I am new to driving a T and I have a problem with high gear. I took the car for a short drive yesterday (about two miles) and everything seemed to be working fine. Today I took it out again and now I do not have a high gear. Low and reverse work just fine and netural seems to be ok. Where do I start looking for this proble?

IF the handbrake is not fully forward, the transmission will NOT go into high gear. Check that lever and its linkage connection under the floor at the transmission - perhaps the lever that rubs against the controller shaft cam is hung up somehow.

If someone not used to it drove my '15, they might think there's no high gear OR they may burn out what's left of the clutch. It's imperative to shift it easily (ease back into the gas) or the clutch will slip.

I'd guess John was right though - you may have left the handbrake in the center position. I still do that every once in a while as I usually start with it there and release it while moving. Sometimes I forget and wonder what's going on!

Craig

Craig,

It's called a senior moment, I do it myself, usually at the 7-11 where I get gas, let the pedal up & nothing, then I look down "Duh". The Clearance on the "Improved Ford" is very close & sometime's I'll pull the lever back up into neutral with my size 12 foot, going from low to high.

Alex

I am sure the hand brake was all the way forward. At least it was as far forward as it could go. It hits the clutch pedal when it is all the way forward. I will check the adjustments today and see what happens.

Ronald,
If the lever is hitting the clutch pedal & not going into high, then there is probably something loose, maladjusted or worst case broken under the floorboard, it should go forward but not that far. Do you have a copy of the "Ford Service Manual"? If not call one of the vendors & order it, it's invaluable. Also go to the nearest hardware store & get a good assortment of cotter pins, you'll need them. Have patience, all this will become second nature & always troubleshoot the simplest things first, you'll save a lot of time, I know.

Alex

it's possible to hit the brake pedal depending on how the slot in the floorboard is cut, how the brake handle is bent, and how the rods are adjusted. If the bolt is off the cam when the handle is forward as far as you can push it, it is far enough forward to engage the high. If it is off the cam and the high still does not engage, you must have an adjustment problem with the link between low and clutch lever or else an adjustment of the high clutch inside the transmission, or worse case, the clutch disks are worn out.
Norm

Knowing more about your car may help to narrow the search for the problem. What year is you car? Do you have the wide 26-27 low pedal? If you have an early parking brake lever that is straight and a wide low pedal, there is a chance for some interference between the two.

The one thing not mentioned as of yet are the brake rods. If you have a large drum rear end and the '25 and earlier brake rods, the lever may not go forward freely and allow you to clear the cam on the parking brake quadrant shaft.

Dave DeYoung

I hope this hasn't happened to you but it once happened to me. Broken transmission shaft! No loud pop , no anything only that I had only low and reverse. This happened on a National tour in Alabama 15+ years ago. Best Model T guys were there lots of opinions no real answers. Came home pulled the engine and transmission fell out . Trust this hasn't happened but thought sharing it might be helpful.

I've seen that photo numerous times and wondered what order the three steps are done in ... or does it matter?

Garnet

The only thing I do different from that diagram is to flip the screw that runs on the cam over so the head is the wear surface, not the the narrow threaded area. This eliminates the gouging of the cam over time and won't mess up the threads should you have to disassemble it at a later time.

Dave DeYoung

1st step is to adjust the internal clutch fingers to have 13/16" clearance from the face of the driven plate to the front face of slide collar. 2nd would be to set the H.B. lever forward so the throw out bolt clears the cam. 3rd would be to pull the pedal back and adjust the clevis to have the stated amount of free-play as shown. 4th step is to hook-up the linkage, again with the throw out bolt clearing the cam, again with the pedal pulled back, measure the distance from the back of the pedal to a common spot on the firewall - measure and record. Pull H.B. back vertical so throw out bolt engages cam and measure the back of the pedal to the common spot on firewall again. Distance of pedal movement should be approx. 1 & 3/4" towards firewall when H.B. lever in vertical position. Adjust throw out bolt to adjust pedal throw.

Another guy lost high gear because he forgot to put the Woodruff Key back in the Transmission Shaft and finally sheared the peg on the Bolt that holds the High Speed Clutch Drum on the shaft.

Several people have lost high gear because they put a Turbo 400 clutch Pack in and didn't make the stack thick enough for the Clutch Ring Pegs to protrude through the Transmission Rear Plate.

Some times people use after market metal on the floor boards that will not allow the brake lever to move all the way forward. Or put new floor boards in with the same problem. Or not let the low peddle all the way back.

I just wanted to say thank you for all the great advice. Dave DeYoung was right on. I have a 27 engine with 25 hand brake. The hand brake that was installed in the car must have gotten bent somewhere along the way. I changed the hand brake and made all the adjustments and now I have high gear again. I have no idea how much I smoked the Watts clutch but it seems to be working ok for now. Thanks again. I have attached a pic of the little jewel I am working on.

Nice looking car Ray. I'm glad it was not serious. If it just started to go and you did not try to drive it that way for a long time, probably no damage done.
Norm

Ron:

I'm glad I could help. The 26-27 hand brake lever is easy to identify by the outward bend of the handle just as it clears the floorboards. Its an easy thing to miss if you're not familiar with them.

Dave DeYoung

Dave & Ray: Dave do you have a picture of a late hand brake? Ray, are you refinishing a older hack or is this one you built? And if so what did you do for plans. Can you post more pictures? Lots of firewall detail and interior shots too. Love that wood. Jerry

This is a '24, a little hard to see the brake/clutch lever, but its a bit more straight coming out of the floorboard. And you can see the wear on the cardboard kick panel from the handle grasping.


This is the Improved brake/clutch lever, note the curve at the lower end, and I normally bend these levers anyway to get the best room in the cockpit. With the lever over by the kick panel you can get a bit more legroom.

Thanks Dan, guess I never noticed. J

Jerry:

Here is a side by side view. The early one is on the left and the late on the right.



Dave DeYoung

Jerry,
I wish I could take credit for building the body but it came from Lang's. All I did was put five (5) coats of marine clear varnish (Interlux Goldspar Clear)on it and sand it with 220 grit sandpaper and 3M scuff pads between each coat. The wood is red oak. I will take some more photos but the dash is fairly plain. The firewall was a bit of a problem because I had to extend the insulators.
Ron

Jerry, As you can see I still have a lot of work to do. I still need to install the floor boards that will hide most of the hogshead. Here are some pics that I hope will show you what you want to see. At least I now have a title and tags for this one. Ron