camshaft

[jadney@vwtype3.org (Melissa & Jim)]

>From: Theo Thepen <thepen@pi.net>

>I know the gear of the camshaft comes in different sizes, indicated on 
>the back of the gear by -5...0...+5. I bought a new gear for the 
>crankshaft and a brand new camshaft. Guess what..., it doesn't fit, too 
>large. Why are there different sizes ??? I thought that if the gears 
>wore you could fit a larger one like +1,+2, etc. to compensate the play. 
>Apparently it doesn't work that way. Maybe it differs between individual 
>cases.
>Has anyone got an answer to this and more importantly, how does one know 
>which one to get. Trial and error is one way to go but as it was pretty 
>hard to find one (old style with three rivets for old style, smaller oil 
>pump) not the easiest way to go.

They come in different sizes to make up for variations within the machining 
tolerance of the case.  I never thought about the crank gear, but apparently 
this can vary also.  Or you bought and aftermarket gear made to looser specs.

You're right, it can be a real bummer to deal with if you don't have a bunch 
of cams lying around to try for fit.  When I started out I found a shop that 
had a good stock of camshafts and took my case and crank down there and 
tried them out til I found a winner.  Now I have a selection here.  Usually 
I find that the cam that came out of the case will fit nicely back in it.

Jim
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       Melissa Kepner                                    Jim Adney
       jadney@vwtype3.org              jadney@vwtype3.org
                             Laura Kepner-Adney
                             Madison, Wisconsin
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