Replacing Speedometer Drive Gear

A

A-Man

Senior Member
I need to replace the speedometer drive gear on the end of the drive shaft. I have pulled the rear end assembly from the universal joint, per MODEL A FORD MECHANICS HANDBOOK. Also, I have removed the snap ring and the drive gear. Having the rear end pulled, I would like to replace the roller bearing, sleeve, grease seal and thrust washer.

Do I need to pull the drive shaft from the torque tube in order to remove/insert the roller bearing and related parts? The HANDBOOK seems to imply I should be able to pull the parts from the universal joint end of the drive shaft?

Thanks.
 
yes pull the torque tube off the rear end find a socket that is smaller than the OD of the seal, stand the tube up bell down drop the socket down in the tube and find something long enough to reach the other end tahat you can hit with a hammer and drive the seal and race right out
 
Pat, this is my favorite saying - "where there's a will, there's a way". I have the "will", so is there another "way" other than removing the torque tube?
 
You will have to leave Will out of this because there is no way to replace the seal and sleeve without pulling the torque tube. Pulling the torque tube does not change or affect any settings in the rear end. Snip the wire take out the cap screws remove the bolt holding the radius rods and slide the tube off. Do what is needed, replace the gasket, cap screws and bolt, install the bearing and speeo parts and reinstall.
 
Remove the six bolts that hold the torque tube onto the banjo (you may have to remove safety wire first) and slide the torque tube off. A 1&1\16" 1\2" drive, six-point socket fits nicely over the splined end of the drive shaft. Place the socket and then slide the torque tube back on and bounce it a few times. Hold a rag over the end of the torque tube and the seal and the sleeve will exit the end of the tube into the rag.

Install the new seal first, you will need a seal insertion tool. Bratton's carry them. Installing the bearing sleeve can be tricky. You might want to consider reusing the old one if it is an original. Most of the repos on the market are absolutely terrible. The ones Bratton's carry is the best of the lot and is close to an original. I still prefer an original.

Install the sleeve very carefully because if it does not go in properly aligned you will not be able to rotate it and you will have to knock the seal back out destroying it in the process.

Clean the area of the torque tube where the sleeve resides, especially the dimple recess.

Place the sleeve in a vice and close the split slightly. Wrap a piece of safety wire around the top just above the dimple. Put a chalk mark on the top edge just above the dimple. On the torque tube put a chalk mark above the recess for the dimple. Put a thin coat of grease on the sleeve and place the sleeve in the torque tube and align the two chalk marks. Put the flat side of a large socket (I use a 36mm) onto an extension and use it to tap the sleeve into place.

Make sure the dimple went into the recess. You can take a punch and insert it in through the speedo mount and tap the dimple a couple times to make sure it is properly seated. Inspect the sleeve to see that the split opened and there is no space around the circumference of the sleeve otherwise you won't be able to get the bearing in. The safety wire will exit as the sleeve goes in.

Tom Endy
 
A-Man said:
Pat, this is my favorite saying - "where there's a will, there's a way". I have the "will", so is there another "way" other than removing the torque tube?
Click to expand...

none that I ever heard of. Removing the torque tube is not that difficult. Neither are removing the seal and bearing and replacing them.

See Tom Endys post. That's the most common sense way to do it.
 
Just want to say THANK YOU to all that responded to my inquiry. Some of you went into detail, provided video, and/or provided your ideas. Many thanks.

I was able to pull the roller bearing from the torque tube without removal from the axle differential housing. That is because the rolling bearing was completely demolished. Removal of the sleeve and grease seal required me to remove the torque tube. Now I am waiting for parts.
 
While the torque tube is off check the preload on the pinion bearings . Of the many rear ends I have taken apart the majority have had what is best discribed as " advanced negative preload". Get hold of the drive shaft at the end and try to waggle it ,there should be no discernable lateral movement . You can live with a weeny weeny weeny bit if you dont want to adjust it but it is easy to do and the grand folks on the Barn will advise you . If the Hyatt bearing in the neck had disintergrated check the drive shaft bearing surface for damage/undue wear but I guess you know this ,good luck/

John in dull warm morning Suffolk County England.
 
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