Distributor with an appetite

[Mud Thrasher]

Ok, well I found another cherokee when I was on a service call. :D It was just sitting up behind a shed and I stopped and got the guys number. He was thinking about selling it but said that he wanted to keep it. The problem is that he said that it has been eating the gears off the distributor. :( What would cause it to do this? He thinks that either the oil pump is locking up or that the cam is wobbling. I don't think that it would be the cam. What do ya'll think it could be?

[Stuka]

I had that prob in one of my fords (460) the valve guides where breaking apart from age, and getting intot he oil pan, where tthe pickup then picked them up,, and siezed the pump. stripping the distributer, and twisting the hell out of the oil pump shaft (mind you this shaft is 3/8" hexagon) The 2nd time it did this, i found that the pickup was only partially creened, so I put other screening over it, its runs VERY strong to this day. So this could be a reason. if the cam was 'wobbling" it wouldent turn very good....if at all....that would mean all the bearings are shot..and it would have to move a good deall to strip the teeth off the distributer.