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Personally, the original "fiber" gear set, which is a steel crank gear and bakelite/fiber cam gear. But your B30 does put quite a bit more load on them, so the steel gear isn't a bad choice. Either will last for years, even in a daily driver.

But I just want to add that if the cam gears are worn, other things will be worn, too. As mentioned, the B30 is a looong engine and the cam lobes may be rounded, especially at the front. So the cam may need replacing or buildup/regrinding. Then there are the lifters that ride on those lobes. And the rest of the engine guts. Not that it isn't worth dealing with them, but "in for a penny, in for a pound" should be kept in mind.

It's not super-easy to replace the cam gears. It can be done with the engine in place, but there isn't a lot of room in front of the B30. And pulling the cam gear can be a delicate operation, to avoid disturbing the cam, and especially the thrust bearing plate that holds it in at the front.

Bottom line, set your priorities. I'd stick to correcting the rough running first, then turn to trying to fine-tune things such as valves, ignition, etc. At that point you'll be able to get a solid assessment and plan.
 
Discussion starter · #44 ·
All,

I wanted to circle back and give you and update on my status. The car starts and runs nicely. I am unable to take it for a test drive since I am now going to address the rust in my fuel tank issue next. Here are some of the things I discovered in my process:
1. No. 2 injector negative connector was never connected. The connector was all mauled up and useless.
2. My fuel pump fuse and the fuses under the hood were shot or very close to it. One fuse just crumbled apart when I touched it. I was surprised the car even started or ran at all.
3. My fuel railing was clogged with junk.
4. The TPS checked out good.
5. The auxiliary air intake into the manifold was clogged.
6. The previous owner had really messed with the stop screw. I realized this when I had to reset the stop screw and had to back it down a bunch, which I hadn't done.
7. Received new rubber fittings for the injectors and they worked like a charm. That was when things started to turn around.

There were a few other things, but I can't remember them all since I did this over a period of several days.

Like I said, I am now on to dealing with the fuel tank. 142 guy sent me a link to someone cleaned his fuel tank for a few dollars. That is the path I plan to take. I will let you know when that project is completed. Probably in a few days.

Thanks to all. :D
 
Its nice that things are gradually working out. A non functioning injector will definitely contribute to poor operation.

Just a heads up on the tank cleaning. If you do that electrolytic cleaning method, be aware that the cleaned metal can flash rust when exposed to air. This can occur very quickly - in hours. Treating the cleaned surface with something like POR 15 Metal Prep will leave a phosphoric coating on the cleaned metal which will inhibit rust. I don't think the Metal Prep is a very durable coating, that is why people normally apply a tank sealer (POR 15 makes one of those also).

I used the POR 15 sealer kit on my tank. It has been good so far. If you use it, be careful around the fittings and openings on the tank. If the POR gets on to threaded bits or plugs one of the openings (fuel return line) you could be buggered. When dry, the stuff is like concrete. I am not shilling For POR 15. There are probably other coating kits out there that work just fine. POR is the one that I happened to use.
 
Discussion starter · #46 ·
The link comes up with a 'Not Found' message. Is it by any chance the fitting on the fuel return line which is squashed into the space between the tank and the muffler?
 
Much easier to disconnect after the muffler has been removed or fallen off! Since removal of the muffler is an equal hassle, I suggest the following. About midway between the engine and the tank, there should be a fitting connecting the front half of the fuel return line to the back half. Its likely covered with undercoating and mud. Separate the front and back halves and remove the clips holding the back half in place. Once you have all the screws on the tank rim removed and the rest of the hoses removed, you may be able to pull the tank up and to the back enough that you get space to access the fitting.

Like I said, much easier if the muffler is removed!
 
Discussion starter · #50 ·
Ok, everyone, I wanted to close this thread out because I took care of the rust issue and did a thorough check on the fuel system and the car runs great at mid to higher rpm. It now has acceleration like I have never seen it have before. It now has a low rpm issue which I wanted to address in a new thread.
 
Discussion starter · #51 ·
HOLY GUANO. I took 142 Guy's suggestion and there it was staring me in the face. The previous owner had hot wired the fuel pump with the main relay switch. I replaced the fuel relay with a $4 relay and viola, no running fuel pump like before. I strongly suspect this is the reason as to why I had gone through so many previous fuel pumps. Many thanks to everyone for their suggestions and input. I found it extremely useful and valuable. It is a hoot to drive my car, especially knowing I was so close to throwing it all in and walking away. I can now focus on more important things, like a paint job.;)
 
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