big mistake and a waste of time

[fredski]

I was having some difficulty shifting at times grinding gears. second to
high was iffy.
so I dumped my macs 600 and put in straight lucas stabilizer, thinking
this would slow the gears down between shifts. this stuff is like honey.

now only shift I can make is dead stop to first.

I was misinformed and was told this would make shifting easier.

woodya think am I loosing it ?

fredski

[Mitch//pa]

an easy correctable problem
as mentioned make sure your base idle is set low and your clutch adjustment is right

[rocket1]

If that lucas stuff is not petroleum based it won't lube the trans,it might be like STP,just an additive,if your idle is too high that makes shifting without grinding gears to much worse.

[C26Pinelake]

I am sure that the 600 grade that Macs sells comes from a reputable major refinery and is of a very acceptable quality. I am sure they don't manufacture their own oil and what they sell will serve your purpose just fine ! I have never heard or read of anyone having a problem with their oil or lubricants !
Wayne

[J Franklin]

I use 140 gear oil and can shift up or down without clashing so I think you need to check your adjustments, alignments, and shifting habits. Let us know what you discover.

[Lona]

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Also, every A is different. I don't recall having to double clutch in my first coupe many years ago. With our present roadster, I have to double clutch and hesitate about two seconds between gears or they grind and that's with 600 W. When first driving our '31 Chrysler, I ground gears until realizing you need to double clutch it quickly to prevent grinding. The 600 W I put in the A worked so well, I also put it in the Chrysler. Wrong move! With 600 in the Chrysler, getting it out of first gear into neutral when first starting takes a hard push and it grinds no matter what technique I use to go from 2nd & then to 3rd until the tranny is warm. Then it shifts smoothly. Looks like I need to take the 600 W out of the Chrysler & replace it with standard 90 W.
The point is that it might take a little experimentation to determine what your car likes and how it likes you to shift.

Glen

[fredski]

some on the ford barn use straight stp so I figured lucas was better.
in any case its impossible to shift now, with out grinding very hard.

going to dump it, no not the car.

fredski

[Patrick L.]

The Lucas thing was brought up a few years ago. I was dumb enough to try it. It makes these monsters virtually unshiftable. It just turns to foam,and, foam is not a good thing.

I don't see much difference between 140 and 250 weight in these. Both seem to work fine.

[fredski]

by the way I know how to double clutch, and rev up slightly to down shift,
but need to practice somewhat. this car I bought in 1970 and has been
resting until very recently. first summer out since 1970
fred

[Sparky]

Based on some Fordbarn research I tried a 50/50 mix of the Lucas oil stabilizer and Lucas heavy-duty gear oil. So far it's been working fine.

[vermontboy]

Have you tried adjusting the clutch ??

[Terry,NJ]

I Wanted an oil I could get locally and I heard about Lucas Hub Oil working well. So I changed the 50/50 STP/lucas Oil Stabilyser for 50/50 Hub Oil/LOS. It still grinds and I have to double clutch. The Hub Oil won't leak out.
Also, When we hear that "It's not oil or oil based" we tend to think it has all the lubricating ability of say, maple syrup. When I changed the STP/LOS concoction, I perfomed a little experiment I had heard of years ago. I dipped a screwdriver into it and tried to hold it on the flats. This was the old oil, not new. Try as I might, it fell every time. So we can whip up synthetic lubricants in the lab that do work.
Terry

[fredski]

Originally Posted by vermontboy

Have you tried adjusting the clutch ??

clutch has 1 0r 2 inches of free play. if some one [wife] depresses
the clutch with out motor running and in gear I can easily push car
back and forth. I don't think its hanging up.

fredski

[Logan]

A transmission/ rear end repair man here in Fort Worth who does a lot of model a transmissions as side money told me this tip. Get a full bottle of 600 weight, then mix it with a full tube of lighter weight grease. I don't think it's quite as heavy as wheel bearing grease. But you mix it 50/50 and that'll get you to about the right consistency of what real 600 weight oil was in 1928. I've done it on two cars, and it seems to work great. He's been doing it for many years, and recommends it to everyone he builds a model a transmission or rear end for.

[C26Pinelake]

i have several Model A cars and trucks and they all shift fine. I personally don't think your problem is in the oil. It is either in the clutch or the transmission. I think the oil is taking the attention awzy from the real problem.
Wayne

[fredski]

Originally Posted by C26Pinelake

i have several Model A cars and trucks and they all shift fine. I personally don't think your problem is in the oil. It is either in the clutch or the transmission. I think the oil is taking the attention awzy from the real problem.
Wayne

must be the lucas oil. can not upshift in any gears while in motion ,
it will grind hard.

before that I could shift most times with no grinding . I sais MOST times.

fredski

[C26Pinelake]

I will be surprised if it is the oil but there is a very quick way to find out ........drain it and refill with the specified oil. Also if it shifted fine before, why did you change to Lucas ?
Wayne

[V4F]

i use lucas 80/140 + power punch . have for years with no trouble . same in rear end ........

[vermontboy]

Is the end of the gear shift lever worn where it engages the forks - that will not only make shifting hard but also create the possibility of engaging two gears at once - when that happens the car stops very quickly (Ask me how I know - different car but the same idea).

[oldredford]

Go get the Mitchell sync transmission.