In the front end of the torque tube there are two bushings and a oil seal.
Picture A The bushing on the very front end of the torque tube is for the rear u-joint yoke to ride on.
Just before where the torque tube diameter becomes larger
(Picture B ) there is another bushing for the propeller shaft to ride on.
On the back end side of the propeller shaft bushing there is a oil seal.
The oil seal is at the end of the line in the torque tube, its sole purpose is to prevent tranny gear lube from entering the rear axle.
There are two ways to fix the problem
The Okie bushing sleeve way or the GM stock setup way.
The Okie bushing was created by the long gone National Machine Works Inc in Oklahoma, hence the name Okie.
It shortened the time and effort to repair the torque tube bushings and oil seal.
If you did it the way GM did it, you would remove the entire torque tube from the rear axle housing.
Remove ring & pinion gears.
Pull out the propeller shaft from the torque tube.
Use special tools to remove and replace the bushings and oil seal.
Then reassemble everything. Pain in the Butt.
With the Okie bushing you just pull out the front bushing.
Then from the front of the torque tube you push in the Okie bushing sleeve, which has the Front bushing,
Rear bushing & Oil seal inside the sleeve. Less Work.
You leave the old rear bushing and oil seal in the torque tube.
Okie bushing sleeve way
Pic 1 GM stock setup way
Pic 2 The 1949 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup bushings were slip fit and dowel pinned to keep them from spinning inside the torque tube.
If you go the Okie bushing sleeve way, you need to drill out the front yoke bushing dowel pin.
Fabricated some kind of hook and slide it between the bushing and propeller shaft and hooked the back side of the front bushing and slide it out.
You might need a bushing puller if it is in tight.
Where to find Okie bushing sleeve & bushing puller
Vapinc.com or
gennieshifter.com (same company)
GM Film Strip
1952 Rear Axle Overhaul 1/2 ton & passenger car The GM stock setup way.
Note: If the Okie bushing sleeve is not sufficiently tight in the torque tube you will have to
Dowel Pin it using the existing front yoke dowel pin hole.
If it is sufficiently tight mix up some
JB Weld 2 Part Expoxy and fill the unused dowel pin hole.
