I didn't know they did that....that's interesting. I drove 2 Dodge Tradesman vans with the 318 when I was teeneager and both were abused by the regular drivers (in that it was in NYC traffic making deliveries and I was the only driver who checked the oil etc...) One Saturday I had to add 4 quarts of 10w30 ....it was running on about 1 quart all week. The boss sold that one at over 100K and the guy who bought it ran it for years afterwards. I can't remember what happened to the other van but I think it was simlarly sold after I left the place.
At what mileage did those plastic teeth usually fail? You wonder why engineers make such poor design decisions?
PS: Those 4 quarts of 10w30 were 'Wolf's Head....Finest of the Fine since 1879'.