1910 model AA

[Rick Fraser]

Hi gang, trying to adjust the transmission , I got the reverse and low ok but I don't know how to do high, can anyone help? Thanks, Rick.

[DavidMc]

Rick,

As you know, top gear drives through a multi plate clutch, low and reverse gears use bands.

The plate on the top of the transmission needs to be removed to access the clutch from inside the car.

The fingers that depress the plates to engage the clutch are pivoted on a star shaped piece threaded onto the output shaft  and are held in place by two set screws with lock nuts.  There are a number of machined flats on the threaded shaft to receive the set screws.  The fingers bear on a hemispherical nose and they need to ride over the round part just onto the cylindrical part to engage top gear when the gear lever is in the top gear position. 

With the top of the transmission removed and the gear lever in neutral, the set screws and locknuts are loosened so that the finger assembly can be rotated on the threaded sleeve. Turn the finger assembly so that when the lever is moved into top the fingers ride over the ball shaped part just onto the cylindrical part.  It will need a firm shove when the adjustment is correct.

 When tightening the set screws, the finger assembly may need to be rotated a little so that the screws do not bear on the thread of the output shaft.

When engaging top on the road the engine revs need to reduce to around idle speed before the clutch will engage, at least that is the case with my AC.

I hope that makes sense, some trial and error may be required .

 

David

 

 

 

[Rick Fraser]

David, this is awesome, thanks for the detail. I'll try this tomorrow, maybe I'll start by reducing the engine revs as you say when I engage high. Didn't think of this. Right now I can't get her to fire, thinking I maybe fluded, I'm letting her sit for the night. Many thanks again.

[Rick Fraser]

David, this worked nicely, she went in to high and took off very well,

 

my problem now (and before too) is that the car doesn't want to start easily. It takes a lot of cranking and "tickling" with the carb. Can you tell me what your starting procedure is? I believe I have an original Maxwell carburetor.

 

Thanks again,

[DavidMc]

Rick, 

Thanks for the feed back on the clutch, glad it is working.

I flood the carburetor then turn it over 2-3 times  with the ignition off then set it on full retard , battery on, and it starts easily (most times!).  However I gave up on my original carburetor and have fitted a new Amal motor bike carburetor.

I have the ignition timing set at about 2-3 deg before top dead centre which gives a 35 deg BTDC fully advanced.  It runs best at full advance.

I have a friend with an LD who has persisted with the original carburetor and now has his starting very well.  I will pass your question on to him and he may be able to offer some help in setting your carburetor.

David

[DavidMc]

Rick, you will need both ignition and fuel set right for starting, because the engine is more forgiving when already running.

The model AA will have the 6V low tension magneto (Splitdorf model H), a fixed (not trembler) dual output ignition coil and condenser, and points in the back of the LT magneto. Do you have this original equipment, because the arrangement of your car will determine the response.

Check the ignition first. With the plugs out, ignition wires connected and lying on the barrels (jugs), a quick flick of the starting handle over top dead centre should produce healthy sparks at the plugs. If not, rectify this first. The ignition system is quite fussy about the components. Do you have the original block coil and plate condenser encapsulated in the switch box on the dash?

Under the lid of the switch box can you identify 4 copper strips that come up from inside the box to screw terminals? Two of these strips connect to the ignition coil, The other 2 are the connections to the dry cell battery which is mounted under the seat.

The ignition is easy to fault-find and if set up correctly, the carburettor then is not troublesome, it may just cause rich running. So let me know what we are facing.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Frank

[Rick Fraser]

 David, it appears pretty original I think, Spitdorf magneto, Spitdorf Coil too but the coil box appears fairly new. The coil box has two connectors from the battery on top and I think 4 or 5 on the bottom, some go to (or from) the magneto and 2 to the plugs. That sounds different to your description above.

 

Yesterday I tried to start it and it fired right up on the second crank. And it repeated 3-4 times over about an hour. And for fun I tried it again this morning and it stated again after 2-3 tries. I just touched the tickler twice. This is great but I will continue to evaluate it before taking it too far. Would like a sense of confidence. I up loaded a picture of the car, I could get a close up of the magneto if that would help and the coil; box too.

 

 

[Ozstatman]

Rick,

 

Great pic of a great looking Maxwell! Looks very original.

[Frank Cerutti]

Rick, this is Frank

 

I agree that your AA is a great wagon. Such good condition for its age.

