I recently bought a '27 T and found that I don't have a Ford neutral, the pedal goes from service brake forward fast creep to low gear.
I opened the trans cover and found Kevlar bright yellow on the bands. I am new to Kevlar- can someone recommend a beginning point for my H/L pedal or a primer for Kevlar adjustment?
Thanks,
Jim
You may need to do a little investigation here and find out if the T is trying to go in low or high gear.
What I would say is to put the hand brake in the middle position, jack up a rear wheel, start the car, and see what the wheel does. If it spins very fast (like around highway speed) when the engine is cold and slows down when it warms up after a few minutes, then it's likely that your clutch disks are sticking. This is a common problem.
If it spins somewhat slowly and doesn't change as the engine warms up, then your low band is dragging. You'll simply have to loosen it up a bit.
Let us know what you find!
I had the same problem with my 26. The left pedal may be bent and the band is adjusted too tight to compensate. You may need to loosen the band until you get a neutral, then bent the pedal back until you have a good low engagement. Some say you can bent the pedal cold, but I found heat necessary to bend mine. Check the alinement of the pedals before you start. The left pedal should be in the same plane as the brake pedal, if it wasn't bent through use.
Kevlar is not the problem here. It is a symptom of wear and adjustment problems. It is very important that the link from the low pedal to the clutch release shaft be adjusted correctly or the clutch will drag. After that, the adjustment that holds neutral on the brake cross shaft cam must be correct. Another problem area is the cam on the low pedal shaft that pinches the low band together. It is called the low speed notch. If it is worn out you have to adjust the low band too tight so that it will take hold before the pedal hits the floorboard. At that point it will drag when the pedal should give you neutral. This problem generally requires removal of the trans cover to repair. When this has come up before, members of this forum have posted the pages of the Ford factory book that deal with the adjustment of these parts. You may be able to search the forum for them.
Fordially, Erik
When using Kevlar bands and the clutch or brake pedal is pressed hard on a 1926-27 Model T, the clearance between the pedal and the floor board should only be 1 inch, as those bands have a firmer grip. If adjusted too tight or low is used excessively, like in a slow parade, they can also generate more heat and crack a drum. If they need another adjustment often, the cause is likely a cracked drum.
The pin should be removed from the link on the bottom of the clutch pedal and the pedal pulled all the way up to adjust the link to where the pin can be replaced with no pressure. That adjustment will then provide a free neutral.
The reverse pedal can not be adjusted the same way and should be adjusted to pull half way out of the cam slant area when pressed hard.
Is it slipping in low with the pedal all the way down? If not, try to back off the band adjustment and check the linkage adjustment. If that does not work and the cams are worn you can put a couple of washers on the pedal shaft on the left side of the band ear. You can do that without removing the hogs head and it will enable you to back off on the band adjustment and still get a firm grip on the drum. Changing the cam is the right fix but that requires pulling the hogs head which is a chore to be avoided if possible as far as I am concerned.
Thanks fellas, I will start by jacking up the rears and start it. It drives really well in low and sounds great and without slipping. Just gotta create a sweet neutral spot now. I think the bands are fairly new and probably haven't been adjusted properly. I'll keep ya posted once I try and diagnose the problem.
Friend of mine had that problem a few years back, low speed drum was cracked. Check the drums closely while the cover is off. KB