MTFCA Forum

Hello,
I took the T out today and going into high it seemed rougher and took longer for the clutch to fully engage. It did this the other day once but then seemed fine after that. Today it seemed to do it every time I pulled out. Once it settled down it pulled hills fine and didn't seem to be obviously slipping. I thought I might try to adjust the clutch to see if that fixed the problem. After reading past posts on the forum I made me a 13/16 gauge to check the distance between the drive plate and the clutch spring. Mine was a bit over 13/16, maybe 15/16 but no less. I wanted to ask about this before I started adjusting anything. It seems to me that tightening the screws will increase this distance. Is that a problem?

Thanks and God Bless

The 13/16 dimension is an assembly starting point. The service manual describes the tightening of the 3 screws to limit/remove the slip.
Before adjusting the 3 finger screws, make sure the pedal & clutch linkages are set correctly & the parking brake lever fully disengages the cam from the clutch lever contact bolt.

Maybe this thread will help you some... https://www.mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic. ... ch#p316919

Do you know what kind of clutch plates you have?

Don't know what clutch is in the car. Tightened the clutch a half turn an there is some improvement I will probably do it again tomorrow. Answer me this, is the shudder some T's have when going into high caused by a slipping or worn clutch or is it from something else. My first T, a 1919 that had been setting since 37, shifted absolutely smooth with no vibration at all. The other 3 have had the vibration. A friend has a beautifully restored 26 and it vibrates notably going into high. It must be a common occurrence and nothing that is being done wrong. Another friend had a pretty rough 17 roadster and like my 19 it shifted perfectly every time I drove it. Any ideas?

When you shift to high, close the throttle completely, shift into high, then start accelerating. You should not detect slippage.
To check clutch lock up - @ cruising speed press pedal to low position briefly. Motor will increase RPM's. Notice how long it takes before re-lock up.
The clutch should lock up relatively fast. If slip continues more than a second or 2 or you have to close the throttle you need to tighten the clutch adjustment.

So at road speed shift to neutral or actually to low before dropping back into high?

colonelpowers wrote: ↑

Wed May 29, 2024 7:37 pm

So at road speed shift to neutral or actually to low before dropping back into high?

Touch the pedal to briefly get neutral, then release back to high.
Road speed would be in a comfortable high gear speed, 25-30mph.

colonelpowers wrote: ↑

Wed May 29, 2024 7:37 pm

So at road speed shift to neutral or actually to low before dropping back into high?

Once you get started in low, and at about 10 mph, let the pedal come back to neutral, while at the same time, let up on the throttle. The engine will slow down and somewhat match the speed of the car. Once the engine has slowed, (which only should take a second or two), let back quickly on the clutch pedal, engaging high gear**. Once you're in high, begin to accelerate. DO NOT FEATHER THE CLUTCH. That's what causes shudder, clutch wear, and drum wear. Some folks do not let the engine slow down between low & high, allowing the clutch to slip until it finally grabs. This is bad practice.

**When you get good at it, there should be no "jump" or "buck" when the clutch grabs. Engagement should be quick, complete and seamless.

I have been out of town for a while and haven't been able to mess with the car until today. As per your advise I took it out and checked the clutch engagement at speed. It engages pretty much instantly. I could be seeing a problem that isn't there, regarding the notable vibrations going into high, and it may be that since it is a heavier car (being a center door) that it just naturally bucks a little more going into gear. I have owned and driven T's for 30 years now and I don't think that it is simply my driving style that is causing it. I have had 2 that shifted like butter and absolutely smoothly but 3 were more similar to this one and I couldn't resolve the issue in them either. I don't know that this may provide any kind of clue but if I shift Low, to Ruxtell Low/High Transmission, to Ruxtell High/High Transmission then the vibration is almost completely removed. It is probably nothing to be concerned about but I have always been one who worries about every little noise or think out of the ordinary until I figure out what it is and there are plenty of little noises in a T.

On a side note. Are Ruxtells supposed to be so difficult to shift? Hard may not be the right word but whatever holds the shift lever either in high or low seems very tight. You really have to use some force, not to move it but rather to overcome the "catch" that keeps it either forward or back. One last Ruxtell question. I noticed that the shift rod doesn't go through the bracket that is mounted to the driveshaft. It has apparently been that way for years. Does it serve an essential function or does it really matter? It wouldn't take a minute to fix but I just have been to lazy to bother.

Some aftermarket clutches have lined disks. The Jackrabbit and the Watts are 2 of them. Those tend to wear out faster than the original steel disks. A couple other things to consider would be the ramp on the parking brake lever not being in contact with the screw or too much contact which would not allow it to go completely into high. The length of the parking brake rods is important. If they are adjusted too long, they will hit the hogs head before it is all the way forward which will keep the cam too close to the screw not allowing it all the way into high. The length of the link between the low pedal and the clutch shifter on the hogshead also plays a part. See the diagram attached.
On the Ruckstell, Depending on which shifting lever you have, the later ones had a coil spring inside which can be adjusted by turning the plug at the end. You remove the cotter pin and rotate looser to loosen the spring. If it is as far out as you can get the cotter pin installed, you might need to grind out a bit from the end of the spring. Pack the entire cylinder with grease and install the spring and then adjust with the plug. There should be enough tension to hold it in gear but not so much it is almost impossible to shift. Remember also when you shift, use the low neutral pedal and if shifting down to low position, leave the gas down and the engine will speed up then after you let out the clutch adjust the throttle, but if shifting into high put the clutch into neutral and push the throttle all the way up, then shift and let out the clutch and adjust the throttle to desided speed. Make the shift as quickly as you can while you while it is in neutral and then adjust. The idea is to anticipate the speed of the engine after the shift is made. So shifting down you want the engine to speed up and shifting down you want the engine to slow down.
Norm
Norm

No, …Ruckstells shouldn’t be hard to shift. Now remove the 4 bolts holding the Ruckstell mechanism from the left axle housing. It won’t be oily, other than grease it should be ‘dry’. That’s your problem. It’s probably absent of grease. Slobber it up with grease and reinstall. Now your Ruckstell will shift easier.

There is only 3 bolts on the car shifter - 4 bolts on the TT.

Hey colonel powers; have you decided why your Ruckstell is hard to shift ?