MTFCA Forum

I have recently changed my bands and am trying to get everything dialed in, and I am experiencing a problem where the low pedal goes overcenter only when the clutch lever is all the way forward (i.e. in high gear position). The pedal was fine when the lever was in neutral/first upright position. I attempted to adjust the clutch according to the diagram (pull the pedal all the way back, remove clevis, etc.) but the bolt the yoke attaches to isn't long enough to get the 1/16" play that is described. The yoke ends up about 1/4" or so from the pedal slot when yoke is adjusted all the way to the end. At the same time, I noticed that the clutch fingers are adjusted very tightly. The gap between the drive plate is closer to 1 1/8" from the suggested 13/16". Could these problems be related or are they a symptom of something worse?

The clutch fingers were adjusted this way before the band change.

Attached are pictures. These gaps occur when the clutch lever is all the way forward. The yoke is on the last 3 threads of the bolt and is unstable if adjusted any further.

Eric,

I think the first thing to do is set the clutch right.
Set the handbrake lever all the way forwards and set clutch right using the caliber you have there. Than pull the handbrake lever backwards till the set bolt is just on top of the speed lever(3432). The clutch finger should be just clearing the clutch spring assembly(3344). If not adjust the set bolt.
Push the clutch pedal forwards till you feel it is touching the clutch pedal support (3442). Now you just need to adjust the slow speed connection till it fits .

Just how I should try to do it.

Andre
Belgium

Just forgot to tell,

If you did it all right and the clutch is slipping in high gear, your clutch disks or the clutch spring are shot. Than you need to take it apart.

Good luck
André
Belgium

Andre

Thanks for the advice, I will give it a shot. To what piece of literature are the numbers in your reply referring to? (ex. 3432)

Ford
The universal Car
Price List of Parts
Model T
Effective August 5,1928

Go here for some good information.
https://modeltfordfix.com/adjusting-the ... nd-clutch/

Update:

I got the fingers adjusted to the proper clearance, and the compression/uncompression distance of the spring is much greater now. The clevis fits now when I follow the adjustment diagram, but now there's an issue where the clutch pedal is actuating between low and high gear even when the clutch lever is in middle position. The clutch pedal is very difficult to press as well. Adjusting the set bolt on the lever fixes this issue to an extent, but it has to be adjusted so much that it gets stuck when the lever goes from forward to back (meaning that is configuration isn't usable). Anybody have a suggestion?

Get experienced eyes to go over everything very carefully. Simply changing bands should NOT have required all of the adjustments (and now maladjustments) that you've gone through.

Under the assumption that the car was running prior to the band change, and now new bands are installed. Only very minor adjustment(s) should have been required.

It unfortunately sounds as though you have moved, screwed and adjusted everything under the floorboards now and those multitude of adjustments cannot likely be undone by well-intentioned people over the internet. In the future, never initiate wholesale multiple adjustments at once. Too many variables now to cypher out.

Call for on-site help.

Good luck. You'll be on the road as soon as someone who has been through this before lays eyes on it (and your best friend the VW mechanic is not the guy you want...find a "T" guy)

Update for posterity:

Enlisting the help of Tony, we were able to discover the likely problem my 15 touring was having with the clutch adjustment issues. There was nothing wrong with the spring, clutch, or clutch fingers. The reason that the adjustment was so difficult to get was that the clutch pedal itself is actually extremely loose on the clutch pedal shaft. The pedal has 10-20 degrees of rotational play in it before the pedal even begins to actuate anything; this is likely because the rivet holding the pedal onto the shaft has worn down overtime. This was causing overcenter problems and proper adjustment problems. The proper fix would be to take the hogshead off and replace the shaft, but a quick couple of welds on the end of the pedal will have to do to keep it in place for now.

Interesting problem, Tony didn't remember seeing something like it before. Hopefully this helps somebody in the future. Thanks Tony!

Very good of you to post the epilogue.

Your problem is not really as rare as you may believe. That much movement is a very large part of the total movement of the pedal to get low gear locked up. You are very lucky to not have had serious problems crop up in the transmission with that much slack movement.

If you didn't hear it, Your car said "thank you!"