Ruckstell Rear End

S

Speedster Jeff

Member
Hello,


My T has a Ruckstell rear end and I'm new to the T world. What type of oil should be used in this rear end? Should I drive it around and get the old oil hot so it will drain out better?



Thank you in advance,


Jeff
 
Use the Lubraplate 90W, requires one quart keeping the oil level up to the bottom of the filler hole.

Dave over to Chaffins is a great resource for parts and questions in regards to the Ruckstell, good luck and let us know how you make out.
 
Suggestion; Before you drain it, drill and tap the passengers side housing on the bottom for a 1/8PT plug. Keep a pan under it as you drill and tap. The lube flowing thru the new hole will carry most all the chips that may have gotten in out. Then put the new plug in and after its drained over night, fill with mineral spirits, jack one side up and run for a while to flush the inside then drain over night and fill with new lube. I use one of the allen type brass plugs on mine. 90/140 should work but be sure it is safe with brass, some are not and will eat the brass away. google "mtfca ruckstell lube" or "mtfca ruckstell oil"
 
I'm not familiar enough with the Ruckstell to know if it has phosphor bronze bushings in it or not. The high extra pressure lubes rated GL5 will slowly eat away at the soft metal bushings if applicable. The mild EP GL4 is available in the Sta-Lube brand from NAPA and other distributors. The extra pressure additives are low enough as to not be much of a problem with soft metals like brass and phosphor bronze. If there are no soft metal load bearing parts in there, you can use any gear lube you want.

Another safe way to go is SAE-50 motor oil since it is equal to the SAE-90 gear lube viscosity. Aircraft and Harley Davidson motorcycles still use the heavy viscosity motor oils. Some aircraft oils have a pressure additive and they should be avoided.
 
The housing that holds the thrust ball bearing, part number P139, on the driver side is bronze as well as the thrust washer on the passenger side. Both have rubbing surfaces.
 
redmodelt said:
Suggestion; Before you drain it, drill and tap the passengers side housing on the bottom for a 1/8PT plug. Keep a pan under it as you drill and tap. The lube flowing thru the new hole will carry most all the chips that may have gotten in out. Then put the new plug in and after its drained over night, fill with mineral spirits, jack one side up and run for a while to flush the inside then drain over night and fill with new lube. I use one of the allen type brass plugs on mine. 90/140 should work but be sure it is safe with brass, some are not and will eat the brass away. google "mtfca ruckstell lube" or "mtfca ruckstell oil"
Click to expand...




Is there no drain plug in the bottom, or does one have to split it apart to drain the oil? I'm not at the car until the weekend and now I am curious.


Thank you,


Jeff
 
There is no drain, you would need to suck the old lube out thru the fill hole. That is why I made the suggestion. The T's I work on are NOT points cars and this is something I have been doing for some time when I rebuild a rear end also have done on a few in place rears. While it can be done, by time you have separated the half's, it would not be much more work to pull the rear and go thru it.
 
redmodelt said:
There is no drain, you would need to suck the old lube out thru the fill hole. That is why I made the suggestion. The T's I work on are NOT points cars and this is something I have been doing for some time when I rebuild a rear end also have done on a few in place rears. While it can be done, by time you have separated the half's, it would not be much more work to pull the rear and go thru it.
Click to expand...


Thank you for the information. I have added an air line with a small amount of pressure to items I want to drill so that all of the shavings blow out towards the drill. Is the Ruckstell something I could put two or three pounds of air pressure on through the filler hole and not cause any problems with the other areas of the rear end? It works quite well because if you are careful, you will have nearly no shavings to deal with on the inside once completed and a small magnet seems to take care of the rest. What about a 1/2" plug?


Thank you,


Jeff
 
Too big on the 1/2. The 1/8 PT I suggested is because the casting is rather thin, but you might get away with 1/4PT. You can try adding air but the rear end is not sealed and air will just blow out the ends and up the driveshaft tube. Leaving the lube in it now will keep the shavings in a really small area and most will stay on the drill and tap and flow with the old lube out as you do the job. (That is why I said to have a pan under it as you work) Oh don't go too deep with the tap, just enough to fit with plug still sticking out some when done.
 
redmodelt said:
Too big on the 1/2. The 1/8 PT I suggested is because the casting is rather thin, but you might get away with 1/4PT. You can try adding air but the rear end is not sealed and air will just blow out the ends and up the driveshaft tube. Leaving the lube in it now will keep the shavings in a really small area and most will stay on the drill and tap and flow with the old lube out as you do the job. (That is why I said to have a pan under it as you work) Oh don't go too deep with the tap, just enough to fit with plug still sticking out some when done.
Click to expand...




Great information!


Thank you,


Jeff
 
Hey Redmodel T. You might get a kick out of this photo. I took this a few years back when I first drained the fluid out of my Ruxtel. Worked pretty darn well after a drive. Fluid was warm and came out the fill hole easily. I like your above suggestion on the small drain plug. I may also add a hole/plug and use a stock plug set at a lower point when I disassemble the rear end at some point.

The little truck has come a long way since that time.
 

Attachments

  • t jumpin for joy..jpg
    t jumpin for joy..jpg
    85 KB · Views: 48
  • scenic.jpg
    scenic.jpg
    81.3 KB · Views: 43
You will note that were the filler plug the cast has a hole drilled in a boss so is thicker there. Like I said above, you don't want to go much larger then I suggested, you would only have a few threads to work with and the casting is curved.
My 25 looks very similar.
 

Attachments

  • DSCF5984.jpg
    DSCF5984.jpg
    81.9 KB · Views: 27
  • DSCF5987.jpg
    DSCF5987.jpg
    84.4 KB · Views: 27
  • DSCF5989.jpg
    DSCF5989.jpg
    83.2 KB · Views: 29
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top