Had to walk today because the car would not start. Even though i lengthened the crank handle about 3 times longer so it would be easier to turn it was still to hard for me to turn it over. Oil was too thick and my compression is almost all gone. Is it hard to start a T in winter or am i just weak?
Kep, have you tried jacking one rear wheel off the ground and leaving it in top gear.
Mine hand cranks fine even at zero degrees with 5W-30. I bet your clutch adjustment is off with regard to the low speed pedal link or the stud on the brake equalizer cam.
Kep:
I use a watts Clutch and my hand crank Ts turn over fine.
By the way the phone number in some of the slightly older Vintage Ford magazines is outdated. They are no longer selling Watts Clutches at that number. The new number for John Watts is 541-493-4669. Or RV Anderson sells Watts Clutches. His number is 716-267-3526
You can get the better TH400 from langs. Its got 42 drive teeth on the plates, a new heat treated hub. Scott
Yep. My car did the same thing. It's classic for the clutch disks to stick especially when it's cold. As Nevin said, jack up a wheel and put the hand brake all the way forward. If you can turn it over easily then, then almost certainly your clutch disks are sticking. You may have to start the car with a rear wheel up off of the ground. I had to do this every time I started my car when it was cold. Once the engine warms up, the clutch should free up and then you can lower the car, after you put it in neutral, of course! I put in a Jack Rabbit clutch and I've had no problems since!
Unfortunately the only real fix for this is to take the engine and transmission apart so you can get to the disks and either clean them up if they're dirty or filled with sludge, or replace them. The latter being the best solution, of course!
There is nothing wrong with the design of the origonal clutch. If you experience problems with the stock clutch something is either adjusted wrong or the discs are damaged.
Stephen
Yes indeed, the original clutches do not stick in my cars at all, regardless of temperature. They will if they are misadjusted though. The good thing about the stock clutches (one good thing anyway) is that if they are dragging or misadjusted they won't burn out like a Turbo or Watts clutch will.
Did they have to jack up one wheel back in the old days? i thought that was only for when it was really cold?
Yep.
Hmmmm, cold here too, regular 20w50 with original discs easy to crank, mind you l leave the car parked with the handbrake all the way forward, squeezes the oil out, makes for an easier start.
I always jack up a rear wheel with the brake handle in neutral when I first start my T -even in the summer. It just makes life easier.
Kep, This is one of the reasons why a T clutch pack may not release as it should, the 6 lugs inside the brake drum that engage the large clutch disks are no longer able to slide and hang up in well worn grooves, a problem that was fixed on the 26/27 trans.
Jacking one up EVERY SINGLE TIME you crank it? Winter OR Summer? Dang, that'd kinda take the fun out of it for me. 5W-30 and leaving the lever forward makes both of ours easy to start, with the crank, even in Winter. Admittedly, we don't get Winter some of you guys get, but still.......
Hal -- Only the first time I start it each day. Once it gets warm I don't jack it up.
It makes life easier for an old guy!
I always jack up the back wheel for the first start of the day. I use cheap 20W 50 no name supermarket oil given the rate of consumption. Even at freezing point I don't have difficulty starting the engine.
In my situation the clutch discs are gummed up with congealed oil which I'm well aware of. I'm not going to pull apart the otherwise perfect transmission just to clean them either, so I live with it.
One thing that did help was to spray in some degreaser into the clutch when I did an oil change.
Before I put turbo 400 clutch plates in mine, I would jack one rear wheel up but usually only the first start in the morning. As Fred says, it's usually fine for the rest of the day. That's a thing of the past now.
I think it helps to leave the lever forward when the car is sitting for any length of time. Seems to reduce the drag. I run straight 30 weight oil year round and used to jack up a wheel to start in the winter when the car was cold. When it's really cold I sometimes started the car by spinning the rear wheel with the lever forward. It gives you more leverage with less effort. I finally got tired of jacking up a wheel so I moved to Florida! I used a "so called" winter jack to pick up a wheel. It's a lever action set up that gets the car off the ground in a second. I still carry one in each of my cars. Just remember to block the front wheels first!