 

My description of the coil box is for our 1909 model LD, where it seems Maxwell got a little complicated with the wiring. I have attached a photo of the coil box top showing the exiting connections. There is some unnecessarily complex switching performed when running on the battery; the points are in series with the coil and when running on the low tension magneto; the points are in parallel with the coil.

 

But, from your latest post, you may have overcome the starting difficulties, which in my experience are mainly due to ignition, not fuel. Do you have a precise wiring diagram of the internal connections of the coil box?

 

If you still have the original coil and condenser pack installed, the wisdom is to retire them for a Harley Davidson single primary dual secondary 6 volt coil and a 0.22uF can condenser which is to HD specs to suit the coil. The condenser is fitted to a lot of General Motors products.

 

Please post again if you have more queries or if the ignition becomes unreliable.

 

Are you known to the keeper of the Maxwell Registry? Jim Moe at jmoe@att.net

 

Frank

[Rick Fraser]

I should have asked this before.

What oil do you guys run? P/O said "heavy gear oil" which I tried, but thought I'd like an experienced confirmation. 

 

Thanks again.

[DavidMc]

Rick,

Firstly I love your car it looks like a great unmolested survivor.

When I first got mine in about 2008  I spoke to Penrite about the appropriate oil and bought some of what they recommended at considerable expense then it was pointed out to me  by a Maxwell owner that these cars  get a constant oil change as they drive - marking their trail as they go,  and any modern oil is vastly better than what was around when they were built.  So I now run whatever multigrade engine oil is on special at the supermarket and make sure the drippers are dripping well, (when I can see them).  The drip rate is specified in the early Maxwell literature (20 drips / min?) but in my experience it is impossible to achieve, it varies widely depending on engine speed etc, I adjust mine often when driving and lubrication seems fine.  So long as the oil flow keeps up with the oil loss.  Mine has now done at least 6000 kms on this oil  since I rebuilt the engine and it still has excellent compression.

David

 

[Frank Cerutti]

I live in the tropics. I use 20W50 for my cars. I buy it whenever it is on special from the supermarket or auto store.

 

Have you had a peek into the coil box yet?

 

Frank

[Rick Fraser]

Thanks for the advice on the oil. The reason I asked is that I tried a regular multi grade after the gear oil and she smoked like crazy and the drippers were going fast. So now I'll back them off and try again.

 

I haven't looked inside the coil box Frank, I will take a picture today.

[DavidMc]

Rick,

If your car still has the original pistons and rings it will not have any oil rings so a little smoke is normal .  

The following comments in the instructions for the 1911 AB, about the operation of the drippers, would  apply to all of the 2 cylinder models:

"Never feed less than 20 drops a minute through each oiler.  No hard and fast rule can be laid down as to the exact amount of oil to feed.  Probably the best plan is to regulate the flow until a light blue smoke is seen coming from the exhaust then cut down  the supply to a point where the engine just does not smoke"

 

I have oil rings in mine so it does not smoke.  The use of oil rings is a topic on which opinions are divided.

David

[Frank Cerutti]

6 hours ago, Rick Fraser said:

I haven't looked inside the coil box Frank, I will take a picture today.

 

Rick, a word of caution about the coil box. In the original arrangement, the brass leads that come up through the top are connected to the coil box fixed to the dashboard. In some models there was an inner box into which the coil and condenser were encapsulated with a resin. The front three connections at the bottom of the coil box are fixed to the coil box too.

 

The spark plug lead connections are instead fixed to the coil and will come out of the coil box after connections are undone the insulators removed.

 

I don't know what to expect if your coil box is a replacement.

 

Don't disturb the coil box if it is not important to you to do so at this time. I was just curious how a replacement coil box was made up and if you had a modern coil fitted as described earlier.

 

Photo 110 - brass strip connections inside the coil box. Photo 115 - coil and condenser pack with spark plug lead connections.

 

Frank

 

[Rick Fraser]

Hi David, I adjusted the drippers back to about 1 drip per 4 seconds and there is still a huge amount of smoke, here's a picture. It gets worse when I drive a bit faster or up hill. Although when it is just started there's very little smoke. 

 

The car is starting easily lately.

[Rick Fraser]

Frank, here are some shots of the coil box and magneto connections. I'm guessing the condenser is in the box? I thought it would be at the magneto.

