The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Transmission seal

I had my '46 Chevy pickup on a lift not too long ago and decided to check the fluids. The transmission was near empty and the rear was overfilled. Yesterday I was at a local car show and a guy told me that the seal in the back of the transmission was bad and the gear oil had leaked into the torque tube driveshaft and gone into the rear.
Is this a repair that I could do myself? Would you pull the transmission?
Any suggestions would be helpful.
My next show is in a month and is 100 miles away in Sea Isle City, NJ.

The transmission is likely an original. 3 Speed.

The bad seal which is causing your problem is not in the transmission. The u-joint inside of the torque tube ball receives lubrication from the transmission, so there is no seal at the tail of the transmission. The bad seal is in the torque tube. It prevents the fluid from making its way to the rear end. You need an Okie bushing/seal kit and a special puller tool.
Carl

Thanks. I am not familiar with this at all. I appreciate any knowledge I can get on this driveshaft and the problem that I have. I would like to learn as much about this as I can before taking stuff apart.

Yes, Gary, educate yourself regarding Carl's helpful post.

The 1946 assemby.parts should be similar to the 1/2 parts up through 1950.

Here is an illustration of the parts.
I think Carl is referring to the seal and bushing, 4.469 & 5.451 (2 styles of pins/bushing)

5.469 Seal : 1941-1950

5.451 KITS (bushing and seal) : 1940-1959 (listing starts at bottom of previous page)

Someone will correct this, if necessary.

Keep asking questions.

Shop Manual links:
comment on car vs truck rear-end/differentials : similarities and differences
car vs truck propeller shaft similarities
propeller shaft and oil seal replacement

Gary, what Tim shows is good info for the OE pair of bushings and seal in the torque tube. The seal may fail due to age or due to wear of the bushings (which allows the driveshaft to wobble) or both.

There is an alternative fix, referred to as an Okie bushing (as mentioned by Carl), that was developed in the '40's which makes somewhat easier the bushing and seal replacement, without the need to remove the driveshaft. Several vendors carry them, such as this: Okie Bushing. Scroll down to the Instructions tab to get to the diagram and installation guidance. They also sell a tool that may be used to pull the forward OE bushing, although the tool has received very mixed reviews on the forum.

More important, there are 3 sizes of the Okie bushings being reproduced, AFAIK. Chev's of the 40's has the ODs listed. Make sure you get the correct one by the dimensions (there have been people in various forums who had issues after receiving the wrong size bushing assembly, or bad repro's made in India that were slightly off in dimension).

Here's a great post in the forum that shows better photos and diagrams: Okie Bushing Install. Search a bit and you will find more info.

The Okie Bushing is so called since it was developed and patented in '46 by National Machine Works of Oklahoma. Note you will frequently find it misspelled as Oakie Bushing (as Chev's of the 40's does). Just for fun, here's the original patent: 1946 Okie Bushing Patent # 2,403,520

So, you have your choice - the Okie Bushing, or replace with OE style bushings and seal. Good luck!

Gary (and, drdoug),

drdoug's fix is the better/easier way to repair that leak, unless you have to take your rear-end apart.

Some/Most people would suggest using the "Oakie Bushing" as a first choice for repair.

Hmmm, maybe someone might post comments on using the "Oakie Bushing", if an Oakie bushing was already used as an earlier repair? A repair was certainly needed since 1946, unless the truck was not driven much?

Many thanks to all!
I will have to go through the installation of the Okie. Right now that is were I am leaning. The truck has had many owners and started life in Oklahome. I have never had to drop the drive shaft so I don't know if a repair has ever been done or not. I'll find out when I drop it I guess.
Besides the Okie and a gasket for the rear, what else should I order?
I just checked the transmission oil and is down a little bit since filling it about 50 miles or so.

"Okie and a gasket for the rear"

What "gasket for the rear" are you referring to?

Here are some parts you might need (or, might want to replace), when installing an okie bushing:
[https://www.classicparts.com/1937-54-Transmission-U-Joint-Gasket-Set-3-Speed/productinfo/91-920/]u-joint ball gasket set[/url]

Check your u-joint - is should move, not "wiggle".

OK, I think that I have handle on this now, with all of your help. I misread Carl's post. I thought that this OKIE Bushing went at the rear of the torque tube. So, I just took a good look at what I have and I have attached a photo. I am assuming that this housing is what needs to come off.
Feeling kind of ignorant on all this.

I installed an Okie bushing in my 38 Chev Master, which has a very similar driveline. The one negative outcome was that the gasket between the torque tube and the rear axle housing was damaged by the pounding when installing the bushing. I now have a very small leak at that location, which didn't exist before.

I am having some trouble getting the ball housing from the torque tube. I had to really put some downward pressure on the torque tube just get the u joint to clear the transmission for removal. I need to go down even further to get the ball housing to clear the transmission.
Would you guys recommend loosening the torque tube house at the rear to get enough room to slide the housing off the tube so that I can then try to drill out the dowel pin?
Flying blind,
Gary

That job is probably best done with the rear end housing out of the truck and on a couple of saw horses or a big workbench. If you put too much down pressure on the torque tube you might bend it, and at best, you're working in very cramped quarters. At the very least, remove the U bolts and slide the whole housing back a few inches on the springs so the front end of the tube can be manipulated without trying to bend the spring leaves.
Jerry

I was able to get clear of the transmission and got the ball housing off. Now, I just have to pull the floor pan out to get to the dowel pin that needs to be drilled out before I can remove the old seal.. (Photo Attached) It looks to me as if this has never been touched. It seems very improbable, but I don't know much about the trucks history. Apparently it was from Oklahoma.
It was my late Fathers project and he gave it to me when he didn't drive it anymore. I promised that it would stay as stock as possible.

Thanks for the advise and tips.
From me and my Dad
Parts ordered.
Have a good Memorial Day

Beautiful truck, Gary

Good on you - keeping your Dad's promise.

Have a good Memorial Day.

Gary P--Great Job......

Hello, I trust that everyone had a good holiday weekend.
My "Okie" bushing came in the mail.
I drilled out the dowel that holds the original bushing in place and I was able to get it out with minimal problems so I didn't need to get the puller.
I put the bushing in the torque tube but it will only go in a couple of inches. I tried to drive it in with a block of wood and the largest hammer (fairly big ball peen) I had in the barn, but I didn't hit TOO hard. I don't want to force it too much, if possible. Any suggestions?

While playing around with the Okie, it looks like it is large at the front end of it. I have read about some problems with these seals expanding the torque tube. I just measured the O.D. of the Okie and it is only 3 thousands of an inch larger than the bushing that was in the torque tube,so it probably won't be an issue.