VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 Oakie bushing

I see that the OP lives in Canada and has a previous post about a shift shaft bushing that did not fit. He got it from the same supplier as his oakie bushing. I am wondering if he has a Canadian model Chevy, and if so, are they different from US models. Did Canada use the metric system in the 40's? Seems unusual that the same supplier has two different types of bushings that don't fit this car.

Received my replacement Oakie today from The Filling Station, thank you very much Jerry, some of the Oakies were packaged incorrectly:(, I just happened to be the lucky guy that got one.My torque tube is junk now but I have an extra TT to try again , which is good :)

Hi Marvin,

I hope you have taken some time to check out our old posts on replacing an Oakie Bushing. Go back to around 2004 for a good look at advice. The Filling Station also has some tech articles on this topic on their website.

Here are some tool ideas. Driveshaft bushing stuck

Good luck, Mike

But I ignored my own advice. I made a puller and removed the steel bush backing. I miked the OD of the oakie bushing and found it to be 3 thou smaller than the GM bush on the U/joint end. The seal end was 9 thou smaller than that. As I didn't know the '39 dimensions I thought it would be a loose fit. Wrong. Getting it in turned out to be the hardest thing I have ever had to do to a car. The amount of force needed to hammer it in was nothing but abuse. I was using a 5 pound hammer and the amount of blows required can have done no good at all to the banjo housing. Knowing what I know now I would never consider changing the bush this way again. Including the time needed to make a puller I don't think I saved any time at all over the original way to do it. Pulling the third member would have enabled me to remove to oakie bushing, measure the inside of the torque tube and relieve the bush a little if necessary. The mental stress would have been a lot less.

I had a similar issue, the bushing stopped moving at the last inch. Instead of beating the crap out of the bushing with a hammer, I put a 4x4 piece of wood on the concrete floor, put the TT in a vertical position with the banjo end up, and raised it up about 2 feet, and let gravity do its job. After 3-4 hits it finally went in.

Also, make sure the rear seal was seated properly....I almost crushed mine when I looked inside at the last minute to see if there was any blockage.

When you say that the bushing was incorrectly packaged...are you referring to the oxidation on the surface? Mine was like that. I had to clean it off and use gear oil.

After my struggles fitting the Oakie Bushing my vibration problems were cured. However now I find a worse problem. Oil transfer from the transmission to the diff has increased to half a pint per 20 miles. Somehow the bushing has damaged its seal and the existing seal as well. This makes it impossible to drive very far without emptying the transmission. The plan now is to remove the third member and pull or drive out all the seals and bushings including the Okie from the torque tube, fit a new seal to the Okie and refit it to the Torque tube. This is going to be tough considering how tight the Okie was to put in. I'm thinking of making a puller using half inch threaded rod. Having the torque tube out will let me examine everything before fitting the prop shaft and avoid any problems. Should have done this to start with. Watch this space.

Is there another source known, besides this company in India, for the Oakie Bushing ?

Are there different oakie bushings?

I'm looking at on in my hand right now and on one end it has the word "NATIONAL" and opposite that and on the same end the numbers "50448 or 9." That last number is not as clear.

What does this one fit?

Charlie

Here's an advertisement for oakies.....

Bob....I don't know where these are made.
Charlie.....this literature shows 3 different models.


There's a phone number shown....give "em a call.

Hope this helps.

Hello Ken,

Your info is a great find.

I believe this VINTAGE brand is the one that caused the original poster of this thread, "Stylemaster Mel", all the grief, when installing.

Mel mentions the V-102, which seems correct for his application, but the tight fit he encountered tells me he actually received the V-105, which is for the larger diameter tube, found in the '51 to '54.

Bob, you're correct about the "Vintage" brand. Guess I should have reread this thread before posting. It does sound like an incorrect packaging error on the supplier's part. I used this brand years ago when I installed one in my 48 and while it was tough hammering, it did go in and worked well.

StylemasterMEL.......sorry I couldn't help. Rework due to someone else's mistakes can be very frustrating. Good Luck.

Still, good info, just the same.

My diff is now in pieces and the torque tube on the bench. The cause of my transmission to diff oil flow is this. The pounding given to the Oakie bushing to insert it dislodged the oil seal from the end and it is now sitting loose between the old bushing and the new one. An old schoolteacher of mine once told me there is no shortcut to a good job. 57 years later I now see what he was getting at. Much bad language down here in the South Pacific.

I bit the bullet and pulled my diff. It wasn't that hard just heavy for an old geezer like me. A trolley jack at each end with a homemade cradle on the heavy end did the trick and I wheeled it out. I took the diff off and removed the pinion and drive shaft.I then had a look down the torque tube with my inspection camera and saw the new Oakie seal sitting loose in the torque tube .The hammering had dislodged it from the Oakie tube.I made up a puller out of 1/2 inch threaded rod and started pulling everything out.A couple of times I thought it was going to strip but after an hour or so of winding I had everything out of the torque tube. I took a close look at the Oakie and found the seal was only a thumb press fit in the steel tube and had been stuck in with RTV. Bad! I got a new seal and Loctited it in then peened the inner edge of the Oakie tube slightly. Now it's held securely. I then put the Oakie in the freezer for 3 hours and refitted it using the "drop the torque tube" method.Three bangs was enough. I left 1/8 in protruding to center a puller in case it ever has to come out again. Won't be me! Reassembled the diff with the bonus of removing 14 thou excess backplay in the ring and pinion.Fitted back in the car and all was OK. The lesson from this is measure and check everything on the Oakie before you hammer it in. Evidently Indian micrometers measure differently to ours. Incidentally mine was a V101 in a 39 car but I would check any of them now.

Removing 14 thou from a "seasoned or used" ring and pinion may be cause for a new howl ?

Hi Colin,

Thank you for taking the time to walk us through your repair process. Your good description of the process gives us the knowledge to take on this project. Please update us again after putting some miles on your car.

Best wishes Mike

That had crossed my mind. The 39 specs called for .004" to 008" backlash.
Mine had .023" so I took out .014" leaving it at .001" over specs. The diff is quiet so it looks like I got away with it. My only glitch was a drip from the bottom diff cover bolt. Oh well, it will match the one from the universal joint ball. I'll have to buy another drip tray.