I purchased my T in 1970. It was a bit of a wreck. There was no roof, no seat, no upholstery, no paint, no front window, a bent axle and dented and cracked fenders. Needless to say it took a long time to restore. I used it for many years driving around southern Ontario. I have just taken it out of storage after21 years. It ran fairly well after all that time but I delivered it on a trailer to a new location. Backing it onto a flatbed trailer was an event. I may have done in the reverse lining. I found backing up thereafter very jerky. I tried adjusting the reverse pedal by tightening the nut but it loosened again. I have now carefully removed the nut and washer. The washer seems very worn so I have ordered a new one. I thought maybe I should remove the band and check the lining but I gather I need to also remove the slow band as well. My problem is the lock nut is stuck. It must have rusted. My wrench just slips as the nut is indented slightly into the hogs head. A socket won’t fit as the exhaust is in the way. It is either too short or too long. Any thoughts as to whether or not the jerky movement in reverse might indicate a lining issue and suggestions as to how to loosen the lock not.
A box wrench usually fits the 15/16" nut on the low band.
I have the wrench but it slips off when I put any pressure on it. Unfortunately the wrench will not sit flush with the surface so that is why it slips off. Thanks for your reply.
If that’s the case you may have to use a hammer and chisel to loosen the nut then replace it.
Thanks. I guess that will be the last resort.
I managed to locate a 15/16" wrench with a closed end. It is slightly angled out so it fit nicely onto the nut so I was able to free it and remove the bolt holding the slow band. Now to remove the bands themselves.
I have remover the bendix cover and the ear off the reverse band; actually it almost fell off. I have the low speed spring off but I cannot seem to remove the ear. There must be some trick that I don’t know. I am not sure whether I even need to remove the low speed band as I think it should be okay. Is it possible to remove the reverse band without removing the low speed band. The reverse pedal is out but I am not sure how to get the low pedal out. I do not want to damage the bands. Any suggestions would be appreciated. It is years since worked on this before. Just a note: I counted the rags going in and out. 5 in 6 out. Obviously one tore in half.
Yes you should be able to remove the reverse band. The bands have to be removed from front to back. The reverse band always has to come out first.
Thanks. I was thinking of leaving the brake band in as I believe it should be in good condition but I see that I have to remove the nut, washer and spring from it as well as the brake pedal has to be removed so as to let the reverse band clear. I guess I was just being lazy.
You should be able to remove the reverse band without touching anything else.
That is interesting. I guess I have read so much online and looked at videos that it can become misleading with different points of view. I haven’t done this job since I first restored the car in the 70s. One of the suggestions was to put the hand brake into the neutral position. Doing that puts the linkages in the way of removing the reverse band. I guess I could have moved the brake forward and then removed the linkage. Anyway I have the band removed and am ready to attach the new lining. Surprisingly, the lining looks a little short compared to the ones I have on and ones I see in the videos. Not significantly short, just not right to the end of the metal at the ends. Should get time today to rivit the linings and get the band back in. Again I have appreciated your help. By getting good advice it makes the chance of error less likely. Thanks again.
Well the ongoing saga of installing the reverse band continues. I got the band in alright but it seems to have been caught up in the slow speed band. Since I was unable to separate the two, I removed the band again. I thought that maybe shifting the slow speed band into the reverse band’s position, I could then move the reverse band back into the slow speed position. For some reason with the slow speed band in the reverse band position, I am unable to pull it up so as to install the pedal. It is as if the band is too short which makes no sense at all. It must be caught on something below preventing it from fully pulling up. I have no idea as to the cause.
It’s likely caught in a magnet. Maybe try rotating the engine by rocking the car with the clutch let out and the brake released.
I rocked the car back and forth with no change. So I decided to remove the ear from the band. When I did that, I was able to remove the band with no difficulty. So now I have 2 bands removed; the brake band still in place but with the spring removed. I tried putting a band back in. The band goes around part way so the end is out of sight and no further. It is as if it is hitting something preventing the band from moving further. Does not make sense to me as this should be a relative easy job with a little patience.
Well I was able to get the reverse band in. I did not reinstall the ear. I am able to move the band freely. So the next step is to install the slow speed band. I got it half way in and it is stuck. It will not go in further or come out. It could be as you earlier suggested tangled with a magnet. I will try rocking the car again to see it I can free it. Somewhere I read that before staring the project that the pin holding the break lever to the clutch should be removed. I see little effect of having the pin out so I have just put it back. Not that that seems to an issue here.
Well by rocking I was able to remove the stuck band. Now I think what I should do is put the spring, washer and nut on the reverse band so that it is secure. Then I think I should try again to get the slow band installed. That is the plan.
I seem to have the same ongoing problem. I have 2 bands in, the break band and the reverse. The problem with both is that I cannot pull the band up far enough to install a nut. Both bands will not pull up. I see the lug for each; can hook onto them but they only pull up so far; definitely not far enough
Sounds like the removeable lug isn’t fully snapped into place. Some removable bands have slots, others have pins that fit into holes and then snap into slots. Can you post a picture of what the ends of your bands look like?
I didn’t remove the brake lug, just the nut, washer and spring. The reverse and slow speed lug came off with no effort. I put the reverse lug back on with no problem. I do have a band tool that I have had for years but I can’t see where it would be needed as the lug just slipped on.
This is why I always remove the hogshead to reline the bands. The band installation tool is sort of a guide that can help.