Melonized coating on a distributor gear

[69X22]

Is there any way to tell if a distributor gear has a Melonized coating?

[Larry Callahan]

Is is a coating or is it all the way through? I just bought one a few weeks ago and it well, looked like a cast iron gear to me.

[Cvarney]

What is a melonized coating? Dont mean to hijack or anything, jus sparked my interest.
C

[69X22]

This is what another site had to say about Melonizing.

Melonizing is a type of heat treating to provide a better wear surface.
In general it is slightly softer and "slipperyer" than an untreated gear.

I wander how you could tell if one is Melonized or not?

[Vegas69]

It's going to be hard to tell. As little as a gear costs, I'd buy one instead of chancing it.

[FULMNTE]

I would call the manufacturer.

MSD told me all their billet distributors have melonized treatment and are compatible with roller camshafts...

http://www.msdignition.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-5639.html

[69X22]

Thanks