HALL SCOTT "Ruckstell" early Model TT Rear End Thrust Plate

[StevenS]

I have a HALL SCOTT "Ruckstell" early Model TT rear end on my Model TT Truck. Yes, It does have the two gear spider instead of the later four gear spider. The cast name on the outside of the rear end says HALL SCOTT as do all the stamped internal pieces of the rear end (see first two pictures).

The attachment Ruckstell Hall Scott TT Rear End - Copy.jpg is no longer available

While I was taking it apart to rebuild it, this is what I found. I knew there was a problem because the gear ball was loose, but I was not expecting this failure of the inner bearing supports on both sides of the gear ball housing. (see next picture) This failure of the bronze thrust plate and cast bearing support nipple also cause damage to ruin the axle drive gears and two piece spider. All other parts are good to fair and can be used.

For comparison (in the next two pictures) the early HALL SCOTT bronze thrust plate is on the left and the newer RUCKSTELL bronze thrust plater is on the right. As you can see the later RUCKSTELL design is a lot better built. It also has more weight. I am rebuilding the rear end with the better designed parts and with a four piece spider. I have taken apart 8 Model TT rear ends (4 standard and 4 two speed), so I have enough good parts to rebuild it. Also seeing the difference between the two piece spider and the four piece spider design, I am doing the four piece spider in my rear end.

[CudaMan]

Steven, FWIW, I drilled a hole at the end of every slot in my thrust plate to provide extra lubrication. Kind of a compromise between the design with four holes and the later design with the large "windows".