The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Torque tube seal

A friend wants me to help him get his '50 chevy truck operable. :rolleyes: How do you replace the seal on the outside of the "bell" on the torque tube?As the truck was delivered,the four bolt flange was unbolted and the "seal" was shredded. I've not seen what the seal looks like intact-can it be replaced without moving the rear end back and seperating the u-joint or pulling the engine and tranny? :confused:
Speed

Speed,

You will have to remove the u-joint and yoke from the driveshaft side. With the u-joint and rear yoke off, the u-joint housing (bell) can be removed. The gasket/seal kit has:

1. the cork seal for between the bell and the retainer; and,
2. the rubber seal for the rear "neck: of the bell to the driveshaft; and,
3. 4 paper gaskets for between the retainer and the rear of the transmission (a procedure for choosing the correct number of gaskets is in the shop manual - it is a good procedure).

There is no need to remove the transmission and torque-tube. After removing the u-joint, the torque-tube will rotate downwards (and upwards).

Tim

The set I bought years back had a bevelled rubber ring for use between the housing and the retaining collar. As mentioned by tclederman, there are four paper gaskets which help to determine how much spacing is needed between the collar and the transmission. It is indeed very well described in the shop manual. The advantage of the individual paper gaskets is that if you have leakage in the collar area sometime later, you can loosen the four bolts and rip out one of the gaskets, making the joint tighter. They might seem thin but they are effective and there is a difference in movement of the housing when using one or four.

Where can you purchase these seal kits. Thanks.

Jim Carter in Kansas City has them.

I just got a 3.55 gear set from Patrick's and included in it is a Fel Pro "Universal Joint Set" gasket set that includes 1-CR5158 Universal Joint packing, 4-729 Universal Ball collars, 1-CR18280 Universal Joint Ball Collar, and 4-18290 Universal Joint Retainer Shim. Part Number for entire kit is ES72843 Uses are Chevrolet 6 Engine 1935-54 and Chevrolet Truck 6 Engine 1935-56 See Master catalog for complete model data. Anyway, FelPro gaskets pretty much available at any parts store.

Your really talking about the bell housing seal. Not the torgue tube seal. So the question is. Do you have to remove the drive shaft to remove the old torque tube bushing and seal when you want to install an okie bushing?

Glenn,

"Your really talking about the bell housing seal. Not the torgue tube seal."

GMC52, are you are referring to speed? It looks like he might be referring to the torque-tube u-joint housing (bell). Of course, we could be wrong, and it is always good to clarify terminology.

"How do you replace the seal on the outside of the "bell" on the torque tube?As the truck was delivered,the four bolt flange was unbolted and the "seal" was shredded."

TC,
I did not write that very clear. Yes, I am referring to Speed. Now my seperate question is. How do you remove the old seal and bushing inside the torque tube when you want to replace it? Do you need to move the shaft aft to get the special puller in the tube? Hope I'm clear.

Glenn,

Glenn,

That's a good question and I would also like to hear a descriptive answer for it. In fact, it would be real nice to "see" an answer to your question (a photo tutorial).

My understanding is that there is some kind of puller-tool to remove the existing seal. The torque-tube can be rotated downward; therefore, this repair can be done with the rear end in place. Also, there is an inner bearing (and seal ?) behind the outer seal and the inner bearing gets pushed back on the enclosed driveshaft by the repair (Oakie) bushing.

If you undertake this repair/replacement, maybe you could post your experiences here?

Good luck,
Tim

The reprint of the Chevrolet rear axle overhaul booklet covers all the above and shows each step pictorally. I thought the "torque tube seal" is the felt ring inside the ball nut. When using an okie repair bushing you just slide it over the shaft and pound it in but to replace the original bushings and propeller shaft seal? the rear end must be disassembled and the shaft/bearings removed. Then the bushings/seal can be removed with a puller. (shown in the book)


http://www.classicparts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=05-711

Here is a good pic showing everything. http://chevy.tocmp.com/1929_54chevyparts/05/330.HTM

This is the instruction manual.
http://chevy.tocmp.com/1948_51truckshop/51ctsm0405.htm

Also, as Tim has requested, "If you undertake this repair/replacement, maybe you could post your experiences here?"


I would also be interested in knowing how difficult it is, especially the do's and don'ts.

Thanks

-Tom

As I understand it, there is a puller to pull front bushing in driveshaft. Then the Okie bushing drives the old rear bushing out of the way and has it's own new seal. I will scan the "Patrick's 3.55 gear installation instructions" In it, the driveshaft is removed from the outer tube and he gives instructions to use a 6' length of 1" pipe with a cap to drive out the old bushings and seal and installation instructions for installing new original style bushings and seal. I will e-mail those instructions to Tim as he has been real good to post stuff like that for me. My ISP does not provide ftp space.

All good info. But, I'm still alittle confused. I know that there is a special tool to pull the bushing. I have looked at the end of the torque tube and drive shaft and am here to tell you that there is so lttle clearance between the shaft and the tube that I'm surprised that the tranny yoke will slide on. So the question really is.Will that special tool fit over the shaft and between the shaft and torque tube? Or do you have to move the shaft back?
Glenn,

I took the old bushing out by drilling and tapping two small holes in the end of the old bushing. I threaded in two machine screws and used a slide hammer to pull the old bushing out. When I put the okie assembly in I used and old u-joint yoke and once over the splines hammered the assembly in using the yoke as a drift of sorts.

There is a special torque tube bushing remover but last time I checked, none of the vendors had them and wouldn't for a few months. Some of the bushing are held in with a retainer bolt on the outside of the torque tube. If you have one of those, the job to remove the old bushing may be easier. Once the old bushing is out, the new Okie repair unit is driven in and drives the old bushing back down the tube. You need to dress the splines of your shaft to ensure that the new seal on the new bushing unit is not torn during installation. I have two of these old Okie bushing kits s with instructions so hopefully I'll be successful when I do mine after the engine goes back in. I'll be doing this soon myself and plan on doing a photo and knuckle breaking narrative when I do it. Probably too late for you guys as I won't be doing it until next month. I'll be watching your progress though.

Thx Geezer. Every bit of info really helps with the big picture.

Glenn,