1974 omc 140 distributor gear stripped

"I have a 1974 Starcraft 18foo

"I have a 1974 Starcraft 18foot open bow
It has the chevy II 140 hp engine.
The choke was giving issues, so I removed the spring. hence running lean it backfired for about a year off and on when it wasn't warmed up enough, blowing out the side plug on the carb.

I suspect this is what may have caused the first distributor gear to strip.
I bought a new distributor (automotive) white metal gear and changed out the gearand fixed the carb issue. It ran like a champ for about a total of an hour....clunk... another stripped gear. I hear it could be filings or that the cam could have a mark...

Where can I buy just the white metal gear? and do I have to remove the engine to clean up the pan and oil pump of any filings?

ANY ideas gratefully accepted. Thanks ... love the boat!
rr 1974 omc 4 cyl distributor gear

""[i]backfired for about a

""backfired for about a year
I suspect this is what may have caused the first distributor gear to strip."
huh?
I can't make that connection in my head.

"I hear it could be filings or that the cam could have a mark..."
? ...
The cam drives the distributor, not the other way around.
The distributor drives the oil pump, so it could be an oil pump or oil pressure issue.
More likely the distributor is seizing up. They love to do that. Has it ever been gone through?, rebuilt or replaced?

Ebay item number 230157501301 if they have any left"

"ebay has the whole dizzy for

"ebay has the whole dizzy for 20 bucks sometimes. and yea the cam maybe stripped out. could be all gunked up the oil pickup. Making it difficult for the oil pump to work, putting pressure on the dizzy.

all your gonna do is keep going thru gears till you find the problem.

35 years and never opened up that motor i bet.

so drain the oil, pull the motor, turn it over, and pull the pan, see what the oil pump, oil pickup screen looks like.

See what the cam looks like, see what the timing gears looks like.

post what you find we can go from there"

"Thanks a bunch. Could a perso

"Thanks a bunch. Could a person use an automotive distributor with vacuum advance? I ordered one of those from AutoLine in Winnipeg. $95.00. It was cheaper than the gear at the omc dealer in Saskatoon at $115. The cam seemed fine, but will check closer.Local boat fixer looking for a place to buy a gear."

"Automotive distributor for wh

"Automotive distributor for what? A 1963 Chevy II?

Can't use it as it is not spark supressed for marine use, and the advance curve would rob you of power.

You might be able to steal parts out of it to fix yours though.

I still don't get the cam thing....
How's a cam issue going to affect the distributor?"

"I have bids on some new distr

"I have bids on some new distributors on ebay. I was told that if the cam gear is rough, it will chew out the distributor gear. I still think it could be the governor advance in the distributor perhaps catching and locking up, thus stripping the gear.
Or filings in the oil pump? locking up the oil pump ?? but the drive on the bottom seems unstressed."

""cam gear" i thought

""cam gear" i thought i wrote.

I use 2 finger pecking for the keyboard, you got posted a minute before me.

We are thinking the same thing i think, the oil pickup is messing up the dizzy."

"thanks chiefalen
I will also

"thanks chiefalen
I will also check the end play on the cam thrust plate, it was mentioned that I may have some movement there."