It seems to be starting fine now, usually 2-3 cranks. I'm trying David's suggestion about flooding, cranking 2-3 times, and then ignition on.

[Frank Cerutti]

Rick

Definitely a new coil box. Looks like it has just left the factory. I can clearly see that there are only two two connections from the battery going through the lid. The high tension insulators are missing from the spark plug lead connections on the bottom of the box at the back. See photo 649. You might want to correct this.

 

The condenser was in the box originally, and I suspect that the repro unit will be the same.

 

Regarding starting. Using the battery for starting should mean that the amount of spark will be independent of the rotation speed of the motor. So, cranking over top dead centre on the first pull should produce the same spark intensity as the second and subsequent turns. You can satisfy yourself that you are getting good spark by having the plugs out, lying on the barrel with the plug lead attached and give it a pull. Practically, this may not always be the case.  

 

I flood the carby on the first start for the day. I also carry a little stick that I jam between the bottom of the oil drippers and the accelerator pedal to give a small throttle opening for a start. So, process: 1. ignition off 2. flood carburettor 3. crank four turns with throttle closed 4. retard the spark, 5. ignition to battery, on 6. open throttle with the stick 7. one pull up and it starts.

 

After the first start, steps 4 to 7 are all that are necessary.

 

Give that a go.

 

Frank

[Rick Fraser]

Thanks Frank for your detailed reply. Can I obtain the high tension lead insulators or should I look into fabricating them? We operate a Plastics machine business and I could probably make them from phenolic.

 

The motor started easily today, maybe I'm getting the hang of starting.  I slowed the drippers to about six seconds at idle and the smoke is a bit better. 

 

I drove up and down the lane for about half an hour and the smoke was not too bad.

 

I think the motor got a bit hot though,  I thought I could hear some bubbling when I had to restart. Really hot day here today,  about 32 degrees. I let her cool down before restarting. 

 

[Frank Cerutti]

I sourced the high tension insulators from:

Ronald Gocek
rgvbw@aol.com
Vintage Brass Works
604 Creamery Road
Nazareth, PA 18064
Phone: (610) 614-1943

 

Described as "Splitdorf insulators with a threaded base".

 

32degC is at the high end of our ambient temperatures around here too. The bubbling you hear is the thermosyphon cooling system working just as it should. The radiator water circulates between the top and bottom hoses. There is an additional volume of water contained by the top core which condenses any steam (heard as bubbling) from the engine. This top core also acts like a thermostat controlling the temperature of the water which is circulating through the hoses.

 

Frank

 

[Rick Fraser]

Thanks for the detail about the cooling thermosyphoning Frank. I will source the insulators too.

 

Another question: I appreciate the total loss lubrication system and transmission lubrication, but where does the excess oil go? I know it would be a problem if it filled the crankcase, but I don't see a lot of oil dripping, is there a way to check that it isn't filling too much?

 

[DavidMc]

Rick,

In my experience overfilling from excessive use of the drippers is not a problem, the oil will build up in the transmission and leak out, I have never drained off excess oil even after driving with the drippers running excessively.

Due to the slope of engine/transmission to the rear, excess oil will be at the rear of the transmission, mine has a small screwed plug in the transmission cover towards the rear, it also has a small filler tube in the top of the engine, they can be used to insert a wire dipstick, neither of these are original.  The plug at the rear is worth having as this where most of the oil accumulates .  The engine oil level on mine is always very low, which used to worry me but it is obviously not a problem and is normal. 

It is interesting that your car does not leak a lot, I have done everything I can to reduce leakage including modern oil seals to the front and rear bearings and a seal where the shifter shaft enters the transmission case and it still leaves a small puddle when standing.  It was much worse before these modifications.

If mine was not leaking I would be worried that it wasn't getting enough oil.  

David

[Rick Fraser]

David, thanks for the info. Mine does leak a bit when parked, it just doesn't seem to equal what I put in, but I guess there is leaking while driving, and then there's the smoke too...

 

It sounds like you have done a lot to your car, can you tell me was the rebuild difficult and were you able to easily obtain the parts you needed? I think at some point I will have to do some engine and transmission work.

 

 

Do you have any pictures you could share?

 

 

 

Thanks, Rick.

[DavidMc]

Rick,  

Where to start,  firstly when it comes to photos Frank is the man, he photographs everything as he goes.  

