The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop okie bushing questions

Okay,
So after many searches, and even 1 deleted new topic. The seal at the end of my enclosed drive shaft leaks. I want to change it. From what I gather so far the best way is to drop that section of shaft and move it to the bench. then looking side the shaft look for the two bronze bushings and a "seal" I need to check to see if they are pinned in from the outside. if they are pinned carefully drill out the pins and then in some safe manner(meaning no damage to inside of shaft housing) remove two bushings and the old seal.

Once this done and I have taken a short break;
I am not sure which bushing replacement to purchase- chev's of the 40's has a one piece with seal that I am leaning to.
Link here
http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/6271.html

So the shaft housing is empty. I begin by putting a small amount of assembly lube and then tap this into place- Is there an exact measurement of how far to insert it?
Than I re-Pin the bushing with the next item

http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/8069.html

So do I lube the seal, putting the cupped side facing the trans in front of the bushing as I tap it in?

I understand how it supports the u-joint and shaft, and how the seal works, but I do not have the parts in front of me and I kind of need to to understand how it goes together.

Thanks all for the help.

You say your seal is leaking. Is it leaking on to the ground or is it leaking and over filling the differential? If you have a leak on the ground under the front of the shaft, it is the Universal ball gaskets that need replacing. I realize this does not answer your question. If the drive shaft bushing is bad you will probably have a vibration along with overfilling the differential.

Since your vehicle is a 1949 the bushings will be pinned. The one piece bushing w/seal is the way to go. Remove only the front bushing but drill pins out of both since the okie bushing will push the rear bushing and seal towards the rear end when installed. This can be done without removing the entire assembly and putting it on the bench. Once you disconnect the U-joint and drop the torque tube you have room to work. The okie bushing is driven in with the seal towards the rear end because the U-joint yoke slips into the bushing end. Protect the seal from the driveshaft splines as you insert, lube with a bit of gear oil. My okie already had the seal installed with the closed side towards the rear end. Use sealer around outside of new okie. Depending upon the fit you may/may not want to carefully re-pin it. Insert new okie to be flush with end of torque tube. As noted by 31,32,33 above be sure that the torque tube seal is the problem since this is not a simple project. If the differential is overfilling then the torque tube seal is the culprit. Since you have to disconnect the U-joint it can be inspected for wear and you'll need new ball gaskets for reassembly. Lots of other info posted in this forum under okie bushing. Good luck!

This is on a 3/4 ton with a 216 and a 4 speed trans, The leak is coming from where the internal driveshaft goes to an external shaft. I did not think there was a way for fluid to run down the inside of the external shaft at the back to the rear end. The oil is coming from the non-rotating shaft end where the actual rotating shaft comes out and then goes through a bearing carrier, and then to the rear end through a couple of exposed universal joints(I replaced with new heavy duty zirk equipped models)
hope that clarifies a little.

My current plan is to take the rear u-joint loose and drop that end of the shaft, then take the bearing carrier loose for the middle section, then the ball joint to drop the front end of the drive shaft. I will then split the middle u-joint and slide the drive shaft out of the enclosed section.

Hope this sounds correct- I think my driveline is referred to as a 3 piece driveshaft.

Figured it out, I am going to work on it with some machinist buddies that can make me a new bushing with bronze and make me a seal.
I will try to post some pics.
Sam

I put in an okie assembly about 4000 miles back and guess what? It is no leaking. The trans is dry and the diff is overfull. After 50+ years the original failed and after 3 the replacement failed. Cheap junk or some other problem?
I have a vibration from 48-54 mph and have checked the tires, Torque tube problem??

"Sedgewick", do you have a 3 speed or 4speed?

Is Patrick's in AZ. the only source for the okie bushing? Anyone know of any other source?
Thanks, Joe Sr.

Just about all the reproduction parts sellers in the Links section of Stovebolt.com sell Okie bushings (they might not call them the name "Okie").

Here are a few:
Jim Carter
Classic Parts
American Classic Truck Parts

There were three different types between 37-54:
Chevs of the 40s 1937-1939
Chevs of the 40s 1940-1950
Chevs of the 40s 1951-1954

Sedgewick, it could be cheap junk , but here is another option; the splines on your drive shaft have probably got some wear , this shows as a sharp slightly raised edge to the spline .

It cuts the new seal immediately.

It is very difficult to dress the sharp edge off as the spline is hard. But some careful work with a new fine file then an oil stone can sometimes be successful.

only way to clean the splines properly is to pull the drive shaft . somewhat defeating the point of using the okie bush, eh.

I have not seen an okie bushing close up as I located NOS bushings for mine but have a feeling they lack one or more of the helical grooves, dimples, and hardness of the OEM components. Never heard anyone complain of failure when using original type parts.