VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 Driveshaft leak

Don't worry -- it's a torque tube era Chevrolet. If they don't leak a little lube from somewhere, it means the crankcase/transmission/rear end is in need of a topping-off. As for Chevy friends, they don't generally get upset over a few drips on their driveway; I just try to be considerate and park with the engine and transmission over the oil spot that's already there from their own cars!

I need to do this on my '50. Some pics would help...

The shop manual is a must have if you are not familiar with these old cars.

Universal Ball Joint Adjustment

Do a Google search on this topic.

Torque Tube Ball Joint

I've got the book--just wanted to see pics of what I'll be doing. The car is on jack stands, so I'll be working at a disadvantage...

I did mine on stands.

Make sure you support the driveshaft with a jack or stand when you disconnect it and the U-joint.

The hardest part for me was getting the U-joint back together. It just takes patience.

I am not sure how clean your car is underneath. Mine was filthy so I took extra time to clean the decades of grease and grime, and repaint where I could.

Hi, I’m currently experiencing the same leak in my driveshaft due to a seal. Today. I pulled the bushing out and I found someone chopped half an okie bushing and stuck it in there. Now I bought a new okie bushing from chevsofthe40’s website for my 53 bel air. The dimensions of the new okie bushing are too big and won’t slide in. Any help with the correct okie seal size? I’ll take it to a machine shop if I had the right measurements also.

Let’s get a new thread going for this Oakie bushing discussion. It is not an unusual problem with them.

Just do a Google search and include VCCA Chat in the search line. You will get plenty of results.

I installed that bushing in my 54 convert no problem I had purchased the puller years back when it was cheaper.Their are 3 different bushings they might have sent you the wrong one or there is something still stuck in the tube,got to be one or the other it is not a difficult repair.

The new Oakies I believe come in two sizes for different years but even if you have the correct one, there are many discussions on them being slightly oversized.

You need to remove the sawed off Oakie that's in there and then remove the dowel pin and the original front bushing. If the Oakie is too large a diameter to fit, you can have a machine shop turn it down slightly though some guys have carefully used a file to just reduce the diameter a bit. Torque tube size can vary, especially if someone has forced in a sawed off Oakie lol, so the replacements are intentionally larger as you want the Oakie to fit snugly in your tube. You will need to measure your tube and have a machinist match the size.

I have contributed to a post on Oakies a few weeks back where I take my bushings, seals and shaft out of my torque tube and post pictures. Search my posts as there are pictures and a video someone posted at the beginning of that thread that will help you. I haven't had a chance to clean up my posts since I've learned more about it. I also have ordered modern replacement seals for the Oakie and the rear bushing seal (you won't be touching this) from Amazon just to verify what others have posted over the years. I have not measured the seals from Amazon but they sure do look correct. There is likely a seal and Oakie difference between my 1938 and your car so won't post my seal information here.

Thank you for the help, I spent all day going to machine shops and mechanics in La and none of them had a metal lathe to grind my tube, luckily I had a wooden lathe my dad uses to make pool sticks and carefully sanded a tapered wood stick to stick into the okie bushing and carefully sanded the threads down with metal sand paper evenly. Now I had success putting everything back in no problem. As I took the car for a spin I still had a clunking sound coming from the ball. Now I filled transmission oil as much as I could through the nut hole. But only so much can go in before spilling out? I think the tranny may not have enough gear oil. Any thoughts on getting the right amount in? My okie bushing fits right and I have no leakage coming from the ball the past few days.

Did you inspect or replace the u-joint when in there? At minimum it should be inspected well and lubed since you are 90% of the way to replacing it anyway.

You can check the trans level through the fill hole/plug on the side of the transmission. Take the plug out and try to get a pinkie in the hole and the fluid level should be right at the bottom of the hole. It can be awkward to fill. I always put jugs of gear lube in a boiling pot of water on the stove, keep shaking them and get them hot enough to squeeze or pump depending on what I am filling. It goes way easier with hot, thinner fluid.

You may be feeling collective slop throughout the driveline. The trans, ujoint, propeller shaft and differential can all contribute a bit of slop and you will feel it as you load or unload the transmission,,,

I believe my 38 is different. I used mechanics wire to stop the u joint from sliding out of reach. SometimesI have to walk away and come back to it.

Yes I replaced then U joint as well no problem with the universal u joint from Chevsofthe40’s, greased up and in correctly. Do I fill more gear oil through the speedometer nut (after removing it) ? Because I see the speedometer nut is at a higher point and will fill more oil than the one under the car on the side.

Only fill to the level of the side plug as too much oil will cause it to leak.