Some say they're just a bunch of unnecessary moving parts to go haywire. Others say less friction = more power. What do you think?
I have had the opportunity to examine two sets of those roller thrust washers which, um, er, came apart.
That sold me on the bronze thrust washers. My two cents worth, perhaps overvalued. Bill
It is a dandy expensive overly complex and ill advised solution to a problem that does not exist.
Agree, forget needle roller bearings in any part of a Model T
The standard bush behind the universal joint and bronze thrusts of the differential centre are more than appropriate
Alan
Royce explained it very well.....
So far everybody here has confirmed my opinion. I was surprised to see Facebook posts by a couple of apparently experienced Model T guys recommending them. That's where the "less friction = more power" remark came from. My thought on seeing that was "How much?" I suspect if there is any difference at all it would be too tiny to detect, and too insignificant to justify the potential failure of superfluous moving parts.
Royce said it best...
Just a thought. Perhaps what is happening on the forum is similar to some of the "shaming " that is related to "political correctness ". The poster gets "slagged " for sharing their experiences or perhaps opinion.
Just a possibility
Not knocking the site but I went there for a look-see after a recent posting here about it. Not impressed with what I saw and I didn't notice many (make that any) of the regular posters here whose opinions I trust.
Agree with Royce. Also not a fan of using a Torrington needle roller bearing on the front of the driveshaft.
I commented on this post; "Can see the gears in the rear axle part 2" before I saw this one.
I've never seen Torringtons used in a rear axle, only Timken tapered roller bearings and the stock Model T's use of bronze and Hyatts.
I have seen Torringtons used mainly in automatic transmissions and I believe they are superior there. But, proper set up of an auto trans requires very precise use of depth mics for calculating shim requirements to keep clearances in spec. I believe that keeping the needles where they are supposed to be depends on that.
I suspect that when Torringtons are used in a Model T rear axle some may not fully appreciate the need for the close tolerances described above and if there is too much clearance or play in the diff carrier the needles can come out, with potentially catastrophic results.
I confess I have never seen any instructions on how to go about this modification. Do instructions exist or do those who make this mod just wing it?
Yes, they do come with instructions.
http://modeltranch.com/show_product.asp?idProduct=31