I have a 1946 half ton Chev ute with the 216 engine, 3 speed floor shift and torque tube. I have lots of oil leaks and need to replace the rear main seal, the clutch plate and the okie bushing to name a few.
Every Youtube video I've seen starts with the engine already out of the vehicle, or theres no rear axle.
Is it possible to change these seals etc, WITHOUT removing the engine or the rear axle. Thank you
Hi Bob...G'day! What you've asked is possible, however it is a stretch and only up to a point. To replace the rear main seal you will have to remove the transmission, the oil pan and you'll have to drop the crankshaft assembly down as much as possible...leaving it in the engine, naturally. Even then the work will not be easy and possibly only divine providence will assure you of solving the leaking. Difficult at the best. The clutch plate can be replaced while you have the transmission removed. It would be a good idea to look at the flywheel and be sure there are no burned spots, rough spots, checking or glazing. If so, you need to remove it and have it professionally resurfaced. The okie bushing can be replaced with the rear end and all in place as I remember...might be easier with the rear end removed. It would give you more room to work. Good luck!
~ Jon 1952 1/2 ton with 1959 235 | T5 with 3.07 rear end
Since few, if any of us on this side of the pond have ever seen a Ute, let alone worked on one, any advice you get from us will be an educated guess at best. The Chevy truck torque tube and universal joint system can be disassembled in the vehicle by sliding the pivot ball back on the torque tube after unbolting the clamp that holds the pivot ball to the back of the transmission and sliding the ball back on the torque tube snout. Then the transmission can be removed. Be sure there is no vehicle weight resting on the rear springs before disconnecting the U joint- - - -support the vehicle by the frame rails, not the rear axle tubes. The crankshaft rear main bearing seal can probably be changed without removing the transmission by simply removing the oil pan and loosening the main bearing bolts. The crankshaft only has to be lowered a few thousandths of an inch to change the oil seal, if you're lucky enough to get the upper seal loose and pull it out of the block. Getting the new one back in can be a challenge, and reducing the amount of leakage even with a new seal installed can be a crapshoot. My success rate on installing a rope seal in the vehicle has hovered somewhere in the 50% range over the past 60-something years. Good luck! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Good morning gentleman, thank you for your advice. A ute, short for utility, is basically the same as your half ton pickup, but the tray is integrated into the cab and becomes one piece. Most of the cab floor and half the firewall is removable giving good access to the gearbox and bell housing. Identical to your pickup up to the firewall, and the engine and driveline is the same. Made in Canada and shipped here in bits, then the ute body added by Holden, which later became the Australian division of General Motors. Photo attached.
I should add that I am not a mechanic, simply a man who would rather have a go at fixing things myself than pay someone else.
I don't mind removing the transmission to get access to the rear of the engine. I am hoping, though, to not have to remove the engine simply because of all the extra work that involves.
I have read of a new type of rear seal that replaces the old rope one. Have you had any experience with those?
The seal you're referring to is made by "Best Gasket". It's the next best thing to an original equipment old stock rope seal, which contained a miracle fiber called (GASP!) "asbestos". Since that material has been found to cause people's offspring to be born naked, and simple possession of a few fibers of it is punishable by 30 days in the Electric Chair, the Best Gasket seal is the only thing that approaches the effectiveness and reliability of the original seal.
If the engine is removed and disassembled for a general overhaul, there's an alternative approach. The back of the engine block ahead of the flywheel can be machined for a full circle lip seal similar to what's used to seal wheel bearings, only much larger. The back of the stovebolt crankshaft has a seal diameter of 3 7/8 inches, and a lip seal can be fitted to a counterbore cut into the block and rear main bearing cap. The counterbore is 4.750 inches in diameter and .375 inches deep. This eliminates the rope seal and positively stops the leak.
The National brand 417210 seal or an equivalent item with the same dimensions works well. I machine all the engines I rebuild for that seal.
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I have an old KD rear main oil seal installation tool kit. I have had it laying around for many years. Don’t really know if it will help but if you want to try it you can have it. Free,Nada. If your interested email me I will send it out to you. Don
Gosh. Nice of you to offer to our Australian Bolter. Wonder what the postage would be on something like that? bajintas, you can find Bicounty's email address in his profile. OR you just PM him.
~ Peggy M 1949 Chevrolet 3804 "Charlie" - The Stovebolt Flagship In the Gallery || In the Gallery Forum "I didn't see this one coming. I don't see much of anything coming. :-O"
I have an old KD rear main oil seal installation tool kit. I have had it laying around for many years. Don’t really know if it will help but if you want to try it you can have it. Free,Nada. If your interested email me I will send it out to you. Don
Thank you for your kind offer Don. I fear though, the postage would be stupidly high to get it to Australia. I'm a long way off actually doing the job, and I'm sure there'll be someone here who could lend me a tool, when I do finally get around to it. Thanks again,
