I am trying to decide whether I should disassemble the rear end on my 1914. I do not know what has been done to it in the past and do not know whether the babbitt thrust washers have been replaced. The drive shaft and rear axle are out of the T now while I do some work on the rear springs. I have read numerous past posts and am almost convinced that I need to go through the rear end to check the condition of it. I have helped others on a couple of rear end rebuilds a long time ago but this will be a first on my own.
Do you know of a good Forum post (or other source) with pictures and details of things to check for wear and a list of those things to definitely replace?
Thanks for suggestions.
I have a saying: "When in doubt, pull it out".
Steve Jelf has posted a series of photos on rebuilding the rear end and they are very helpful.
If your not in a real big hurry I would buy the MTFCA manual on Model T Ford front and Rear axle rebuilding. There are also some video's available from the same source.
There are some You Tube videos that you can check out also.
And of course the Model T Ford shop manual.
Take your time and educate yourself. You'll be glad you did.
Dennis -- The best source for rear end info I know of is the MTFCA Rear Axle book. Everything you need to know is in there. Since you already have the rear end out of the car, it won't take much to pop it apart and check what material the thrust washers are made of. If they're babbit, you'll want to take it all apart to replace them, so you can go ahead and check everything while you're in there.
Dennis, the answer is YES, you do need to go through the rear end and the driveshaft. The best thing to do is get the Rear-End book by Mr. Chaffin. It has absolutely everything you need from directions to pictures.
https://www.modeltford.com/item/RM7.aspx $12
One thing I was surprised to discover is that you really need to plan to rebuild the rear end and the drive shaft at the same time. The rear and drive shaft are really one unit and it's silly to repair one without the other. To that end, I also highly recommend the Fun Projects pinion bearing kit. It is WAY easier and completely better in every way.
http://www.funprojects.com/products/2587e1.aspx
The non-adjustable one is the way to go.
Last piece of advice - go in planning on needing to repair/replace everything. A LOT of folks on here will have what you need from axles to bearings to ring gear to whatever. So, before you just buy new from the suppliers, check on here and post in the classifieds what you are looking for. That way you aren't surprised or disappointed. My rear end rebuild ended up taking an extra month cause I had to save up for parts. =)
Ditto to Mike and Seth. With Glen Chaffin's book and John Regan's bearing you're in hog heaven.
If it's already on the floor as you say it's a no-brainer. Get Chaffin's book though. It's the best out there.
I'll chime in and say that I have rebuilt the rear end and drive-line on every T that I have had. It may feel good and even sound good, but you never know what's going on in there until you rip into it- every one has needed something and most are on the verge of major damage. Better safe than sorry!
The little Orange book is a keeper!
Thanks for all of the responses. I now have the "orange book" and the videos. I will order the pinion bearing kit as well. Now the big job of cleaning the rear end grease.
Thanks again.
I bought a big Tupperware storage bin from Walmart for a few bucks and used that to hold my housing halves while I sluiced them down and scrubbed them out. I found that a wire toilet brush (basically oversized pipe cleaner) can be squeezed to fit nicely down the tubes and did a good job really cleaning everything out. It was still the nastiest, filthiest car job I've ever done. When I was done I threw away the container the toilet brush.
I removed the plug on the rear end housing expecting something to flow out but not much ran out. If we ever get more sunshine here in north Texas, there may be a little more that drips out as it warms up. I'm not looking forward to this "cleanup" job.
There should NOT be any lubricant come out from the fill plug - on that rear axle, if correct to the car, should be at the mid point of the axle housing and the proper fill level of lubricant would/should be approx. 1 to 1 &1/2" below centerline.
I took my halves to get them hot tanked, worked great. No mess for me!
Dennis sent you an email with a pdf on a rebuild.
Dennis, I just built my rear end on my '15 touring this winter. I have built several '26 rear ends before but the '15 was a different ball game. I did go by the book but a lot of things I had to do because of the age of the car were not covered in the book. I did have to replace everything. To get the lash set correct I had to have my differential carrier machined along with the first set of thrust washers. My brass car was a real challenge. If you need help with a problem you run into I would be glad to try to advise you. If it could be a problem on mine it was. Thanks to help from this form I got trough it.
Yeah, the pins on my differential carrier had sheered off. As a result the steel washer and brass thrust washer in mine had chewed into the shoulder of the carrier so badly that I just got a different one from one of the members on here. I also ended up needing new axles because mine were so worn. Plus, on one axle one of the keyways was chipped and broken.
Washing out axle and drive shaft housings doesn't have to be hard. A cheap plastic brush from Wal-mart wired to a long handle, plus a five gallon pail with some old paint thinner, and you're home free. The long-handled brush hangs on my wall for any time I need to wash out a housing.
Steve isn't even DIRTY! I looked like I'd been wrestling a pig when I got done. I think these pictures are staged . . . =) lol
Steve, I removed the plug and rotated the drive shaft and rear axle assembly until the drive shaft was vertical. Not much of anything dripped out. Hopefully, the Texas sun will be out today before it rains/storms again tonight and more will drip out.
It looks like a trip to Walmart is in my future.
The best book I used to rebuild my differential was my check book.
Don't think after a hundred years those parts inside the differential will be like new.
Steve's brush is still white and his paint thinner is black. It must be staged. Haha. Fleet farm has some nice brushes like Steve's in the cow and horse aisle. Don't know what they are used for but they fit the axle housings to a T. I would also recommend a good apron. The brush sprays when it comes out of the top of the housing, like a dog shaking after a bath. Works great though.
Dennis -- When I was checking out a customer's car's rear end, I set the rear end on jack stands, separated the drive shaft from the rear end and turned the d/s hole down over a tub to catch the oil. I busied myself with other things for about 20 minutes and then went back to it. There was not a drop of oil in the tub! I thought, "Oh no, he's been running it dry!" I pulled the halves apart, and there was the lump of 600w grease inside. It was so thick it wouldn't fall out the hole. Or drip at all. The good news is that the oil was covering and protecting everything in there, and it was all in pretty good shape. (But what a mess to clean up!)
I checked out a customers rear end and got slapped!! :-0
My favorite book is the Ford Service book. That is the book I learned from, and the one I still use. If you follow their instructions, you will have no problems. However, you do need the Stevens driveshaft sleeve puller. You should be able to borrow one from someone.