I have a 48 that leaked at the ball and at the driveshaft packing. I purchased a seal kit from Chevs of the 40's and replaced both seals. I had good luck on the front but not so good (it leaked) on the rear. The parts book calls for a felt seal but this one was cork like the one I took out. Did I put in the wrong real ? Is there a better seal somewhere ?
The original was felt and more forgiving. The modern cork is hard to compress and expand,. I would try by tightening the packing nut several times over a period of time .
Hi Gene
I have the packing nut as tight as I can get it. I have changed cork the seal twice now and both seemed
vary hard. The two washers felt like they were too big ( ID ) to do the job of containing the cork seal.
Why did they stop using felt and would I be better off to go back felt. Felt and rubber are available in sheets of
any thickness. Maybe I should make my own seal and washers or do you think I would be waisting my
time. I have read many posts and I know YOU ARE THE MAN and I respect your opinion.
Thank Buzz
Chevrolet never stopped using the rubberized felt. They just finnaly discontinued it when it became obsolete . The modern aftermarket seemed to feel cork would be a cheap and easy subtitute.
Thanks Russell I found it on ebay. It is on order. We will see if it works.Thanks Buzz
When you tighten the packing nut I recommend that you use a strap wrench. That applies uniform pressure around the whole collar.
Large slip-joint pliers or a pipe wrench compress the packing nut at 2 locations. So the nut feels tight. When you release the wrench or pliers it becomes round again and not as tight.
That is good advice. I will do that when I reassemble it with the new parts.