Last Sunday I went for a short drive in my 1914 Touring car to test an adjustment I had made to the reverse band which had been slipping when backing uphill. The adjustment was effective, so I went back home, shut her down, and went in the house to get my GPS (my only speedo and odometer) for a longer drive. When I went to crank her up, the crank ratchet would not engage the pin in the crankshaft pulley! Hard as I would push the crank back, it would only spin freely without grabbing the pin.
Terrible thoughts crossed my mind, such as the whole crankshaft assembly shifted out of place and I would need another engine rebuild. I couldn't really see what was going on, so I pulled the radiator to get a clear view.
It was obvious that the pulley cannot slip and I could detect no movement of the crankshaft. I saw that the crank handle shaft sleeve in the front motormount was centered front-to-back and was limiting how far I could push the crank back.
I cut the safety wire from the two clamp bolts and found them to be slightly loose. With a couple of light taps, I drove the sleeve back, and now had full engagement of the ratchet teeth on the pin.
I post this event only to alert those with little Model T experience (like myself) to be aware of this potential problem. I have not seen it posted before nor could I find reference to it in any of my Model T literature. I don't really know if this was a unique problem for me or if it is a common occurance out there in the T world. If it saves anyone some grief, it was worth submitting, even though it demonstrates to the world my nievete in dealing with all the surprises in a 95 year-old car. Jack Hamilton

If that's what I think it is, it is the front engine mount. You could have saved your radiator by doing that. If the engine slips forward, it could cause the fan to hit the radiator. Those nuts or bolts on the later cars, must be tight, but the mount should be able to rotate as the car rounds corners or goes over bumps.
Norm

Thanks Norm. I didn't see any signs of the engine shifting on its mounts. Before I removed tha radiator, I noted that everything looked the same as it has all along. When I installed the engine a year ago, I made sure that the side mounts were not overly tightened so the engine could move, but I don't think they were loose enough to allow the 1/2' or so of change that I had in the ratchet reaching the pin. This Model T experience is an ongoing process!

The engine is unlikely to "slip forward" and run the fan into the radiator.

Sounds like the steel crank bushing is loose in the engine pan snout. Suggest you tack weld it to the pan snout on the front so it won't do this again at a more inconvenient time and place.