KAD36 Posted May 15, 2001 Share Posted May 15, 2001 Hi<P>Just got my 1955 Super out in the nice weather and within first 100 miles I sprung a leak - rear axle seal looks like its seeping down the rear brake backing plate.<P>I looked in the shop manual and this doesn't seem to be too tough a job - haven't done it before though so I have a couple of questions-<P>1) Do I need that special removal tool to get the axle clips out or will a set of pliers/screwdrivers/small brass punch work okay?<P>2) Does the pinions, spacer and side gears all come out or do the side gears stay in there? Can I re-use the lock screw for the pinon shaft or do I have to get a new one?<P>3) The rear bearings seem fine (no noise), the end play is good, should both oil seals in the axle be replaced or can I just replace the outer one? If I pull the bearing and race from the axle to get at the inner seal, I will probably have to replace the inner bearing and race (not sure I can get it out of the axle housing in one piece without damage) and I don't want to fix what isn't worn out. Seems that newer vehicles only have outer axle seals - whats the benefit of an inner and an outer?<P>5) Any gotcha or "surprises" that anyone had doing this job I should watch out for in advance or is like all other jobs on these glorious old cars: straightforward, went exactly as planned the first time through, job finished ahead of schedule, on-time arrival to the supper table. <P>Thanks alot for your help<P>Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad54 Posted May 15, 2001 Share Posted May 15, 2001 Dude, if that last part of your message is really the way your projects go, I'm moving into your neighborhood!<BR>Here's the experiance I had with mine (exact same problem--exact--on a '54).<BR>Brass drift will get the C-clips out with no problem. The pinion and block will come out nicely. The spider gears don't need to come out, but they're going to fall out on their own, and when you try to get them in again, the whole differential will turn, making the whole process that much more annoying. not a big deal, though.<BR>For the screw that holds them in, I re-used it with Loc-tite.<BR>For the wheel bearings, I decided to replace mine at the same time, and found out that the only thing harder than a broken E-Z Out is a bearing race. I chiseled, cut, cursed and used a cut off wheel to get the race out of the axel tube on the passenger side. Rending a slide hammer with the right end on it pulled the driver's side out in about 30 seconds.<BR>Driving in the new bearings, seals and races was more difficult, because I had to find a driver big enough to get the job done.<BR>I'm of the opinion that if you're in there to do one job, you may as well do the others (replace the bearings) so you don't have to do any of it again. It's usually more expensive, but it saves time (and frustration) in the long run.<BR>Start early, and you should hit the dinner table on time!<BR>-Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted May 15, 2001 Share Posted May 15, 2001 Ken,<BR>I wish you luck. I have pulled 3 rear ends apart as of late trying to get a good one. It seems like the bolt that holds the pinion shaft likes to break in the 48 - 51 rear ends. Maybe they hardened up later on.<BR>But anyway I had a hell of a time getting that bolt out of the one good rear end I found, finally took it to a rear end shop after about a week and had them do the job.<BR>If you need a bolt though, some places will try to charge you 100 bucks for it because it is "Special". Tell them where that bolt goes, in the rear end and get one from a 12 bolt chevy. A little custom modification and it works like a champ.<BR>This is all biased towards the 47 - 51 rear ends so maybe yours will come apart nice and easy. Pray though that that 1 bolt isn't broken.<BR>Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted May 15, 2001 Share Posted May 15, 2001 Ken<BR>The reason for the inner and outter seals is because the bearings and the space between the seals is packed with grease. If you are getting axel lubricant leaks then both seals are shot. Replacement is pretty straightforward ...just pay attention to the shop manual. I had to rig a puller to remove the bearing from the housing. If you need to replace the inner race there lots of ways to cut chisel or grind it off but replacement is easy...just heat the new one with a propane torch and drop in place!!<BR>Email me with your phone number and I will call you with details.<BR>Willie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted May 16, 2001 Author Share Posted May 16, 2001 Thanks guys for all the detailed information!