MTFCA Forum

I drove my '27 T to the Dublin NH Antique Gas Engine Meet last week. There are two steep hills between Peterborough NH and Dublin. On the first one my 2nd gear started to slip. By the second one I had to go in 1st. I nursed the T home, mostly in 1st.
Question: Can the clutch pack be tightened without pulling the engine? I've had the engine out several times before and can do that, but would rather not. I installed 'jack rabbit' clutch disks several years ago, when I did some other engine work.
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. J.R.

JR clutch pack allowed to slip is bad news.
As with a stock clutch, tighten the 3 finger screws 1/2 turn @ a time(per T1 manual) Ignore the part about limited slip. There should always be a hard, solid lock up.
If you havent worn the disks down too far, you may be able to successfully re-adjust. Check your linkages very closely.
One common issue is the parking brake adjustment allowing the parking brake handle to not set down completely, slightly engaging the throw out cam.

Thank you. I will check that. J.R.

Yes, John… your first step in curing hi speed clutch slipping won’t require engine removal. Remove the 6 screws fastening the tranny inspection cover and see the 3 hi speed clutch fingers behind the driven plate. They each have a machine screw w/ cotter pin and should be screwed in 180* each. Get plenty of rags and consult the Ford T Service Manual.

From what I've seen others experience with a slipping JR clutch, you can adjust and get it working again, but it won't last long. If you have a transmission screen, look for bits of friction material that may have come off of the discs.

Thanks. I will check linkage and adjust the 3 screws. The transmission screen is clean. J.R.

With the brake lever all the way forward, the clutch fingers are loose. The clutch spring does not appear to be pushing on the clutch pack. J.R.

Quite possibly the loose clutch fingers when the lever is forward in high gear would indicate a weak clutch spring that has to be replaced

Rosenfelder wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 13, 2023 3:09 pm

With the brake lever all the way forward, the clutch fingers are loose. The clutch spring does not appear to be pushing on the clutch pack. J.R.

Thats not good. With the lever forward, the clutch spring should be putting full pressure on the 3 fingers.
Make sure the throw out adjusting bolt is not in contact with the cam.
You must tighten the 3 finger set screws. If necessary, longer set screws can be made.
However the 3 fingers of the push ring must be above the drive plate. If worn to the point the 3 setscrews are resting on the drive plate, you will need to replace the disks.
When it comes to that, check the clutch springs tension. I recommend the new, higher tension springs.
The new springs seem to range in tension of 110-120#. The old spring specs @ 90# (Thats @ 2" compression)

I think that I'm going to bite the bullet and pull the engine. It seems that to get as loose as it is, the facings must be worn. Lang's is 30 minutes away from me. J.R.

Best to put the stock clutch plates in. I tried the turbo discs once. Lasted about 15 years. Went back with originals that work just fine.

I think you will find the above instruction opposite what should be. With the clutch in neutral the levers should be pushing on the spring, however when in high gear, they should be a bit loose. The spring holds the clutch in high gear, so it is tight against the clutch disks. The clutch pedal or lever compresses the spring so that the disks slip when in neutral.
Norm