I bought mine from US as a "fully restored car" expecting it to need some minor work however it had been nicely cosmetically restored but very little had been done mechanically.  The cylinder bores were heavily corroded and so I had a full engine rebuild carried out, sleeved the bores back to standard, new aluminium pistons from Arias (with oil rings), A model Ford connecting rods, crankshaft ground and new babitt bearings..  The original connecting rods have a hinged big end and they are very heavy, the A Ford rods are interchangeable with minor work, half the weight and have a conventional 2 bolt big end cap.

Modern oil seals were fitted at the front of the engine and rear o the transmission, taking care to ensure that oil grooves allowed oil into the bearings.

The transmission wasn't too bad, the bands had been fitted with new linings made from wooden segments as original and the final drive clutch plates were good.

The previous owner had converted the universal joints to modern needle roller units using a kit that is (or was) available in US.

The rear axle was a disaster and it has been a major problem for years, I have lost count of the number of times I have had it apart and it still makes more noise than I would like.  I had a new ring gear and pinion made, the previous owner made new axles, I have fitted new modern axle bearings and thrust bearings.  Replaced the original pinion shaft brass bush with 2 modern roller bearings and modern oil seals are fitted at the pinion shaft and on the axles at the wheel hubs.  The rear axle design on these cars is awful to use polite language!    Getting the pinion to ring gear alignment correct, under load is difficult to say the least. 

The ignition system uses a 6v AC dynamo (LV magneto) with coil points and condenser for running and a small 6v battery for starting.  It s a waste spark system, both spark plugs spark on each stroke.

The original carburetor can be made to work, mine has a modern Amal.

That's a quick summary of the main issues over the last few years work on the car, I am happy to share any details that may arise with yours which hopefully will not require anywhere near the amount of work mine required.  Photo attached.  Mine is a 1912 AC which was the last of the 2 cylinder models.  Its mechanically the same as the AB and very similar to others with the 4.5" bore and virtually the same as those with the 4" bore.  The body however is very different. 

David

[Rick Fraser]

wow, beautiful car David.

 

That certainly is a lot of work you had to do Very interesting solutions you have had to come up with.

 

I was concerned with the rear end too but I don't hear anything untoward, there are 4 oilers on the axle and one grease cup at the differential. I also have a grease nipple on each universal joint and each steering component has an oiler too. Are these added or do you think the car was built this way?

[Frank Cerutti]

Rick

 

The rear end in your car as described is completely original. The 4 oilers feed the Hyatt roller bearings. The grease cup feeds the differential pinion bushing. The universal joints, if original, have a brass plug at the centre of the spider which is kept topped up with grease. Grease nipples are more convenient but not original. The front steering mechanism has 4 oilers too from the factory. In my experience the front oilers don't get changed out in a restoration, but the frailty of the rear axle generally means the installation of modern bearings and seals and hence modern lubricants.

 

One of the things I have attended to on the rear axle of our 1909LD is lubricating the crown wheel and pinion. Originally they were packed with grease in the factory and relied upon the addition of drops of oil through the tiny threaded hole at the top of the differential housing to keep the grease moist and flowing. This was not a sustainable design although your car has survived. I pulled the differential to pieces and cleaned out and replaced the old grease in the container for the star gears. Then, instead of oil I use Penrite steering gear lubricant, which is pourable grease filled mid-way from the bottom of the housing.

 

You can check the condition of the outer Hyatt roller bearings by, with the rear wheel off, try to lift the axle shaft shaft relative to the housing.

 

David mentioned the wood friction material used on the low and reverse transmission bands. The rear brakes too used wood as the friction material. Has this survived on your car?

 

I have posted a photo of our LD named Alice, commemorating Alice Ramsay.

 

Frank

[Rick Fraser]

Hi Guys, just thought I would let you know how things are going.

 

I'm very happy with the way the car starts and runs. It usually starts within one or two pulls of the crank. Lately I am just touching the tickler twice and then cranking. Last night it started cold on the first crank. (My callous is healing nicely too)

 

The smoke has seemed to have dramatically diminished too, I've adjusted the oilers to about a drip every 5 seconds at idle, with a little light blue smoke, I guess I could go up to the 20/min as you guys have mentioned earlier. On the other hand I would think the oilers are dripping faster when driving, no?

 

The car pulls away nicely in low or reverse and I have gone to high a half a dozen times briefly too, and that seems to be working. I haven't gone on the road yet as I am still waiting for some paperwork to license, but in my lane which is about 100 yds. and hilly, everything seems ok.