<P>Seals and gaskets are on order - should be here in time for the weekend. I held out on the bearings - figure I'll see how it looks when I tear it apart and go from there. Sounds like the slide hammer puller is the tool of choice - will hunt that down too. <P>Willie - in your post you said to warm up the inner race and it drops right in - I'm confused - did you mean the race that presses on the axle shaft and seats against the shoulder? Will send you an e-mail.<P>Bill - if that bolt snaps when I lay into it you'll hear me hollerin' all the way to Texas.<P>Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted May 16, 2001 Share Posted May 16, 2001 Ken<BR>The inner race is the one pressed on the axel shaft.<BR>One other thing to check...be sure you are not getting transmission fluid past the torque tube seal into the tube and into the rear end...this will overfill the rear end dilute the lubrcant and even good seals will not hold. On all my 55's I drill a small hole in the bottom of the torque just in front of the rear flange to check and/or drain fluid from the tube.<BR>My understanding on the necessity of the inner seal is to keep the rear lubrcant out of the grease which may dilute or be incompatible. Also the fill level on the differential is lower than the axel bearings.<BR>Willie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted May 28, 2001 Author Share Posted May 28, 2001 Hi<P>Just wanted to give an update and say thanks to everyone for the advice on R&Ring the axle seals. All your advice was right on the money. I sailed through the job no sweat. As usual, one thing led to another - one of my axle bearings was a little chewed up and I had to get a new one - the other was just fine. <P>A couple of tips I'll add in passing:<P>1) The manual shows a special tool to get the clips off. After about 10 minutes of chasing the little lock clip around the axle shaft with my mallet and brass drift, I lost my patience and got a 15/16 inch open end wrench, wrapped some electrical tape around the ends (to not mar the axle) and put the ends of the wrench up against the c-clips. 2 taps and it came off. Necessity is the mother of invention!<P>2) When reassembling, put the brake backing plate on first, then install the axle. The backing plate does not fit over the axle after you have re-installed it into the differential. Just when you think you are done and saying "thats not so bad" - whoa whats this extra piece on the workbench? I also verified the driver side backing plate doesn't fit over the installed driver side axle either (in case anyone was wondering) <P>thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Just bringing this back to the top in case someone else might need to read up on rear seals. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 55nail Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 Old thread, but i have an update for anyone ordering seals I have a 55 4 door hardtop century. Brakes went out completely on me recently (very lucky to have been going low speed and no hills). Rebuilt the master cylinder, now reworking the rear brakes (e-brake suddenly is a much more important feature to me). The oil contaminated right rear demands that I replace the seals while I was at it. Bearings show a few marks so they're getting replaced too. I'll summarize a couple days of headaches including an hour at the parts counter that resulted in seals that I have to return. I started searching by make and model at napa and oreilly's and everywhere else on the web that google covers. No one had the inners and the outer seals they came up with were wider than the ones I pulled or there was no photo or dimensions. Finally today I found a timkin cross reference file where I could search by dimensions: http://www.timken.com/en-us/products/Documents/NSCNumeric_Metricsections.pdf Download it as a pdf, it's searchable. ID for both is 1.875. Thickness for both is 0.25. OD for the inner is 2.627, OD for the outer is 2.784 Timken 40071S matches my measurements for the rear inner axle bearing seal, this cross referenced to a national seal with the same part# in the napa website. 9 bucks. Sold! NOS 18704 is the napa part# for the outer seal that matches my used part. * Disclaimer - I'm waiting for these to come in and will update here when the parts are actually installed and confirmed to fit! But hopefully this saves somebody some time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 "ID for both is 1.875. Thickness for both is 0.25. OD for the inner is 2.627, OD for the outer is 2.784"I don't have dimensions handy, but the id of the inner seal is smaller than that of the outer, since it rides on the axle shaft vs the inner race for the bearing.old numbers:National/Federal mogul 40369 is the innerNational/Federal mogul 40145 is the outer...or just order from Bob's Automobilia 