oldmotorsguy
Senior Member
I have been working on a friend's 1923 Ford Model T Touring car over the winter and into the spring now, and it has severe difficulty in getting the car to go in reverse.
I replaced the old cotton bands with Kevlar bands over the winter, but never adjusted them other than running it up on jack stands and tightening them by how much pedal travel each band had (it was 10 degrees outside, no way am I that tough to run it around in those temps). It ran OK in all gears, but reverse was a bit grudging, I figured it would work in once the spring came and my friend put some miles on the bands.
According to the owner, this car has never really had a true nuetral in the 10 years he has owned it, and it has always creeped forward. The reverse has worked fine in the past, but not now. Now that these new bands are in, it still has a forward creep, although adjusting the bands can eliminate it for a while, but the creep returns once it has run just a minute or two.
The ghost in the ****** now will simply not let reverse engage unless you let it slip some, with lots of accelerator. Giving it full oomph on the reverse pedal and lots of gas, it will just kill the engine. It is as if the forward is fighting the reverse, and the reverse loses. I have replaced the low speed linkage, and adjust the bands and it behaves for a minute or two, then goes back to its evil ways.
I have heard that perhaps a bad reverse drum is at work here, but do not know how that would be diagnosed. If anyone has seen this before, let me know how you remedied the problem, as this is very frustrating for all involved (especially the owner).
I replaced the old cotton bands with Kevlar bands over the winter, but never adjusted them other than running it up on jack stands and tightening them by how much pedal travel each band had (it was 10 degrees outside, no way am I that tough to run it around in those temps). It ran OK in all gears, but reverse was a bit grudging, I figured it would work in once the spring came and my friend put some miles on the bands.
According to the owner, this car has never really had a true nuetral in the 10 years he has owned it, and it has always creeped forward. The reverse has worked fine in the past, but not now. Now that these new bands are in, it still has a forward creep, although adjusting the bands can eliminate it for a while, but the creep returns once it has run just a minute or two.
The ghost in the ****** now will simply not let reverse engage unless you let it slip some, with lots of accelerator. Giving it full oomph on the reverse pedal and lots of gas, it will just kill the engine. It is as if the forward is fighting the reverse, and the reverse loses. I have replaced the low speed linkage, and adjust the bands and it behaves for a minute or two, then goes back to its evil ways.
I have heard that perhaps a bad reverse drum is at work here, but do not know how that would be diagnosed. If anyone has seen this before, let me know how you remedied the problem, as this is very frustrating for all involved (especially the owner).
