MTFCA Forum

Hello all,
Having watched and worked with my father a model A's for many years, We talk a lot about getting a Model T; But never did. A few years ago I had the opportunity to buy my first T, A 1927 roadster pickup.With the usual story... Stored in a shed for fifty year-and in need of a lot of work. "That's the fun of this hobby right!" Well with Dad no longer around It's up to me to pass on the Love of old cars to my son. So we are starting down the road of T maintenance and repair. My question is while working on the rear brakes I noticed some movement in each axle 1/8 in-out. wanting to know if I just need to tighten something, or replace parts. Or am I in for a rebuild? currently we don't have the T running yet, May need to drive it to know for sure what to do. My read end is the Ruckstell. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.I don't live in a town that has a T club, Nearest one is 250 miles in Denver. Thanks. Mike

Excessive movement. A fresh rebuild would have no more than .010" of possible clearance movement.
Tear it down. If not you risk further damage to a pile of expensive parts.
That much movement in a Rux axle could lead to popping into a neutral.

Suggest you purchase the MTFCA Books RM 7 and RX3. These two will help you diagnose and repair your ruckstell. Also other MTFCA books on the various Model T systems. I believe they are only $12 each most vendors carry them.

There should be minimal in/out movement. It comes from space between the axle ends, usually taken care of by a fibre washer between the two, and more seriously, worn thrust washers either side of the differential carrier. These must be examined, and most likely replaced with new bronze washers.
The old babbit washers have a habit of disintegrating, causing the pinion gear to ever-ride the crown wheel, and that means NO BRAKES!

Allan from down under.

a Ruckstell only has one babbit rear thrust washer. Fortunately, the thrust bearing on the shifter side somewhat prevents movement in that direction and prevemns ring and pinion separation. I'd still disassemble it and check it before driving over a few blocks. Someone left the inner Hiatt out of mine when they rebuilt it! It broke the shifter after I got it home.

I missed the Ruckstell notation. Yes, the ballrace thrust bearing should hold the diff centre in place. However, to have the side play indicated means there has to be room to move, and the babbit thrust is the most likely candidate to allow this. It does mean that the ballrace must also allow the diff centre to move, being either loose on the diff centre or loose in the axle housing. It's been 21 years since i rebuilt my only Ruckstell so I could have this all wrong. Anyway, it needs a teardown.


Allan from down under.

What year Ruxtel? more images here app.php/gallery/album/249

Thank you all for your knowledge and help. I have a better under standing now what I need to do. I do have a conventional 26-27 rear end that has been rebuilt. and the axles are tight; no wiggles. So I think I'll drop this in and remove the rucksell for the rework later as I gain a better understanding and maybe find some help, again thank you all, I'm sure I'll be seeking more advice on this and other projects for this T. Regards...Mike

Mike, you live in an area with hills and mointains,, You'll love, and perhaps need, your Ruckstell to not have to climb those hills in low gear. Your saving grace is that it's a lightweight roadster. They aren't that difficult to rebuild if you choose to do so before driving much. Also, if you don't have an accessory oiler to push oil to the front main bearing on those long uphills, you might want to consider one. Have fun with your T!