[ralphnof49]

The rear seal on my 47 Lincoln Club coupe is leaking too much. I would like to replace it with the overdrive on the car. Do I need to pull the rear end right back to gain enough room?
I woul appreciate advice on this seal replacement.
Ralph

[peecher]

Ralph, There is no"seal"at the rear of the OD unit other than the thin gaskets between the torque ball and thrust plate. There is also a cork seal that seals the ball caps on the torque tube. In practice, gear oil in the OD unit will lube the rear bearing and some will pass thru into the universal joint and a small amount will mix with the U-joint grease. There is a seal at the forward of the drive shaft ( in the torque tube) to stop flow from the U joint area. It's possible that the ball coupling may be loose or the gaskets and cork seal may need replacement? If the OD unit is over-filled that too will cause migration of gear oil into the U-joint area. Before moving the rear end back you might take a look at the ball caps, check for tightness. With the rear end in place the cork seal in the ball caps could be replaced , however to replace the thin gaskets between the torque thrust plate and ball cap you would have to cut the gaskets in order to get in place. I would "cut" them at the top and apply a dab of sealer. Good luck

[ralphnof49]

OK, now I'm confused because the Repair Manual for Transmissions, overdrives etc clearly shows a seal at the rear of the overdrive housing. I ordered a new one from Alan Whelihan.
I will check the ball caps and check the thin gaskets between the torque thrust plate and ball cap. Someone has used silicone sealer on the ball caps so I may need new gaskets too.
Ralph

[peecher]

Ralph, I STAND CORRECTED! There is indeed a seal at the rear of the OD housing. The Non-OD transmissions are the ones without a seal.
That seal is pressed in to the housing, however the output shaft runs thru it. It maybe a real challenge to remove it even with the U-joint removed. I suspect you'll have to remove the rear OD housing in order to remove the seal. Probably you will need to remove the entire transmission and disassemble the OD housing in order to gain access. Good time to replace the gaskets and seal for the U-joint. I have found that cotton string will hold the free-wheeling rollers in place when reassembling the output shaft / rear housing to the OD unit. Good luck

[ralphnof49]

Thanks Peecher. Sorry for the delay in response- we were away for 2 weeks visiting grandchildren in other provinces. I appreciate the advice and agree it may be not possible to remove and replace the seal with the output shaft in place on the car. I'm not sure yet when I will start the task, so we will see what happens. I'm debating whether to do this on the car lift or on the floor and going over the steps to see what will be best.
Ralph