diff --git a/lib/rubygems/ext/builder.rb b/lib/rubygems/ext/builder.rb
index 72a2b349f0..3fd0a8704e 100644
--- a/lib/rubygems/ext/builder.rb
+++ b/lib/rubygems/ext/builder.rb
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ class Gem::Ext::Builder
     @build_args = build_args
     @gem_dir    = spec.full_gem_path
 
-    @ran_rake   = nil
+    @ran_rake   = false
   end
 
   ##
@@ -202,9 +202,6 @@ EOF
 
     FileUtils.rm_f @spec.gem_build_complete_path
 
-    # FIXME: action at a distance: @ran_rake modified deep in build_extension(). - @duckinator
-    @ran_rake = false # only run rake once
-
     @spec.extensions.each do |extension|
       break if @ran_rake