VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc Torque tube bushing replacement

I want to remove the front bushing in the torque tube on my '37 so I can install a bushing/seal repair unit to put a stop to the trans oil leaking past the original seal. The bushing in question is the one that supports the rear half of the U-joint. It's supposedly doweled in, so I will locate the dowel and drill it out.

My question is, once the dowel is drilled out, is there a way to remove the bushing from the front of the torque tube while the drive shaft is in the bushing, without removing the torque tube from the drive shaft and knocking it out from the rear?

Thanks for any help you can offer,
-Bob

Yep. Check out your shop manual since it tells you how to remove the bushing without removing the torque tube.

:) :grin:

Skip, the first place I looked was my '37 Shop Manual, as well as a later publication entitled "1937 Service Information". The Sop Manual states the following:

"If it is necessary to replace the bushing that is pressed into the end of the front propeller shaft housing, the dowel that holds it in place should be drilled out and the bushing driven from the housing."

If there's another section that gives a short cut for the removal, I can't find it.
It sounds to me like the manual assumes the torque tube is removed from the car and access from the back-side is available. I would like to try to remove it from the front and was just wondering if anyone else has an idea on how to do that.
Thanks,
-Bob

Bob--after you disconnect the u-joint, pull the torque tube down, look real close and you will see where a metal dowel pin holds the bushing in place in the tube 3-4 inches to the rear of the driveshaft spline. Remove the dowell by drill, I used an ice pick to start pushing the bushing out and a stiff welding rod to finish pushing it out. It is not neccessary to remove the old seal. Simply install new seal( Napa seal#9876-$4), then the new bushing. replace everything and away ya go!! If you are lucky and are able to find an "OKIE" bushing, it has the seal connected to it.

hoppy

Bob:
When I did the replacement on my '35 I removed the entire torque tube and rear end. As I recall the dowel location on mine is straight up at 12 o'clock and having it out of the car made the drilling out of the dowel easy. It may be accessible by removing the floorboard cover but I had other things to do with the assembly out of the car. Your situation on the '37 may be different as I'm not all that familiar with them.

To answer your first question is that the drive shaft can stay in the torque tube. There is a slot in the torque tube that exposes the bushing. Just get a punch or screw driver in there and pry or drive it out after the dowel has been removed. The cork seal in mine was in many pieces so I used a series of picks and long skinny things to get all the debris out. With the new seal and bushing in place you need to pin the bushing with a new dowel. Press or drive the dowel in place and then use a sharp chisel to stake the dowel to the torque tube.

It all sounds tougher than it really is. Once out of the car the bushing and seal replacement took maybe an hour. I made my own dowel so that took some of the time.

Once the torque tube to trans U joint is disconnected you can push the torque down enough to get the bushing out. The rear axle rotates in the spring perch axle blocks allowing the torque tube to drop; put a block between floor pan and torque tube to hold in place. An angle drill will provide more clearance to drill out the dowel.

It sounds like your shop manual isn't to explicit regarding the removal of the bushing. Most shop manuals seem to be the same.......anything you need to know isn't described in the shop manual and what you don't want to know is described in great detail!

:) :grin:

For the 1937 and up passenger cars the factory way was to remove the drive shaft and drive the bushing out (front wards and after dowel was removed).
If it were mine I would remove just the front bushing and drive in the Oakie bushing. It will have a seal to the rear and because it doesn't go back as far due to the rear bushing remainng in place, the drive shaft will ride on a new, unworn area of the drive shaft. Will be the best of all worlds :)

Thanks for all the replies!!

I assumed the bushing was pressed in fairly tightly, but perhaps not, if it can be pried out. I bought an NORS aftermarket :oakie" bushing (Propellar Shaft Housing Repair Kit)on ebay a couple of weeks ago very reasonably. It was manufactured in 1946 by National Machine Works, which was located in Oklahoma - maybe where the term Oakie bushing comes from?? The seal has to be replaced due to age, but my local bearing supply house has a new replacement.

Thanks again for the info,
-Bob

Just a little feedback - I drilled out the dowel, punch out the bushing from the dowel hole and installed the Oakie bushing (after replacing the old seal) in FAR less time than I thought it would take and with no difficulty whatsoever !! That doesn't happen too often, at least in my experience. :grin:

Thanks for the help.
-Bob

"punched out the bushing"...was this the front or rear bushing?

The front bushing, Gene. After drilling out the dowel, I was able to get a small punch in the 5/16" dowel hole and tap it out most of the way. When I could no longer get contact through the dowel hole, I was able to continue tapping it out on the portion that extended out of the torque tube, until it came free.

Bob,

Is this what you installed?

http://www.americanclassic.com/Google_Base_HTML_Pages/ME129-1937.htm

Rich

Rich, As long as the U joint is apart I would suggest installing an Oakie bushing (from the Filling Station)....Most of the 1937-39 cars have loose bushings which cause drive line vibrations at higher speeds. If it were my car I would replace the U joint also.

Rich,
That's exactly the style I installed, although not the same manufacturer. Mine was made in the 40's and I bought it on Ebay. The seal in the unit I bought needed to be replaced due to age, but only cost $6.00 from my local bearing supply house. Altogether, the unit from ebay, seal & shipping was less than $34.00. I did see the Seller had at least one other bushing for sale, so he might have additional ones, as well.

Gene,

I do have a NOS universal joint. On the piece that bolts to the rear of the transmission is the gear that runs the speedometer cable. I cannot see that this gear is physically attached to the u-joint shaft. How do I remove this so that I can install the gear on the new u-joint shaft? Heat?


Bob,

I will check the Filling Station catalog for this part.

Thanks,

Rich

If it is like the 36 it needs to be pressed off and on. My press didn't have enough umph., so I had to let a machine shop do it.

Yep, the speedo gear is pressed on. You might try heating it, but I just pressed mine off.

Some of you have more "stuff" in your shop than I do. No press here, just a large hammer and a torch. I will try a "medium" amount of heat. If that does not do it, I will take it to a machine shop.

Thanks,

Rich