Hello Everyone, new to the forum and fairly new to T's. I have a 1915 touring and had some fan trouble. Just a couple of questions. Does the Fan shaft get locked down from tightening up by just the grease cap? Also, how much space should I leave for end play on the fan shaft? Thanks in advanced for any help.
Eric.
Eric -- The fan shaft screws into the fan bracket (the curved arm) to adjust the end play on the pulley. Yes, the grease cup acts as a lock nut and locks it into place. Be aware that you'll need to leave the adjustment on the shaft a bit loose at first, because tightening the grease cup on the shaft will reduce the play of the pulley. I like to adjust them so when it's all said and done, there is no (or almost no) fore-aft play to the pulley. You don't want any play there, but you don't want to feel any resistance to its turning either. It may take 2 or 3 tries to get it just right.
Thanks Mike. I just didn't know if there was a jam nut missing on mine. The previous owner must have had problems because it looks like someone before drilled a hole in the bracket, almost to the threads, and then hit it with a punch to mess up the threads to keep it from turning. Thanks again for the response.
Eric -- Here's a couple of pics of what it's supposed to look like:
Thanks. Worth a thousand words.
Old post I know but on my 1915 I have only about three threads on the fan shaft to screw the grease cup on to. It is a new fan shaft.
Does that sound right or should there be more threads?
I think this is about right. I count four threads. You're probably OK with three.
Steve,
You are definitely showing more threads than I. Is your shaft new?
I understand that there is sort of a "break-in" period with new shafts and they need tightening once or twice much like the transmission bands. I was thinking that may account for why all of a sudden my fan had some fore and aft movement on the shaft.
Nope, it's an old one I picked up at a swap meet. I've never had a new one for comparison.
Thanks Steve. I think I am OK but will watch it closely for awhile.
John -- After it runs a while, you may be able to screw the fan bolt in farther to take up some slack.
Eric..
Do take note of the cotter pin through the bolt that holds the arm.
Michael
I did take note of the cotter pin and was amazed because I never knew one was there. On my T it must be so encrusted with dirt/grease that it wasn't visible or perhaps its not there.
At any rate the bracket bolt backed off on me to the point where the fan nearly ruined a new radiator!
Fortunately the rad was an easy fix, but you can bet I'll be in the garage searching for that darn cotter pin hole tomorrow morning !!
Thanks for the tip.
I always thought that cotter pin was a "little short" of what would be required to keep the fan arm shaft in place.
Guys, just a bit of caution here. I would not rely on the grease cap to act as a jam nut on the fan shaft. It is a thin metal pressing/spinning which will not take a lot of torque from any wrench you may use on it. The fan shaft has a shoulder which is best tightened up to the fan bracket, which then acts as the jam nut. You may have to dress the face of the bushes down to enable you to wind the shaft in tight.This is far preferable to relying on the greaser to hold things in check and running the risk of putting the fan through the radiator.
The split pin [cotter pin] is used on the later straight fan arm which has a shaft with a castellated nut as a jam nut. It cannot be used with the screw on greaser.
Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.
Mike, I don't recognize that cup you show in your picture. I've never seen that on any original early T I've observed. Would you mind sharing your thoughts on it?
Larry, Mike's greaser looks just like the ones with which I am familiar on our Canadian sourced cars. He has it wound right in, so the hex part is covered by the cap. When the cap is full and just installed, the hex section used to wind it in place is exposed. From my not to be trusted memory, a 1/2" wrench fits.
The metal which has the internal thread is a pressing and the back of the piece is often not particularly true. I cannot see it adequately serving as a jam nut to hold the fan shaft from coming loose. The later straight arms have both a castellated nut and a cotter pin to serve this purpose, and these are not done up until the stepped fan shaft is tightened against the fan arm.
Mike's fan also shows the steel cup at the back which holds a felt seal. I have seen these only on later aluminium fan hubs. Mine look like Steve's, showing the back of the brass bush. Fitting that steel cup would reduce the amount of thread left for the greaser.
Allan from down under.