Man's Gotta Do What ...

Today was really home brew day, not Model A day. But in the process of making my favorite recipe I had time to change the oil in the transmission and the differential of the Model A. The tranny has a fairly loud growl that made me suspect the a rebuild was not too far off. Still, knowing it wasn't something I could afford to do before spring, I decided to change the oil. After all, the truck has been sitting idle in extreme temperatures for 21 years and only been driven 800 miles in all that time. I started to imagine how the inside of the transmission and differential might look.

As I took off the floorboard and started to clean away some of the caked on oil and dirt I was surprised to find a fairly nice coat of paint on the transmission case. The crud on there was nowhere near 80 years old. Someone had worked on this transmission just prior to my brother acquiring the car. Cool! Anyway, upon removing the drain plug only a small amount of oil drained out. Still, it was not the black sludge I anticipated. I refilled the transmission case with gasoline and started the car to slosh it around a bit, then drained it back out.

While I let the tranny air out I drained the oil from the differential. Again, there appears to be a newer coat of paint on the torque tube and differential housing. And, when I drained the oil it was red and clean looking. I refilled both with heavy duty gear oil.

The subsequent test ride was very satisfying. Whereas, before conversation between the passenger and me would have to stop when high revs made the transmission noisy, now the little truck seems relatively quiet. Also, shifting is greatly improved. Very satisfying.

I cleaned up both the mechanics mess and the brewing equipment and went in to shower. Typically, after any repair or adjustment, even a washing I take my cars and bikes out for a little test ride. Hey, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Besides, tonight is a beautiful temperate winter evening. So I took the little truck out for a cruise through town. It was a pleasure to be able to relax about the back half of the drive train.