MTFCA Forum

In the post about cleaning the oil line, Why can’t we drill the timing gear to allow access to the oil line. Two holes 180* apart shouldn’t weaken the gear should it? Just asking.

Bob, I would much rather access the oil line by removing the access cover on the bottom of the pan. This is far easier than removing the hood, radiator, fan belt, timer and the front timing cover just to get to the cam gear and drilling it, let alone fitting a new crankshaft seal, pan and cover gaskets, centering the cover for the timer and putting it all back together.

Allan from down under.

Hi Bob,
Seen post Cleaning the oil line? But if you like drill the gear. Do you have the engine apart? If you do just take the gear off. I'm thinking you could
drill the gear & the timing cover & plug it so next time you dont have to take the cover off. If you drill it @ TDC then you could use the hole to
determine TDC. JTOL
Craig.

The makers of the aluminum and bronze timing gears could have access holes to the oil line made into their gears. They could be drilled or made into the gears when they make them.

They have the expertise to do this but for some reason they didn’t.
The originals had webbing in them so access to the oil line wasn’t an issue.

That’s what shown in the Ford service manual accessing through the timing gear.

Yes there are other ways to blow out the oil line but Ford chose to do it the way that’s shown in the manual.

Maybe these days the thinking is the engines will be kept cleaner so the holes aren’t necessary so much as they use to be??

I can certainly add a notch in our timing gears to allow you guys to clean out your oil lines, but from a functional standpoint I don't think anyone would be pleased with the result. Seems Mr. Ford located the oil line hole pretty much in line with the rim of the cam gear, which unfortunately is where the gear teeth are located.

...when hope meets facts...sometimes the answer isn't what some want to hear

when FORD said to clean from the front, you had to line up the gear teeth to clear the hole and then use a speedo cable to roto-rooter it...straight tooth gears made it a lot easier than the newer gears

Why use the old gears when the new gears are an improvement over the old gears, manufactured from aluminum, brass, nylon the new gears run quieter, last longer than the old sprocket style. And as bonus they are manufactured from "original Ford drawing."

One thing that those manufacturing replacement parts (the timing gear) forgot, is that the gear needs openings to clean the funnel and drain tube to the front bearing.

As found on another site:

"The Model T does not have an oil pump. The engine and transmission share an oil pan, they are both bathed in the same oil. That oil is picked up by dippers under the connecting rods and slung around the engine. The magneto is attached to the flywheel and the bottom of it spins through the sump throwing oil everywhere. Ford had a funnel and tube system to catch some of that oil slung by the magneto and move it to the front of the engine. From there it would flow back to the sump lubricating bearings and getting picked up by the dippers on the way. This is a good system except for when the funnel or tube get clogged with fluff that comes off of the transmission band linings. Then there is a lack of lubrication to the front of the engine. This tube and funnel system is a pain to clean once clogged."
https://www.vintagefordforum.com/forum/ ... -oil-pumps

Maybe those selling and manufacturing the gears may read this post: Drilling timing gear

No one said to use old gears

As far as manufacturers smartening up and drilling holes, maybe they already pointed out that to drill the hole, you'd essentially be removing a tooth, and they even supplied a picture pointing out that fact.

Reading replies (not just the title) on the Forum can provide a lot of useful information.

After getting some good and better information about the location of the oil hole that’s the reason using a speedometer cable to get access to the oil hole that’s in between the gear teeth would be just as good as air that Ford used in the manual. I don’t know if a small flexible cable could be had in the 20’s but since air was available that’s what was used in the manual. These days if the oil line gets stopped up it would be unusual since T engines are being cared for more than they were years ago overall.

But I could be wrong like I was about the exact location of the oil hole.

" I don’t know if a small flexible cable could be had in the 20’s but since air was available that’s what was used in the manual."

The Ford Service Bulletins for April 1919, suggest the using of an old speedometer cable as a snake to clean out the oil tub. Ford may not have had speedometers with cables, but other automobiles of the period did.