Leaking front seal

[kaliona]

1967 F100. I'm going to drop my transmission, which is a medium case Cruise o Matic to change a leaky front seal. Since I'm dropping the transmission, anything else I shoudl do to it while I have it out? Any other seals I should change? I've worked on engines, but never transmissions, so I'd consider myself a noob in this dept. Also, I took a pic of another drip at the u-joint. Definitely transmission fluid. Is there a seal on that flange where the u-joint connects?

[Donnie]

I would replace the output seal while you have it out. Use a GOOD quality seal & be sure to use a bit of petroleum jelly on the inside of the seal to hold the garter spring in place....Not needed if you have the correct installer. They have been known to pop out from the hammer shock when tapping it in W/O the installer...Same for the rear seal.

If you have a drip at the front U joint & you know that it is not the rear seal,, sometimes the O ring / or rubber sleeve on the output shaft will lose tension & allow oel to get into the yoke, which may have a small vent hole in it....after pulling the driveshaft look inside the yoke for this vent hole. You can either seal this hole (easiest) or remove the tail housing & replace the sleeve that seals the output shaft of the trans to the inside of the yoke (more difficult)...either will address your drip.....be careful when locating a front seal, there are a lot of knock off's on the mkt..........Oh yea, visually check the front bushing for wear or scoring & check the converter hub for wear marks...you should only see a ring where the seal was riding & feel NO marking on the hub at all....rub it with your fingernail or a copper penny...If it is not smooth, replace your bushing & polish your hub with 220 grit paper or finer..

Also clean & check your alignment dowel pins for wear or not protruding enough to align the bell housing to the block...NO tolerance is allowed here...............hope that helps & good luck.................Donnie

[kaliona]

Thanks for the pointers. Any special tools required for removing the tail housing and replacing the sleeve you're talking about? What about getting replacement parts? Would my local auto parts store have parts for my Cruise O Matic?

[Donnie]

Hi, the rear housing is just bolted to the main case..You will have to get the gasket & rubber sleeve or "O" ring, whichever your trans has from a trans shop, any good shop should be able to sell you these parts from a broken kit for a few bux, most shops have a shelf full of broken kits that they had to get a part out of at some time to correct a problem....You may want to ask them if they can help you with the seals too...

Note: there is a good chance that your trans has been rebuilt sometime in it's life........a novice builder will notice this "sleeve" and conclude that it has no purpose & not replace it........It slides onto the output shaft, pretty snug & when the yoke is installed it slides over it with a slight bit of effort to keep oel from getting into the yoke...hope that helps........Find a good friendly trans shop & see if they will help you.
If they try to sell you a complete kit, you are in the wrong place....... Donnie