VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1955-1957 Companion flange tool

I have a 1955 first series chevy with a leaky differential pinion shaft. I have the seal but ca
n't seem to find the companion seal tool. I have tried a few local auto stores and rental places with no luck. Any ideas other than have the dealer do it would be appreciated..

The companion flange tools were made by Kent-Moore and available to only GM dealers.They were designed for tightening the pinion nut with the carrier out of the car.With it in the car you can lock the brakes an use a long breaker bar to tighten the nut.If your retightening a nut and using the previously crushed "crush sleve"The proper proceedure is to mark the location of the nut and retighten it to just slightly beyond that point.If not done that way the preload on the front pinion bearing will be difficult to judge.

HI Big,

At this point in time, I doubt the local Chevy dealer would even have this special tool still in their inventory.

What I have found that works very well, I attach a chain between the flange and the frame rail.

This allows the nut to be tightened properly, especially if a new crush sleeve is used.