 

I do have a couple of questions: should I check for how much wear material (wood blocks) there is on the low and reverse bands, and how do I do that?

 

And should I check for valve clearance and how does one do that too?

 

Also, do you guys have a recommendation for a brass polishing compound?

 

thanks in advance, Rick.

[Rick Fraser]

sorry Frank, I didn't see your reply before I sent mine,

 

you say" You can check the condition of the outer Hyatt roller bearings by, with the rear wheel off, try to lift the axle shaft shaft relative to the housing."

 

so is this checking for wear by checking for play?

 

And I presume there is no way to know if any other upgrades have been done in the axle including what lubrication is there, without tearing it down.

 

Your Maxwell is beautiful, it looks like you too have done a lot of restoration work. Very nice.

 

[DavidMc]

Rick,

 

Your Maxwell seems to be coming along very nicely,.

I don't think you can check the band linings without major dismantling but I would expect yours to be fine otherwise you would run out of adjustment.. although I have no experience with heavily worn linings, hopefully others can advise.

I am not aware of a published valve clearance I set mine at about 0.010", I don't think its critical just so long as there is clearance at all times.  The adjusting nuts are easily accessed.  

The original axle bearings are  large Hyatt rollers and they have no inner or outer hardened seats they simply roll on the inside diameter of the axle housing and the outside diameter of the axle neither of which are hardened so if they have not been regularly lubricated the housings and axles wear.   When I got mine it had huge play of 1/16" - 1/8" up and down movement of the wheel.  I sleeved the axle housings along with new axles to take modern bearings.  If there is no play in yours then that is a big bonus but you will still need to make sure that the planetary gears are lubricated as Frank has said.  This is where there are some differences between the models.  The planetary gears are encased in a sealed housing that is lubricated separately from the bearings and ring and pinion gears.  On ,my AC the planetary housing has two halves bolted together so it can be stripped for inspection , but I think Frank will confirm that on his LD the case is riveted together so it cannot be stripped.  .  

Whatever the design of yours the rear axle unit needs to be checked to ensure everything is lubricated and if your lucky not badly worn.

 David

 

[Frank Cerutti]

Rick
Oil drip rates are affected by a number of factors, one of which is engine speed. Consider the mechanism of pressure from the crankcase pushing past the crankcase ball valve to pressurise the oil tank and at the same time sealing the oil delivery lines to the cylinders. At 25 miles per hour (1,500rpm), neither ball valve is really sealing but just "floating" up and down off the seat due to inertia of the weight of the ball. Discreet dripping doesn't happen at this engine speed. Oil will quietly flow from the tank into the engine. Driving a car in modern times is different from driving this car in its day. Now, we get going at 25mph for possibly hours with the valve balls floating as described. In the day the car would go along a flat bit of road, possibly down a gully and up the other side, around other obstacles returning to idle speed quite often. So the dripping would be visible.

 

20 drips per minute, every 3 seconds compared with 12 drips per minute, every 5 seconds at idle is quite inconsequential. At 1,500rpm, the oil will just flow from the tank under pressure.

 

In my case. I set the drippers to 20 per minute at idle for our tropical climate, 30degC maximum. I have put a Nikko pen mark on each dripper shaft at 6 o'clock. When we tour to cooler climates I set the drippers at 5 o'clock for 20degC maximum and 4 o'clock for 10degC maximum. Then I leave the drippers alone for the tour.

 

There are 2 ways of setting the tappet clearance. The first method is by arranging for the valves to open on the marks on the flywheel. This invariably gives larger tappet clearance and different tappet clearance between inlet and exhaust. The second method is what David outlined of a fixed tappet clearance which means the valves will not operate at the specified flywheel marks. I use the first method with the valves operating at the flywheel marks resulting in the inlet having 0.005" clearance and exhaust having 0.025".

 

David is absolutely correct about the encasing of the sun gears in the diff. The LD model has them completely encased. This design was changed with the A, AA, AB, AC from 1909. I have complicated things by mentioning that to you. See _386 from the LD with the sun gears encased and skew (you can see the outline of a sun gear axle). The case is held in place by the same rivets that fix the ring gear. The economy A series commencing in 1909 has a removable sun gear case and the gears are parallel with the wheel axle. See ...2626.

