so im doing an oil pump n timing chain swap and when i removed the cam gear/timing chain gear i noticed the gear (the part that faces the cam) had a lot of groves in it and was no longer a smooth surface. then i noticed the cam to be moving quite freely inward and outward. it seems as if the cam is moving to much and hitting the cam gear which caused it to have uneven grooves.

is this normal?

 

Not sure I follow, did the cam have a lot of motion before you removed the gear or after. If after, then it would be normal. Also, can you post a photo of the gear? Has the car ever been apart? There was an old mod that I don't see much anymore where grooves were cut in the cam gear to help with lubrication because the cam plates were wearing.

 

^^ that seems like a good idea. and im not sure if it had motion before i removed the gear, i checked after i removed it. im going to post a photo later today.

 

get a dial indicator, measure the camshaft endplay with gear torqued on, the endplay i like to see is .004- to .008 max, If you don't regularly change your oil debris will wear out parts faster, even cause grooves, if there is no endplay thats when you have the biggest issues