Rear Transmission Seal 32 DeSoto

[Guest DeSoto32]

Need rear transmission seal for 32 DeSoto 6 3 spd. Any leads appreciated or ideas on rebuilding refurbishing...

[Chris Coon]

If I remember correctly, I gave measurements to my local parts store and they got it. Do you have a part number or sometimes there is a number on the old seal. Also, be sure the yoke doesn't have a big groove worn in it, if it does they can be repaired with a sleeve, which are available from NAPA.

Good luck,

Chris

[Taylormade]

The  problem - wear on the tailpiece shaft and a shot seal for the shaft.

 

 

First I tackled the seal.  Early Mopars used these huge seals on the differential and the rear axles.  You can find them on EBay, usually at an exorbitant price, and being new old stock, they have a tendency to be dried out or warped.  The seals are rawhide and are "permanently" attached to the large metal piece that bolts in place.  Well, not so permanently I discovered.  After drilling through most of the top of the actual seal, being careful not to damage the housing, I managed to pry the old seal out.  It was totally destroyed in the process.  There was no number or any ID on the seal.  The felt seal at the top center was sandwiched between the seal and the housing and was in pretty good shape.  i believe it was mostly to keep dirt out of the housing and I put it back in place before installing the new seal.

 

 

After I cleaned up the housing, I measured in inside diameter of the area where the seal used to live.  It came out to 2.750   The shaft diameter of the tailpiece was 1.750.  I found a Timken seal, number 473447, by going through their applications charts online.  This seal measures 2.758 OD and takes a 1.750 shaft.  The interference fit seemed about right so I ordered a seal from my local bearing house. 

 

 

I drove it into place with my  bearing race driver.  It seated nicely and I was ready to work on the tailpiece.

 

 

The problem here was the groove worn into the shaft by the old seal.  Not a pretty sight.

 

 

To address this situation I also bought a Speedi-Sleeve from the bearing house.  This one was designed to work on a 1.750 shaft.  The sleeve comes with an installation tool.  The sleeve simply fits over the shaft and provides a new surface for the seal. 

 

 

The groove in the shaft was deep enough that I used a small amount of epoxy filler to fill it in.  Drive the sleeve on before the filler dries.

 

 

You slip the installation tool over the sleeve and drive it onto the worn shaft.

 

 

Once the sleeve was in place, I removed the lip used by the installation tool to drive it home as it wasn't all the way down on the shaft.  If the sleeve is long enough and seats, you can leave the lip in place..

 

 

Parts finished and ready for paint.

 

 

I hope this helps.

[Taylormade]

After all that, I noticed it was your transmission seal, not the differential seal you were talking about.  Sorry about the long winded explanation for nothing, although the Speedi-Sleeve trick will work on your front yoke, too.  On my 32 Dodge, which has a free wheeling unit on the back of the transmission, I used a Timken 450494 seal.  I took the rear housing to the bearing shop and they helped me find the correct size, which was 1.750 X 2.502 X 0.375.  If you have the same tranny, this one will work.  If not, they can help you find one.

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark Gregory]

Excellent description on how to fix the seal and speedy sleeve . Someday this will help some else . Taylormade thanks for posting it . On my differential I bought a bearing with a seal built right into it .

[Guest DeSoto32]

Great info, and yeah, thats pretty much what we did. The old timers at a real parts store found the seal, and there wasn't much wear to make trouble. Also Northwest Transmission parts in OH said they had the NOS and a reproduction version of this.