 

You mentioned that your diff is quiet, which is very fortunate for you. But, like David, I recommend you inspect your diff to ensure everything is lubricated.

 

Frank

[Rick Fraser]

 

 

I checked the lubrication in the differential and found it to be clean and new looking, is that an indication that it may have been serviced? Is the lubrication for the planet gears different than what I am seeing by dipping through the square nut on top of the differential?

 

I finally got the license and took the Maxwell on the road. It has a vibration which limits my speed a bit. And the pinion bearing? (the very front of the differential housing)  gets quite hot. Everything else on the differential feels cool. I started poking around the U joints and found excessive play in some of the inner races of the bolts that make up the joint. I took them apart and found that 2 in the front and 2 in the rear had been machined and reinstalled. These 4 have huge clearances. I think they originally are .750 dia. but these are about .690. I'm having sleeves made to bring them back to .750. I hope that clears up the vibration. 

 

I had some blown tire tubes, I had to buy some from Coker Tires. (I didn't know you were supposed to pump these so high) I'm now using about 55 psi, is that what you guys use?

 

Frank, you asked about the brake linings, it appears that the linings of the brakes are still the wood blocks, I will try to get a picture of them. They are very inadequate. Should I consider changing the linings do you think?

 

Otherwise she still starts well and I am very pleased with how she runs. Some of my friends think that perhaps I'm not crazy.

[Rick Fraser]

Here's a shot of the differential. I filled the grease cup twice and it still ran hot, but that was before I found the play in the U joints, I'm hoping that the vibration caused the heat.

[Frank Cerutti]

Rick,

 

New looking lube in the diff is good for the crown wheel and pinion environment. As mentioned the sun gears are in an inner case which is removable without disturbing the attachment of the crown wheel, but I have seen differences in various models A, AA, AB, AC of whether this case is open to the crown wheel lube. See previous photos. I think you will have to look, unless another owner will volunteer the information.

 

0.060" of clearance is a good candidate for giving you vibration in the drive train. New bushings to eliminate these clearances is a good idea.

 

The diff pinion heating is another matter. Check that the rear half of the front universal joint slides on the key in the tailshaft. Any movement of the diff up and down will put compression and tension stresses on the tailshaft and could cause the pinion bushing to get hot.

 

I see a grease nipple has previously been put in the universal joint spider. This is convenient but not original. Grease is packed into the spider through the brass plug. I pack the universal joints (probably overdoing it) at 300 miles, which for us is a standard hub tour. I refill the pinion grease cup at this frequency too, but turn it down every few days on tour.

 

55psi in the tyres is good. Lower than that can cause the tyre to move relative to the rim dragging the tube with it and cutting off the valve stem.

 

I would love to get photos of the wood block brake linings. This shows you have an extremely original car. This is one part of our car which has been 'improved". You mentioned inadequate brakes, and they probably are compared with modern standards. But these are very light cars and don't go very fast, and the friction provided by wood is not too different from that provided by ferodo. Don't write-off the wood linings, because you may be disappointed by the lack of improvement if you change them to ferodo.

 

I'm so glad it is running well.

 

I invite comments from any other Maxwell owners, plenty of you are reading. There is a lot of experience out there.

 

Frank

[Rick Fraser]

Thanks Frank for your encouragement and information.

 

Regarding the rear half of the front universal joint, do I understand that if the shaft doesn't slide on the keyed tailshaft when the differential moves up and down, compressive and tensile forces will be exerted on the pinion bushing instead of staying neutral because the shaft isn't sliding as it should? I will check that the shaft slides on the key in the tail shaft. You referred to the "pinion bushing", this is not a bearing? How is the grease fed to the bushing from the cup?

 

I just got the 4 machined and sleeved universal joint bolts back, I think they did a pretty good job, I will put it back together later today, here's a picture.

 

I too am a proponent for keeping as much original as possible, I will get used to the brakes, I'll get a picture tonight of them.

[DavidMc]

Rick,  

Your Maxwell is coming along nicely.   I have snapped a a few valve stems during my Maxwell learning experience and now consider 55 psi the minimum, I tend to go a little higher at 60 psi and in a recent conversation with the owner of a car with similar wheels he said he runs at 65 psi.

