MTFCA Forum

Did an oil change on the '26 Touring this afternoon and found this unidentified but obviously ferrous object sticking up from the magnetic plug.

Both sides look partially peened. One end and one side appear square and smooth, other end and side have been broken away from something bigger. Thickness about 0.050".

Thoughts? (Hopefully no prayers needed!)

Ring gear tooth? Ouch!

Kind of looks to me like the remains of a brake drum lug shoe:

https://www.modeltford.com/item/3312S.aspx

If the transmission was rebuilt and new shoes added a while ago, there were some bad ones made. The grain of the steel went the wrong way or wrong temper steel was used, and they were prone to breaking along the fold lines.

Marks are on the mark

and there's more where that came from

Good catch. fix quickly or OMG!

Hank's right

they all need to go, and the remainder of this one needs to be found. Not a horrendous job, but a significant one for sure.

Well, %#£¥@&#*&@X$@&!!!

Thanks guys. Bad to hear, good to know.

How would those get outside the brake drum? Isn't it enclosed on the front and the back?
Norm

There are holes in the drive plate.

One looks at the brake drum, the steel lugs. Considers the clutch plates surrounding the steel lug. The brake drum again, the driven plate bolted tightly behind it. One thinks that no way those lug pieces could get out!
But they do. I don't know how? But I have spoken with several people that have found the pieces like this. Loose within the engine's oil. And I have read several threads just like this one.
As if that isn't enough? I myself once pulled such a lug piece out of an engine I took apart to rebuild. It was outside the confines of the brake drum and clutch.
So there.
One of the universal mysteries.

Seeing this can be a real gut ache! Been there done that!

To prevent the abnormal wear you see..., do not cruise perfectly on flat ground. Alternate your speed at times will keep this back slip/lash from happening (oscillation of power). Load up and unload power band keeps gears and lugs tight.

Hank

Them little cutting tools can work their way between the drum & band lining, not to mention your field coil. Been there.
Bit by another batch of bad repop parts.

In cases where the lug shoes have begun to fail, does the car show symptoms, like clutch grabbing/dragging, making strange noises?

TXGOAT2 wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 22, 2021 10:13 am

In cases where the lug shoes have begun to fail, does the car show symptoms, like clutch grabbing/dragging, making strange noises?

Mine had some sticky clutch symptoms. Came & went, came back. Inconsistent.

My clutch seems to work perfectly, so I expect that the shoes are in good shape. It's smooth and consistent, and holds well.

speedytinc wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 22, 2021 8:40 am

Them little cutting tools can work their way between the drum & band lining, not to mention your field coil. Been there.
Bit by another batch of bad repop parts.

I don't recall reading his transmission was rebuilt using our brake drum clutch shoes which are made to the original Ford print including material and heat treat. We have literally sold thousands of these shoes and have yet to receive a complaint of this nature from a customer.

Furthermore, it is not uncommon for the original shoes to fail over time due to excessive wear caused by the clutch disks. Case in point, the photo of the intact shoe shown next to the fragment.

Lastly, please try to refrain from making assumptions on the forum when you do not have all the facts. I had a conversation with the person who made the initial post and he was unable to verify if the shoes were ever replaced. I do agree he should be concerned and I also suggested he pull the engine for further inspection.

I am not claiming these defective shoes came from you guys. This shoe problem was "common knowledge" 40 years ago & by their nature still turn up today. You might ask Glen about this, I'm sure he will remember the situation. This is another situation of bad ropop parts coming back to haunt us. My particular engine was built in the 70's. I assume the shoes were replaced @ that time. By the fact that they all split & coming apart around the same time showing little wear they had to be defective. I have disassembled a lot of transmissions that had lots of wear & dont see cracks in the bends of these shoes, much less missing pieces.
I have had very very few issues with your parts. Can only recall 1 at the moment. I am a direct kind of guy. If there is an issue, for the sake of the hobby, & your efforts to produce the best available parts I let Dave know directly.

I talked to dad and he did say there was another source many years ago (won't mention who) that did have issues. I stand corrected.

I've had one of those break in my coupe and it destroyed my magneto field coil. I'll only use original Ford wear shoes now.

Stephen

I went thru the invoices from when this transmission was worked on in 2012… bushings, washers, pins, bands etc. but no drum lug shoes. Safe to assume I reused what was in there at the time, most likely since day one.

In hindsight, there were smarter ways to save $15. I was probably lucky to get nine good years and many thousands of miles out of them.

The Touring is up on dollies and patiently waiting the return of my loaned-out hoist and engine stand…