MTFCA Forum

Fan pulley oil. What the zerk? Ream? Felt?
The 1/4" pin in the eccentric was missing and someone had used a screw which was too short So, I just cut a new pin (not listed as a part available from the vendors).
The screw was worn. So, I now have new bushings which are pressed in. Right now the screw does not go in.
A) What do I ream the new bushings to?
I am guessing .001 above whatever the bolt diameter is.

There were no remnants of the felt beneath the cap.
B) Does the felt washer get smashed by the bolt tightness to oblivion?

After it all gets assembled...
C) What oil or grease should I use in the fan pulley?
Service bulletin says "bath of oil".

D) Is the zerk correct or was there an oil cup?
Oscar Zerk patented the device in 1923. I'm guessing that an oil cap would just sling the oil out. I've got the grease gun but never seen an oil gun with a zerk and don't have one.
Thanks guys, ya'll are great.

There was originally a brass slotted plug to be removed for oiling.
The felt washer goes in a cormed rear cap. The felt floats in a space between the shaft & the cup. the shaft (large OD) area is longer than flush to the bushing for this purpose.

Motor oil to lube. Greasing that zerk is OK. Grease makes less mess over oil.
Ream is standard 5/8"?. Sfaft has the clearance built in. .oo1 probably too tight.
Dont make fan belt tight. It should slip easily moving the fan by hand. Tight is unnecessary & will wear the bushing fast.

I grease my fan bearing (bushing) through a zerk every 1000 miles. Never had a problem.

Art Mirtes

Here's where things go - there is a later long neck pulley but everything else is the same.
The shaft needs to be held tight while allowing the pulley to spin without much lateral movement.

Father forgive me for I have sinned. I replaced the whole pulley with an aluminum, sealed bearing pully from Lang's. The original brass-bushing pulley slung a stripe of grease around the hood and anything else that aligned with it. I got really tired of cleaning grease out of everything. A future custodian of my T can reinstall the original if he or she's a glutton for punishment. I will happily give them the original setup free with the car. And I would do it again.

I use chain bar lube. Never had good luck with using grease in that location. Grease or oil, it does seem to find the inside of my hood.

Always have heavy 600W fluid oil on hand, so it works in that later fan pulley too Ford said so.

I use a little dribble of 80w gear oil, or Lucas oil treatment. I have the original pulley on both my '23 and my '26. Remove the screw, and dribble it in. Takes a minute to do, but it flings around under the hood a lot less, minutely, than lighter oil and yet lubricates well.

John Codman wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 24, 2023 2:20 pm

Father forgive me for I have sinned. I replaced the whole pulley with an aluminum, sealed bearing pully from Lang's. The original brass-bushing pulley slung a stripe of grease around the hood and anything else that aligned with it. I got really tired of cleaning grease out of everything. A future custodian of my T can reinstall the original if he or she's a glutton for punishment. I will happily give them the original setup free with the car. And I would do it again.

I forgive you, my son. I have also sinned in this fashion on one of my t"s.

Oh....be welcoming ye sinner, for I join thy ranks.

After reaming a new fan shaft bushing, for a new shaft, within a day of two of touring a horrible screech emitted from under the hood. I failed to give clearance and the fan stuck fast.

So....replaced the Ford one with the Reproduction. Been quietly churning cool air through the radiator for years now, with no service!

All great info. Not afraid of Felt anymore. Grease will just sling away from the center hole in the bolt. I have some 80/90. Might use Loctite blue on Mr. Zerk.

Dan,
You "failed to give clearance"...remember what clearance failed? or what any suggestion might be better?
Thanks

varmint wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 24, 2023 6:10 pm

Dan,
You "failed to give clearance"...remember what clearance failed? or what any suggestion might be better?
Thanks

No, never gaged, just used an adjustable hand reamer and fitted shaft to what I deemed a good fit, the shaft turned freely.

Could be running belt too tight also, used 600w, but was shocked to find my work just galled up that shaft and fan starting squealing and squealing, louder until I stopped and looked under the hood. The fan wouldn’t turn at all, belt just scooting over the pulley.

There is nothing wrong with stock. Don't think the oil will stay in your fan forever! Check it now an then. I use 90wt gear oil in mine. That style of fan came out in 1920, and was from 1920-27.

Had to relearn how to use adjustable reamers but the fit is nice and spins freely.
Made a washer from a roll of felt.
The 1/4" pin fell out on me a couple of days ago, figured that could be bad on the road.