 

My car came with modern brake linings that were heavily oil soaked so I took the bands to a company specialiisng in automotive and industrial friction materials.  They are well known in these parts or supplying brake and clutch lining or old cars.  They fitted a woven high friction material however the brakes are still very poor.    I have no experience with original wood linings but my car has wood linings on the transmission bands and they work well so I expect your brakes are as good as they can be and changing to a modern high friction material will not help.  Also keep in mind the Maxwell handbook states that the low gear band should be engaged for extra braking and if that is not enough reverse gear can be used!  Don't try that it twists the transmission output shaft.  I ma sure you will get used to the brakes and rive within their limits.

 

The rear axle was not Maxwell's finest feature and I would be stripping to see what you have as Frank says there are variations.  The most fundamental being whether the inner planetary gear case is sealed and separately lubricated.  On some cars it can be unbolted and repacked with heavy oil if its riveted then the oil needs to be injected but either of these require the rear axle assembly to be stripped.  The other variation (which I have) is the the case is bolted together  so it can be stripped but it is also drilled so the rear axle oil lubricates both the planetary gears as well as the rest of the rear axle.

 

The pinion bearing is a large brass bush lubricated externally by an oil cup.  Mine was badly worn so I replaced it with a pair of roller bearings plus a front oil seal so it is lubricated  along with the rest of the rear axle.  That is a very simple modification once its all apart..

 

I made drawings of my rear axle and transmission showing the modiications l, they are on the Maxwell Briscoe Yahoo site,let me know if they need clarification:

file:///C:/Users/David/Downloads/-20131126162958039%20(4).pdf

file:///C:/Users/David/Downloads/20131030105302450%20(1).pdf

David

 

 

[DavidMc]

Rick,  

Those drawings links may not work, try again.

David

 

20131030105302450 (1).pdf

-20131126162958039 (4).pdf

[DavidMc]

Rick,

I should have also commented, the drive shaft must slide freely on the front keyway to prevent axial thrust on the pinion.

David

[Frank Cerutti]

Rick

The section of the front universal joint fitted to the tailshaft must slide.

 

As David said in his latest post, the pinion is carried in a brass bushing which is fed grease from the screw-down cap. There is a longitudinal groove cut in the bushing, that stops short of the ends, which distributes the grease along its length.

 

Regarding the universal joint screwed pins. My recollection is that the pins were hardened and the holes they ran in, plain cast iron castings (the spider) were sacrificial. I had to bore and sleeve the bushings with brass because they were worn out-of-round. This will protect the pins into the future. Your photograph of a universal joint looks like a steel machined piece with roller bearings fitted. Comment?

 

David explained the brakes very well in his latest post.

 

Photos of the tailshaft key and a universal joint from our car are attached.

 

Frank

[Rick Fraser]

David, thanks for the info. re the brakes, I will get used to them and gearing down is also a great help. I've used that a couple of times. That's how I discovered my tire pressure was too low.

 

And your drawings are excellent, I will take some time studying them, thanks.

Yes Frank, the spiders are steel, machined, and roller bearings,

The drive shaft slides freely on the keyway ,

 

I got the universal joints back together and went for a drive. The vibration is just the same. I'm still glad I fixed the U joints but a little disappointed.  I think it is more related to the engine now because I realize  it gets worse at high engine revs weather in low or high gear. I read somewhere that the engine bearings can be adjusted, has anyone tried that?

 

The pinion bushing was a bit hot too, this is surprising because as far as I can tell the bushing is not too worn, when the universal joint was off I checked for play and it didn't seem excessive. There was plenty of grease coming through too.

 

Here's 2 pictures of the brakes.I think you can see the wood blocks. Would you say they are thin?

 

Thanks, Rick.

[DavidMc]

Rick,

The next thing to check is whether your universal joints  are on the same axis as the tail shaft.  If you remove the floor panel and drive you will be able to see if the drive shaft is running off centre, if it is it will cause vibration.  Your joints are a little different to mine but I would think the principal would be the same, you may need to shim the screwed pins to get the joints running true to the shaft. 

That hot pinion bearing is a concern, is the rear axle very noisy?  Either its not getting enough lubrication or there is a load on the pinion that needs to be corrected and fresh oil could imply that its been stripped and not set up correctly.  You can remove the pinion and bearing assembly by simply undoing the 4 bolts on the front of the rear axle, I would do that first.

Your brake shoe wood blocks look excellent, they look about the same thickness as my  linings when they were new.  If they are the originals then your car must have had a very easy life.  

David

Edited July 21, 2016 by DavidMc (see edit history)