MTFCA Forum

What is a suitable oil for my fan hub?
It seems like regular 30W or similar oil would seep out. Maybe that is the plan and the reason for the reservoir.

Mike

Buy the modern fan hub with sealed bearings for best results. Or if you like a mess under the hood, screw in a grease zerk and try that.

Engine oil, 5w-30, 10w-40, whatever is in your oil can. Regardless of what you use, it will leak out. Grease will leave a real mess on the inside of your hood. If your bushings and shaft are in good shape and the felt seal and fan gasket are in place it should hold oil for a year or so. Worth checking at the start of the season and before a tour.

Which style fan hub? If the fan hub bushings on a later style (1919 through 1927) hub are in really good condition, motor oil will work, but leak out slowly and need to be replaced often (routine model T maintenance). They have a small screw plug to add in oil. Earlier style fan hubs had a hollow shaft with a grease cup cap on the back end to push heavier grease into them.

If your later style fan hub bushings are slightly worn, but not yet anywhere near bad? And you are either too cheap or too broke to replace them just because they should be replaced? I have run them for many years by using gear oil in them (90 or 140 wt). A little tough to put in through that small hole in the hub, but seems to work fine for many years and leaks out very slowly.

Unless it is the early style made of grease, do not use grease in them. Grease does not reach the bushings like oil does or even the heavier oils like bar oil.

I use the same oil I use in the engine, 10-30. I check the hub oil every time I start the engine and top it off when needed.

600W or same heavy oil used in the rear axle. Lubes well, as doesn't leak like thinner engine oils.

Use STP. It’s really good for long lasting lubrication. Use a mixture of light grease or heavy gear oil and STP for a good type of lubrication. It was widely used to prelube bearings in newly rebuilt engines when I was in high school and learning about doing it from local hot rodders. You would lightly coat the bearing journals straight out of the can. It’s super slick.

I use 600W. Mine is the stock standard set up with bushing and felt washer. No problems with leakage.

Thanks everyone. I have the '26/'27 long fan hub. I installed new bushings but I am using my original shaft. It has some wear but was the best choice from the ones I had. I have gear oil on hand so I think that will be my best choice.
While doing some other work on the car, we noticed the belt running against the front flange of the fan hub. We figured it must be sagging due to worn bushings. When I took it off, I was surprised that everything was tighter than I anticipated. I went digging for new bushings and found a matching hub. My original hub has substantial wear. Enough that the surface where the belt runs is concave instead of crowned like the matching one that I found in my stash. I installed the new bushings in the found hub, using a fine thread bolt that fit nicely in the bushings. I was hoping that this arrangement would keep everything aligned. The "un-worn" part of the shaft had to be persuaded to go through the bushing and once installed there is a tight spot that I don't quite understand.
I'm going to use it for now and keep on the look-out for another hub to start over.
Thanks again everyone.

Mike

Install seal in fan hub Problem solved

30w oil. It needs to be thin enough to make its’ way from the reservoir through the center of the shaft to the hole in the center and out of the shaft into the space between the bushings so it can lubricate the front and rear bushings. Grease or 600w oil is too thick and will only block the lubrication hole preventing any lubrication at all.

Jim, Thanks for the detailed illustration. It brings up a question though.
My hub is extended to bring the fan closer to the radiator. Most of the hubs in my spares were like the one you show but I found one long one and used it to replace my badly worn one. I had only one neck/bracket that was the squeeze bolt style, like my original, and it had the short hub. Does anyone know the evolution of the hub and neck/bracket?
Also, I looked through all my old partial gasket sets and did not find a single felt washer for the fan hub. Does anyone know of a suitable substitute?

Mike

I use 140, the same as the rear end.

The "squeeze" bolt style was early '26 & proved to be a not good design due to folks cracking the casting. The long snout pulley was brought out for the 2-row radiator.

Fan shaft felt washer. Item 3983 at Lang’s. .85.

We’ll have to ask the gang from Canada, but I think the T’s there only received the 2 row radiator due to their cooler climate. Thus the longer casting

It was the fan hub that was longer - not the outlet casting.

Yes, the hub is extended forward. This car was given to me in 1966, by a family friend. He bought it at a farm auction in 1953 from the original owner. The car has been in central Missouri since new.

I know I can get a new felt washer but I am guessing that Langs or other suppliers would not appreciate an order for 85 cents worth of merchandise. I am surprised that the washer is not included in the gasket kits I have. If there is something from the hardware store that works, it would be a more practical solution.

Mike

You should get an order together to allow you to purchase the felt washer. It is uniquely suited for the purpose of holding in the oil in, while applying pressure to the pulley to keep it tight and lubricating the face of the rear bushing with the oil retained within the felt washer. I don’t thing there are any substitutes for the felt washer.