new shaft. See where I'm goin' with that?

I understand what you are saying and I don't have an answer, I'm not sure if it's measured with the shaft up or down. Do you have an old one to measure? I used the same gear and collar on the shaft so I didn't have to locate it or drill holes..
I broke out the shop manual and the way I read it is the measurement is taken from the body to gear with the shaft pushed up...

They are both disassembled right now. I thought maybe if you had one on the bench or an extra. It should be obvious right away at what position the gear measurement is based upon. I'm not very good at explaining this.

This just gets more confusing. I pulled out an old one and it's very hard to get a really accurate measurement with the tools I have but the best I could do was 4.940 with the shaft pushed up and 4.965 pulled down. So those numbers aren't even close to what they call for in the manual,???? Don't know what to say at this point..

OK, thanks very much for that info. So it's roughly (at least) 0.026" too high? Same amount roughly as the endplay. Did they install it wrong?? I better go lay down for a while. LOL

I have a digital vernier caliper on the way. Highest quality - $6.99 delivered to my door.

Maybe a machinist can explain this to me (hafta talk to me like I'm 5) but the plan is on installing the gear within the 4.991" to 4.996" range with the shaft pulled out.

What does the gear wear pattern look like on that one?

On the cardone it was clearly engaging only about the bottom 1/3! The shaft itself looks to be the right length oddly enough. The rotor end of the shaft is a bit longer though. Makes ya wonder who signed off on that operation.

"Well that's really the issue isn't it. Sometimes they don't use Ford part numbers or just make up their own. So it's left to the repairer to try and figure out what's what and what will actually work."   

They can't use actual FORD P&A (or ROTUNDA - AUTOLITE - MOTORCRAFT) numbering because of copyright infringement unless NOS or FORD AUTHORIZED REPRO.

The FORD P&A SYSTEM is very orderly/precise whereas these sellers shotgun information and you have to scroll through page after page to find what you are looking for (if you ever do).  Also showing an actual FORD PN would give you the idea the part is genuine when it is actually Chineseium.      

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Greetings folks:  It's been a few years since I last assembled a Y-bolck distributor but the dimension from the bottom of the gear to the bottom of the mounting flange is measured with the shaft all the way down, seated against the bushing.  The '64 shop manual refers to a "special tool" and to set the new gear requires all end play taken out. Here is how the book describes that procedure: With the backing screw on the support tool tightened enough to remove all end play, press the gear on the shaft to the specified distance from the bottom face of the gear to the bottom face of the distributor mounting flange. Then pin the gear.  FWIW, I made a note in the book that the bushing was originally set .009 above the bottom of the bowl. Hope this helps, JEFF.......................


64F100 57FAIRLANE500

I have the 64 Truck manual, it illustrates the special tool, and the description of removing end play but it was not super clear to me what that meant "take out all the end play". Sure, tighten the screw, but what does that do? Does it pull the shaft tight? Or the other way. No way to tell from the pic. I believe you are correct, arrived at that conclusion based on the first part of the task, installing the collar. It's tough for me to reverse engineer what they were doing with these special tools sometimes without seeing it in person.

The distributor is upside down on the tool at that point. For the collar installation it says install a .002" feeler gauge (.022" makes sense, must be a typo) between the shaft and the special tool. Tighten the screw to remove end play. Remove feeler gauge and let shaft drop. Slide collar flush with housing, drill 1/8" hole, pin the collar, now the end play is set at .022", go for a beer. I figure on using a temporary shim to achieve the clearance, since I don't have all that stuff.

In other exciting developments, the distributor cam and bushing arrived in good order. It appears the advance slots are a fair bit longer. No markings though to indicate distributor degrees like the old one. Did they maybe make a 15 slot in '57? May have to get these brazed up.

What surprised me was just how trashed the old weight pins and slots really were. I knew they were bad (that's why I bought a new one) but I didn't realize how bad till I saw the actual clearance with new pins in the new slots. They really fit with precision.

The bushing received I think is not an oilite, as it has a lubrication hole. It may be CNC or something like that. Dimensions are correct and it definitely needs burnishing or reaming after installation.

I'd like to buy a hand reamer for this task. The nominal shaft diameter is .4675";

15/32nds is .4687";

Is that about right? Would be .0012" clearance or thereabouts. There are reamers available in closer and larger sizes of course. For that matter, what size did Ford use? The manual says "Tool 12132" somewhere, in a dusty manual, there is a description or nomenclature of this tool. Anybody know? Would Ford have listed the nominal size, or is that crazy talk?

Sounds to me like you have it all down very well.  Tightening the screw on the "special tool" would push the shaft down against the bushing/bowl.  You are also correct in that there is a typo in the '64 book. It should be as you state, .022, not .002.  This procedure establishes the correct positioning of the collar only. Then, feeler gauge removed and the shaft pushed against the screw, the shaft now moved upward .022, the collar is to be placed against the bottom of the housing and pined there which will therefore establish the .022 end play.     There were different cam slots. The one that was in my '57 tach strib was 14 or 15* and I replaced it with the cam from my stock '64 strib which was something less, like around 12 or 13*  I'm not at home and this is from my old memory.  With out a distributor machine, a degree wheel placed on the cam would probably be the only way to check movement.   As to the shaft and bushing fit, your mention of .0012 - should work. I personally have never had to "burnish" a bushing as I always was able to reuse the old, but good shaft. In your case, some tweaking of the bushing will be necessary. During the course of this thread, I did indeed check the fit of a new shaft and a NOS bushing which fit properly. That is, moved freely with no detectable slop. If I was home, I would measure these parts. Hopes this helps, JEFF............


64F100 57FAIRLANE500

Sorry for the late reply but my mouse went dead and I had to wait until this morning to go get batteries LOL.
To add to the confusion is the measurement taken to the bottom of the gear where the teeth are or to the bottom of the stepped area that meets the block surface?? That adds about another .030..
The distributor I'm measuring is a completely original 59 model. The wear pattern is as close to center as I can tell.
Is the new bushing steel or bronze?
A 57 shaft would have 26 degrees of advance.
Are you rebuilding the Cardone or another one?