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 "ID for both is 1.875. Thickness for both is 0.25. OD for the inner is 2.627, OD for the outer is 2.784"I don't have dimensions handy, but the id of the inner seal is smaller than that of the outer, since it rides on the axle shaft vs the inner race for the bearing.old numbers:National/Federal mogul 40369 is the innerNational/Federal mogul 40145 is the outer...or just order from Bob's Automobilia Has anyone tried to match up a modern sealed bearing to replace two seals and a bearing on each side and can't be contaminated with trans fluid. I spose I'm being too simplistic in that thinking, but one can hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 55nail Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Thanks for the correction on the inner seal ID, I almost ordered the wrong one. I ordered a set from Bob's, should arrive today. Nice pricing too. Thanks much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttotired Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Sealed bearings are really sealed against grease, oil will seep past them Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 On December 20, 2013 at 5:05 PM, MrEarl said: Just bringing this back to the top in case someone else might need to read up on rear seals. And again... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 (edited) Wish I'd seen this before doing mine as 54s are the same. Hometown Buick has good steps, but not the little tips for hiccups along the way, like ordering those seals! I guess I'm picking the car back up to drill that hole..... Edited July 11, 2017 by wndsofchng06 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon bee Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 I'm glad to see this thread, and don't think I have before. Bookmarked and added it to my Buick rear end collection. Trying to wait till fall to do it all. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 (edited) TTT once again for any new 54-55 owners to mark follow for future reference Edited February 4, 2021 by MrEarl (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobileparts Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 (edited) And while this 20 year old thread is back up top for those new to the site, I have NEW U.S.A. made Rear Axle Bearings & --- All --- the 100 % correct Rear Inner & Rear Outer Axle Seals --- For the Special (40 series), the Super (50 series), the Century (60 series), and the Roadmaster (70 series)..... Also have, of course, N.O.S. U.S.A. made Front Inner & Outer Bearings & Seals for 1930s - 1961 -- All years, makes, & models !!!!! ( & U.S.A. for Tapered of 1962 - 1970).... Always best to simply call me --- Craig --- 516 - 485 - 1935 ... New York..... Edited February 5, 2021 by mobileparts (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 9 hours ago, MrEarl said: TTT once again for any new 54-55 owners to mark follow for future reference Wow Lamar - been lurking and had not realized its been 20 years since replacing those seals. Thanks for BTT. FWIW - seals have been bone dry since with many miles put on since replacing. The diff fluid was changed to 85-140. Peep hole drilled in torque tube threaded for a screw to check for seepage. Zero issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 2 hours ago, mobileparts said: And while this 20 year old thread is back up top for those new to the site, I have NEW U.S.A. made Rear Axle Bearings & --- All --- the 100 % correct Rear Inner & Rear Outer Axle Seals --- For the Special (40 series), the Super (50 series), the Century (60 series), and the Roadmaster (70 series)..... Also have, of course, N.O.S. U.S.A. made Front Inner & Outer Bearings & Seals for 1930s - 1961 -- All years, makes, & models !!!!! ( & U.S.A. for Tapered of 1962 - 1970).... Always best to simply call me --- Craig --- 516 - 485 - 1935 ... New York..... Prices please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobileparts Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Prices are too many to list, because 40 & 50 series are different on some of that versus 60 and 70 series.... Then , when I added Front wheel bearings & seals for 30 years, they are continued different parts... I would have to have a 30+ different part numbers and prices.... I was answering from my head... To do a thorough list, I need a week to put an extensive list together.... If anyone wants any prices for an individual vehicle.... Feel FREE to call --- phone number furnished... I will give anyone the exact prices for their exact car.... Maybe, in a week or two, I can give a full list ....(that no one will read !!!!)...... Craig..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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