MTFCA Forum

Big thanks to Chaffins Garage for all the precision parts it took to completely rebuild a large drum Ruckstell. Simply love it. Quite, smooth, and handy.

Had many Ts, this is my first Ruckstell. Made my T into a completely different animal.

I ordered one of Chaffin's Ruckstell kits and had them install the housing on the left axle housing. New CNC parts are just a joy to work with. Makes precision assembly so much easier. Been enjoying mine for 5 years now.

Thank you for the positive comments Willie and Kevin. It has been a difficult task getting our inventory back to normal after acquiring the business from dad. Only so many pennies in my piggy bank and the COVID 19 situation slowing progress down. Needless to say, we also could not have done it without the help of our loyal customers. I hope we will continue to supply the hobby with quality parts for years to come.

Thanks Mark! Maybe now you can have the correct fiber thrust washer made that your dad refused to make. After all who knew more about Ruckstells, your dad or Hall Scott?

Thanks for the suggestion Larry. Like the babbit thrust washer used by Ford, I believe the fiber washer is inferior to the bronze thrust washer currently in use by most everyone. I'm sure most everyone agrees with this practice. Again, appreciate your input. Just likely not worth the investment to go there.

All of the Chaffin Ruckstell parts I have use are of superior quality to the originals.

Thanks Erik!

Regarding the fiber washer. Sorry Larry. I see now you were referring to the fiber washer used inside the differential. We recommend using a steel washer instead. Because the steel washer rides against a cast iron surface no worries and it is likely to provide superior service over time. I've taken apart many Ruckstells and in most instances the fiber washer is missing of is toast.

Larry, We have been very careful in manufacturing the Ruckstell parts. We didn't want any problems and made several improvements to Ruckstell's parts like the P139. Ruckstell originally had 10 large oil holes in P139, this made the part weak so he replaced the large holes with a few small round holes which made the part strong but restricted oil getting inside. We replaced the small holes with six large holes instead of 10 which left a large reinforcement area between the large holes. This made our part strong and greatly increased lubrication. On P141 we added a lip around the axle gear hole to support the steel thrust washer and keep it from wearing on the axle gear shoulder. The fibre thrust washer was never a good idea and wore very quickly. Any time you tear down a Ruckstell the fibre washer is toast. As Mark says, the steel washer is superior and provides a good bearing against the cast iron P141. There are thousands of Ruckstells using the steel washer with no problems reported. Any more criticism? Glen

I have had an original ruckstell in my 26 coupe for about 5 years. I rebuilt it and the ruckstell in my 23 runabout using many new parts from chaffins. As always everything fit perfectly. A Ruckstell makes a T so much more driveable, I can't imagine driving a heavy closed car without one.

Stephen

I have rebuilt several Ruckstells using new parts here and there as needed. A couple of years ago, one of my customers asked me to install a Ruckstell in his car which had a stock rear end. He bought the complete Ruckstell kit from Chaffin's, and I must say it was a dream working with all-new parts. Everything fit as it was supposed to, and I didn't need to mess with spending time on worn parts to make them work. Yes, the kit is expensive, but it's certainly nice to work with.