MTFCA Forum

Had a car making noise and thought I might have a clutch issue but I found this in my magneto. I thought it might be a dipper from the end of a connecting rod but it is the funnel end of the oil tube which runs to the front bearing. I have an out side oil line on this engine and everything else inside looks good. Can I get by without tearing this engine apart at this time?

There are likely to be witness marks on other components as that was chewed up, but if everything works as it should and there are no funny noises, I'd just drive it and keep an ear out. I would be interested to know if the inside oil line is a reproduction. The funnels on those are not always well fixed to the tube, and when fitting/aligning the tube when mounting it, the piddly weld can break. I learned early on to add a bronze weld to that joint. Your outside oil line should suffice until you have to do a tear-down.

Others may vary in their opinions.

Allan from down under.

I suppose you could if you feel lucky but what knocked it off?
Have you taken the cover off and had someone rotate the engine and checked each magnet keeper and brass screw? That would be the minimalist thing to do but it might be better to at least remove the hogshead and have a better look. This is where those inexpensive bore scopes would be invaluable to take a gander. Can’t believe how cheap they are. Under $30 dollars. That’s just my opinion based on the criteria you expressed. Best of luck, John

Not the first T that it happened to. My 1919 Roadster had some slight internal noise for a short time and then suddenly died. The funnel end came off the internal oil line and tore some insulation on the mag ring and did damage to it but it was enough to kill the car. I could hear it make a scratching sound as I pulled on the crank.
Had to tare it down and install another oil line and a rewound mag ring. Of course it took a major a tare down to fix it as us T folks know if you have to replace the oil line. I don’t recall if there was anything else that was loose. It happend about 20+ years ago.

Does your car still run on mag? I had bad luck and it messed up the mag ring. Hope yours isn’t slightly mangled like mine was.

John, it runs on battery and an old Bosch distributor. I have the transmission cover removed and the bottom plate off the crankcase so I can see. It does not use the magneto but it is intact which is good for oil slinging. As far as I know it was rebuilt in the 70’s and who ever did it, it was an excellent rebuild. Everything is in tolerance and it is very clean. Allan, I can’t give you a date on parts but it is a failure on that oil line. A very reliable engine builder told me when the T is running with the flywheel magneto, the oil inside is a mist and goes everywhere and with the outside oil line I should be ok. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for your assistance.

I had one on which the same thing happened. The magneto suddenly stopped working. I had an outside oil line on the car and I drove it on battery for about 10 years. Then I rewound 3 magneto coils and decided to install one on that car. To my surprise when I pulled the engine and removed the crankcase, there was that funnel laying on the bottom of the crankcase. It had cut the winding and that was why the magneto had stopped working. When I replaced the magneto coil ring and the oil line, I changed from one of the slowest cars on tours, to one of the fastest. It runs much better on magneto than on 6 volt battery.
Norm

In addition to the mag post oil line that you have you could add a Ford Faithful type transmission inspection cover if you are using a stock cover. Chaffin’s makes repo of the Ford Faithful cover. You may be able to add a accessory inside oil line from the dip tray opening, they are held in place by the dip tray bolts and have a short funnel.

kmatt2 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 04, 2022 1:43 am

In addition to the mag post oil line that you have you could add a Ford Faithful type transmission inspection cover if you are using a stock cover. Chaffin’s makes repo of the Ford Faithful cover. You may be able to add a accessory inside oil line from the dip tray opening, they are held in place by the dip tray bolts and have a short funnel.

Good idea to play it safe. Mag oilers dont move much oil. An added ford faithful would help me sleep @ night.

I doubt seriously if an outside oil line will be sufficient by itself if it is a MAG post oiler...on the other hand, as mentioned earlier, a Ford Faithful would be just fine.

I bought a T once that needed rod bearings tightened A LOT. After doing so, every 20 miles it needed it again...and again...and again. Removing the hogs head to replace bad cotton bands I saw the culprit...the funnel was filled with oil...the oil line was plugged with cotton and there was no circulation. The mag post oiler kept the engine from total ruin, but did not stop serious and speedy wear.

I view mag post oilers as an auxiliary oiler, but not sufficient as a primary oiler.

A Texas T type auxilliary oiler will supply more oil than the engine needs. I I wouldn't want to rely on a mag post type with no functioning internal oil pipe.

TXGOAT2 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 04, 2022 10:31 am

A Texas T type auxilliary oiler will supply more oil than the engine needs. I I wouldn't want to rely on a mag post type with no functioning internal oil pipe.

This offering does move a lot of oil, too much with a little modification, but requires removing the hogs head.

Langs offers accessory oil funnel lines that mount under the inspection cover horse shoes. # 3081ACC & 3081ACCP.
These are a possible equivalent replacements to the original internal line.

My outside oil line is the mag type and it worked with what was left of the inside oil pipe for 10 years. I live in the mountains and I went on many tours including one in Utah called the Canyonlands tour which went from Kanab to Bryce and Cedar brakes. No problems with the engine. Just be sure it is not blocked by checking at the front of the crankcase for oil flow by removing one of the front bolts from the inspection plate while the engine is running to see if oil runs out. Of course since you know what is wrong, the best repair would be to pull the engine and flywheel and replace the inside oil line. I didn't know what was wrong until about 10 years after it happened.
Norm

I think something that will supply more oil than the mag post oil line might be just the ticket. Thanks for the suggestions. This car runs on battery, has an alternator and a Waukesha Richardo head so it moves pretty well. I do think it’s magneto might be damaged as I did find some pieces of windings and a contact. It just slings oil since I bought the car. It is equipped with an older Bosch distributor. Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions.

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John, I did that, just reassembling now. There was a lot of debris and I’m sure the magneto is done. The car runs on battery powered by an alternator with an old Bosch distributor. It is my only car that runs this way, my older ones all run how Henry designed them. This is a nice running modified car which kind of surprised me. Allen’s guestion were right on. . I cut the tube inside the engine and removed it, but you can see how it got mangled.