MTFCA Forum

I've put a couple hundred miles on the new T motor so I changed the oil today and found these 3 little bits in the drain plug. They are all 0.036" thick, and magnetic, so it's not Babbitt. Any ideas? Other than that, it looked great.

Jeff,

Just a dumb question. If you used the old oil pan that had the issue, could they have been lodged under the drain plate and held in state and missed? Just trying to help.

All the Best,

Hank

If the bits are magnetic it could be the remains of the magnet that comes with the oil filter screen thats installed under the transmission cover. Just a guess but when you mentioned the bits are magnetic that’s what comes to mind. There are older posts about them coming loose from the screen. But again it’s just a guess.

You're going to have to define "magnetic".
1.) Meaning they are attracted by a magnet.
OR
2.) They are attracted to any ferrous (iron) material meaning they are a magnet or part of a magnet.

Not good to find these things in a fresh rebuild. Makes you think there were bad part installed.

Good Luck,
Terry

mtntee20 wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 08, 2019 9:51 am

You're going to have to define "magnetic".
1.) Meaning they are attracted by a magnet.
OR
2.) They are attracted to any ferrous (iron) material meaning they are a magnet or part of a magnet.
Not good to find these things in a fresh rebuild. Makes you think there were bad part installed.
Good Luck,
Terry

My bad... it was late when I posted this. They are attracted by a magnet, so they are ferrous. Not lead or Babbitt.

And it's certainly possible they were lodged under the lip at the bottom of the pan. There was crap everywhere from the last disaster. I cleaned it well but it's possible I missed them. the plug was in when I cleaned the pan out.

Jeff

I’m trying to determine what round bits 0.036” diameter could be..... That is about the diameter of the wire I use for locking nuts but the picture seems to show something solid rather than being flexible like wire.
I can’t think of any pin used in the motor that is 0.036” diameter. I guess it could be some spurious “improvement”

TonyB wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 08, 2019 10:31 am

I’m trying to determine what round bits 0.036” diameter could be..... That is about the diameter of the wire I use for locking nuts but the picture seems to show something solid rather than being flexible like wire.
I can’t think of any pin used in the motor that is 0.036” diameter. I guess it could be some spurious “improvement”

The measurement is the Thickness of the steel.

Piston ring pieces from a long ago quick (careless) rebuild? Any gouges in the cylinder walls from a broken ring? Just guessin' Bill

When the last failure happened it was epic. The triple gear bushings were so far gone that the gears were tilting into the reverse drum. That eventually ground the lip on that drum to 36 thou which turns out to be the magic snapping point for the whole lip, which then ended up in the bottom of the pan, and some lodged in the recesses of the oil drain area. My vigorous cleaning didn’t get those three bits out. They are also cast iron as they break apart when i took a pair of pliers to them.

Thanks to Robert Weitzel for leading me here!

Told Ya!!!! LOL!

Back to washing dishes for you.

Hank

Henry K. Lee wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 08, 2019 8:55 pm

Told Ya!!!! LOL!
Back to washing dishes for you.
Hank

Hank, No kidding! Let this be a lesson on really cleaning those nether regions for all of us.
And Steve, now that I'm a model T owner I'm a cheapo. So, After I welded the surface cracks I took a file and resurfaced that drum. It's good as new. I reused the triple gear pins too.

Uh-oh. Good luck with that drum. I had a reverse drum with a damaged lip. I ground that smooth and figured it would be OK. Nope.

I knew those pieces looked familiar to me!

Last spring before going on the Florida tour and had a broken tooth from metal fatigue on a triple gear. I made the Florida tour without any trouble because of no hills. When I got home replaced thansmission. If your triple gears were that worn I would have replaced them. It is to much work to do over later. Good luck. Clyde

Time to changed professions, Detective, Archeologist, Dish Washer! I am laughing very hard due to "Done That Before"!

Glad you found it Jeff, really makes you sleep better at night.

Hank, Still Laughing at Myself.

Bill Robinson wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 09, 2019 8:42 am

I knew those pieces looked familiar to me!metal-002.jpg

Wow? Ok, I'm not alone here.

Clyde, Up to the point that one of the triple gear teeth actually broke, amazingly the car drove pretty well, and nobody could tell me what the rattle can noise was when going downhill (failing triple gear bushings). "Model T's just rattle" I kept hearing.

Here a little vid of what caused all this.
https://youtu.be/fS9wUhwuSV0

And I was kidding about reusing the drum... none if the drums or gears were usable from that trans.
I also used the needle bearing triple gear setup from Dan McEachern. He also gave me the prize for the most extreme wear he's ever seen on triple gear bushings. Kinda like getting the "client of the year" award from your lawyers office. Not a moniker to covet...

Jeff

Very interesting and educational topic, I followed along and had no idea until the mystery was solved.

Thnx everyone for the comments and Jeff for finally posting Mystery Solved...