I ordered a new Motorcraft cam sync online. By the time it arrived, it had fallen out of the Motorcraft box and into the main box.

I noticed when inspecting it that there seems to be a tiny bit of play in the shaft. Is this okay or normal? The gear isn't moving on the shaft, it's the entire shaft assembly moving in the aluminum housing. It's less than 1mm of play, but enough for me to notice. I figured the hold down clamp would keep everything from moving once installed, but considering what's at stake, I decided to ask.

Here is a video where you can hear the play in the shaft (the clicking noise). You can't see much...
http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o...t=MVI_0608.flv

Also, I bought this online from a Ford dealer many states away (their price was $80, vs. $140 or so locally for Motorcraft). Could I exchange this through a local dealer to get a sync without play, or will I probably be SOL and have to fork over $140? I'm trying to get this fixed tomorrow. The truck sounds horrible and I need this fixed ASAP.

 

Didn't click the link , but there should be NO play side to side on the shaft.
Is there a 'manufactured by' mark on the unit or box that says Denso ? If so it was manufactured in China and is junk.

 

The play is up/down, not side to side. It's OEM Motorcraft, but it fell out of the original box during shipping and into the larger box, so, it may have bounced around some.

 

i would call the dealer you bought it from... my bad sync gear didn't have any play in it so there is no way i would install one that did