meteor Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 What is the best way to replace the rear main seal on a 1940 special 248? The repair manual is not giving me much information. Thanks, Meteor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1939_Buick Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Download the 1942 Buick Shop manual from http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meteor Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 Thanks 39 Buick, That's a great site. I have the service and repair manual for my 1940 Buick. I was hoping to get a response from someone who has replaced the seal so I could get some advice and issues that may turn up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 He wasn't pointing out the '42 manual because he thought you needed a manual--he was pointing out a better manual that you should use. The '42 manual has a much more detailed and useful section on the procedure than your '40 manual. It's a rope seal. There are tools you can buy to snake the seal in there. You'll have to drop the pan and it will likely take some practice to get it in there properly, but it's not terribly difficult. Pre-soak the rope seal so it's flexible and slides into place easily. They're cheap, maybe buy two just in case the first one gets mangled while you practice. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meteor Posted April 22, 2017 Author Share Posted April 22, 2017 Thanks Matt, I did not realize the 42 manual was more detailed. That is great I will check it out right away. The 40 manual does not have any info on the seal. I thought I would have to pull the trans. Thanks again for the help. Meteor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pont35cpe Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Meteor, back in the `60s I had a Chevy 265 with a leaking rope seal. The main cap piece was easy to replace, but the piece in the block, not.. J C Whitney sold a repair kit that had nail like pins to install in the upper rope to tighten it and was actually an easy fix. I also had another kit around the same time that had a special tool that was similar to a Chinese finger puzzle with a pull handle on one end for installing the block portion of the rear seal. It also worked good, biggest problem was getting the old upper piece removed. Telling this sure disturbed some brain cells.. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 See Old Tank's web site Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meteor Posted April 22, 2017 Author Share Posted April 22, 2017 Ben, Who is Old Tank and where is his website? Thanks, Meteor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 (edited) old-tank is Willie Pittman in So TX. His web site is BuickRestorer.com. He has a "tip" on there for replacing the rear seal on '50s Buicks. Same thing should work on yours. Ben Edited April 23, 2017 by Ben Bruce aka First Born (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meteor Posted April 23, 2017 Author Share Posted April 23, 2017 Ben, Thanks for that website. Added it to my favorites list, very informative. That rear seal looks like a tough job. Think I will keep an eye on the leak and monitor it and if it gets worse I will try the repair. Meteor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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