vortec gear question and spark gap

[ricky725]

Can I get any vortec gear for my hei distributor as long as it is .5 inside dia?

Which is better plug gap .45 or .60

[enaberif]

0.045 gm found @ 0.060 it could burn up plugs too fast.

[Irish_Alley]

.45 is what i ran with no problem. not really sure about the gear, whats wrong with yours?

[csdineley]

ACDelco 10456413 GM Original Equipment Distributor Drive Gear is what I used when I installed my Vortec 350.

 And .45"

[ricky725]

Well I forgot to change the gear from the sbc to the vortec motor and I had .45 gap plugs in them advance website said they were wrong plugs.( was chasing down a disealing issue) then I changed the plugs to ones they said which according to online are .60 and has 6 heat range instead of 5. Now truck will sound great running for 2 mins then just cut off even if I hold the gas down. Also rpms drop a lot when it is in gear to where it will cut off. Can someone tell me exactly what the difference in the gears are for hei and vortec? Is it just the material it is made of or are the splines shaped at different angles.

[Irish_Alley]

what year vortec. what distributor are you running is it tbi, carb or something else? what cam?

[ricky725]

The vortec came out of a 96 chevy k1500 so it is a stock cam,and the distributor is the one that I took off a sbc motor that was a 4 peice main someone had out in truck before I got it. Truck says it came with the 5.0 . anyway the distributor is off a carburated motor.

[ricky725]

I'm still stumped also on vortec and hei gear difference is it just the material it is made of? Like I said truck just ran with .45 plugs in it with a hei gear in my 5.7 vortec

[fitz]

Any of the GM crate motors that I've seen that use a roller can (like your 96 Vortex has) require the use of a melonized distributor gear. I think the newer style gear is physically the same shape a your gear, its just made of a harder material.
When I put a vortec motor in my 69 Camaro I used a D.U.I. HEI (Davis Unified Ignition) that came with the melonized gear installed & ready to go.
As far as spark plugs, I run the Accel short header plugs made for vortex heads.
If you google "vortex shorty/header spark plugs" It will show you a great thread about vortec plugs on this site ( I haven't figured out how to post the link using my phone).

[ricky725]

Ok I rarely drive the truck mainly just to the dump so I guess until I get a vortec gear I'll keep using this one. Guess I'll put distributer back in and set my timing for a 3rd time but I'll gap plugs to .45

[Irish_Alley]

with that cam the gear will just strip out with some time leaving you stranded on the side of the road.

[enaberif]

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/2009/07/properly-matching-your-camshaft-and-distributor-gear/

[ricky725]

Ok I am ordering one tonight. So to see if I can actually fix my truck to where it won't turn off. I just set the timing with the vacuum unplugged from distributor and I plugged it with a nail. It is perfectly aligned with the notch. Now when I hook the distributor back up to the carb it is to the left of marking plate and not now where near it and it runs like crap. Can I get some insight if I am doing this correctly. I've read so many forums I confused myself. Also my air fuel mixture psi is about 14.5 from what I read that is correct.

[Irish_Alley]

if you have a timing gun. set timing at 12-14° with the vacuum advance unhooked and plugged. then plug the vacuum advance into manifold vacuum. the timing gear wont have no effect on shutting down the motor this is controlled by the 12v red wire on the distributor. if it is still giving 12v when the key is off then the engine will continue to run and you have some other problem

[ricky725]

I do have a cheap timing gun so I will try to set it. How do I know where 12 degrees is? The plate only has a notch in it no numbers. If I have to guess then am I moving the cam mark to the left or right side of the plates mark?