sunbeamtiger.co.uk

Started on the gearbox seals today.

The front seal is easy enough but I'm not sure how to remove the rear seal.

The manual is of little help so is it a case of removing the seal however you can and tapping the new one into place with some improvised tooling?

Thanks.

Oh, and what did you use to seal the bolts in the font seal retainer?

Toploader Heaven in Oklahoma sells a kit of special tools to overhaul a toploader including seal installation tools. It also includes a CD . It sounds like a snip at $60 plus shipping.

In the absence of a proper seal puller, a crowbar or large screwdriver will do the removal job of the tail shaft seal.

When fitting the new seals, use a suitable socket or piece of gas pipe etc and gradually drift them into position, making sure that they are lined up perfectly “square”. Do not try to whack them into place with one blow!

It is a good idea to put a light smear of RTV sealant around the outside of the seal's metal housing before drifting.

Any decent RTV silicone sealant such as the one below from Granville will seal the threads on the bearing retainer bolts.

NB If instead you decide to use a locking sealant such as Loctite (medium strength), do NOT overdose on it because, in a worst case scenario, it can leak into the gearbox and lock everything solid! It has happened, believe it or not.

Amazingly, the sealing of the threads on the bearing retainer bolts is something which is omitted from Tom Monroe's “How to Rebuild your Small Block Ford” (page 136).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Granville-RTV ... 256aee348a

http://www.granvilleoil.com/product_info.php?prod_id=49

Thoroughly clean and degrease all threads before applying sealant.

Also put a light smear of gearbox oil on the lips of the seals.

Thanks for the info guys.

Just ordered a tube of sealant from the link. Thanks G!

I managed to find a correct sized socket for the front seal so hopefully I'll find one for the rear.
I'm sure I'll be able to conjure something up.


Perhaps one of the toploader tool sets from the US would be a nice addition to the club's loan tools?

make sure you do the top one .and if you have a powerful engine use racing oil .as soon as i fitted a 302 in mine it pissed oil out the breather on the top plate .racing oil dosnt froth up.even better use a tremec 5 speed .

garyv8tiger wrote:make sure you do the top one .and if you have a powerful engine use racing oil .as soon as i fitted a 302 in mine it pissed oil out the breather on the top plate .racing oil dosnt froth up.even better use a tremec 5 speed .

Do the top one? You mean seal the bolts on the top plate?

yes there well known for leaking .i had to take mine out just to do it.tailshaft breather is a good mod .look on david knee toploaders in the us

Hmm, I like the idea of a breather.

Doesn't look hard to do and it's one less thing to think about.

Does anyone sell them in the UK?

there used for allsorts .i think ive seen them on ebay .

Had a look on ebay but couldn't see anything.
Having said that I don't really know what I'm looking for.

Anyone out there who has done this and could walk me through it regarding which one to use and positioning etc?

David Kee fits an air vent/breather (see first photo on link below) to the tailshaft housing in his remanufactured Toploaders.

http://www.davidkeetoploaders.com/remanufactured.htm

The DKT air vent part number is DK296-66 and is priced at $6.50.

Obviously the housing would need to be removed, then drilled and tapped for the new breather.

It is then usual to weld or seal up the original breather hole in the top cover.

Alternatively, something like one of HTL's vented KMV plugs MAY possibly fit the bill, but you would need to check with HTL first that the venting pressure is correct for the Toploader.
http://htluk.co.uk/Products/metal_oil_fill_plug

Thanks for the info G.

I've just e-amiled David Kee to see if they will ship to the UK so we will see.

now look what i started .mines in the top of the tailshaft .i think theres pics of mine on the forum where dean is comparing it to the tremec

Dan Williams Transmissions was one of the first to fit an air vent to the Toploader and this has been copied by David Kee.

DWT used a Stewart Warner (Alemite) air vent number 313650.

Alemite 313650
http://www.alemite.com/catalog/details. ... _breathers

Available from Tooldex ($5.35) or Amazon ($3.69):

http://www.tooldex.com/alemite-313650-a ... 65365.html

http://www.amazon.com/Alemite-313650-Ai ... B009K4ZPDE

Martin,
You had better get a job lot ordered for the Club!

Ok, working on the basis that they will ship to the UK (and I wouldn't blame them if they won't for a £4 part) and pending the complete price, who would like one?

Put your name down here or pm me if you are shy.