I have a 1951 Chevrolet 6500 2 ton dump truck, straight six, 3-speed. Has a few leaks I am trying to fix. Any help would be appreciated. First is the hole you see just behind the oil pan, appears to be the bottom of the bell housing. Has a steady drip of oil at rest. I understand this is likely the rear main seal. Anyone have experience replacing this with a modern seal? If so, where did you get the seal and how did you go about replacing it?
Second, It is currently driving and shifting fine but has a leak on the passenger side where I believe the clutch cable ram enters the transmission housing…? Anyone know what this seal is called, where I can get a replacement seal and how it is removed/repaired?
Third. The hydraulic cylinder for the dump bed, at the junction of the cylinder and ram is leaking. Beyond hunting for local hydraulic repair companies, has anyone tried this repair on their own? If so, how did it go?
Hy 51ChevyDumper, welcome, you are correct with your theory on leak number one, it is most probably caused by a leaking rear main seal. Unfortunately "modern" two piece seals can't be used unless your engine has been changed to a newer engine, post 55 I believe, there are probably hundreds of posts here on rear main seal replacement, just use the search function and check some of them out. Your second leak is from your p.t.o. (power take off) shift shaft, clean the p.t.o. off and see if you can find a name on it, failing that, measure the shift shaft and the diameter of the hole the seal fits into, a good parts or bearing and seal shop should be able to find you a seal by dimensions. The leak from the dump cylinder could be more complicated, again clean and look for a name on the cylinder, failing that, you will have to dismantle the cylinder to find the dimensions and type of seal packing used in your cylinder. Be extremely careful with raising and blocking the dump bed to work on the hydraulic cylinder, good luck.