There were only three screws for the fan and one of the threaded holes was gacked up & malformed...explains the missing screw. So, I chased the threads and may have inadvertently upgraded a size #14 for a 1/4" for all four holes. Found some 1/4" Philips round heads and converted them to slotted. After the center bolt was tight, I cranked it several times and the belt runs true. The belt has not yet been tightened on the pulleys and won't be until it's time to run the engine. I lubed the bolt before insertion and already had drips from the back side on top the crank pulley below.

You try that fan hub with your radiator?? That hub is normally used on the super economy radiators shipped to the west.
They wont fit a normal thick radiator, especially a new Rootleb unit.

John

very astute!
and may well have saved some unfortunate damage to a fresh radiator

Early on I learned that the hard way. I thought that was the correct pully for a 26-7.
Fortunately my radiator was in place. No damage, just wasted time.

It is the pulley that came with our Model T.
No. I have not tried it with my radiator.
The radiator that was on it was stolen for scrap before I bought it.

Fan is installed on the pulley. Guess I'll have to see if what I've got will work.

I am curious about what super economy radiator means.
This October '26 coupe had wood wheels, not spoke,
a Kingston L4, not the Vaporizer,
and now I learn a super economy radiator.
The Ford assembly plant here in New Orleans was shipping a lot to South American countries and this paints a picture of cheaper cars.

Super economy was a 2 row core. Saved ford money. Very poor cooling capacity.

Can't say I've ever seen that style of fan on a T !

The adapter that brings the fan closer to the radiator on The late 26 - 27 cars was used when the car was equipped with a three-row tube radiator instead of the five row tube radiator.

That fan in your picture looks a lot like a fan that was on a 1954 flathead six Dodge pickup I once owned. If you plan to use it on your Model T, now would be the time to buy a modern fan pulley with the modern bearings, it will move your fan back some from your radiator, which I am sure you will need to do. If you do have a tin core radiator, then I would find a stock late Model T fan to use.

This is the fan that came with our T. I had no idea that it was not stock.

I mocked up the radiator and there is 3/8" clearance. Totally don't know the speck. Rotated the fan by crankshaft and nothing hits. I could purchase the fan to make it correct but not sure if a stock fan will stick out more than this one.

Vernon

do yourself a $1300 favor and locate a standard FORD pulley (or modern ball bearing replacement) and install it with whatever fan tickles your fancy

yours (above), vs standard pulley (below): Photo courtesy of Ron Patterson

Vernon, some observations, made possible by the photos you posted.

The fit of your mix of components looks OK, BUT,

The fan is not a stock T fan.

The radiator is an aftermarket replacement. The side panels are like none I have ever seen, and the mounting points at the frame likewise.
For that fan/pulley assembly to fit as it does indicates to me that the radiator is of the thinner core variety. On Ford thin core radiators, at the back of the bottom tank, there is a blank area where the extra two rows of tubes would normally go. Yours does not have this feature, indicating to me that the whole radiator is not a Ford part.

Will it work as it should? Perhaps, but not as well as might. You have nothing to lose trying it.

To get to a standard Ford set-up, you will need a different pulley, standard T fan with parallel sided blades, and a new radiator.

Hope this helps

The new design fan pulley I believe was introduced in 1920. For those who go by the book use heavy oil in the fan, making it hard to sling grease everywhere. It's a good idea to check the oil every now an then. It does get used up over a period of time. I learned about that the hard way!

I seem to recall that particular episode whilst on the National Tour several years ago based in Rohnert Park, CA ?

Hey Vern... Have a restful 4th of July. ... I'm sure when you inspected the fan you found no cracks or anything in question. The fan pulley hub adapter was used with the factory installed three row radiator, which your car has. .... If you question the fan installed, an original fan can be purchased through the suppliers. ------'nuff said...... Our '26 , assembled in October of 1926, was equipped the same way

Oil or Grease? Look at the path the lubricant needs to flow & decide what to use.
Drawing by Jim Patrick...
Expected lubricant flow
-Oil plug/grease zerk into reservoir in pulley behind fan then passing through the oil hole in the fan shaft and out another oil hole in the shaft that is in a void between the two bushings in order to lubricate them. Excess lubricant in the front busing is self contained, any seeping out the rear bushing is "retained" by the felt seal. As the pulley spins centrifugal force will cause the lubricant in the reservoir to be driven away from the front oil hole in the shaft while simultaneously causing the lubricant in the void between the bushings to cause lubrication.
So the questions:
-What lubricant will settle down into the reservoir when the engine is off in order to flow into the fan shaft tube etc.
-Does the design rely on capillary action to cause the lubricant to flow from the reservoir into the void between the bushings via the shaft tube ?

The. "book " ... Calls to use 600W oil, same as differential oil.

Again, had no clue there was a rogue fan on there. The imposture has been removed and replaced this morning.