I did a quick search and found a few old posts about how to remove this piece but I still do not fully understand the procedure step by step.

I have to get to the timing cover and take it off to get to the gears. Some people say you also have to take the intake off to get to the back? this is the part that I do not understand. Is there a way to remove and replace this gear with only taking the timing cover off? or is it a must to remove the intake?

Any one that has completed this please post a quick step by step of how you managed to replace the gear.

How long do you think this would of still held up before it would free wheel inside the coupler?
Where can I buy just this piece?

 

yeah, you will have to take off the timing cover and timing chain. Then the intake has to come off to access the two bolts that are holding the shaft in place.

 

Yeah you will have to take the timing cover off but its not as bad as you think just get a hamonic balancer puller from a place like autozone you can rent it and then take the opti off and its just those bolts can't remember how many there are but the water pump is half the battle and the intake isn't as bad as it may seem

 

Has any one ever taken photos of this type of repair? so I can get a better look?

And here is a stupid question. But is any wear on this acceptable. like will this last me another season? or is this something i need to replace asap.

 

I guess I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish here. Are you going to remove and replace this part? Or are you going to remove and discard it?

Anyway, like just about everything, some wear is acceptable. If you grasp the stub shaft and move it axially, you can expect it to move a small amount...probably less that .125". If you move it up and down or left and right you can expect movement as well. So,a liitle movement is acceptable. If the seal is not leaking significantly then you can certainly reassemble it and use it for another season...