Torque Tube Seal

[CA Victoria]

I have removed the torque tube bearing sleeve and now need to replace the lip seal in a 37 axle. I over looked this while the axle was out and disassembled.
I read that the seal comes out the front but it looks like there is a lip or snap ring to prevent it from coming out the front.
The two diagrams I have suggest it comes out the front.
Any tips on R/R this seal would be appreciated.
Thanks for weighing in.......

 

[Ken/Alabama]

Yep, seal comes out the front. If you’ve already reinstalled the torque tube to the banjo housing I don’t know of any other way to replace the seal but to remove the torque tube again and start over. Probably not what you want to hear but it is what it is.

 

[CA Victoria]

Thanks Ken.
I was hoping but.......
Not a big issue to unbolt and slide it out a bit to geter’ done.

 

[JM 35 Sedan]

I made a tool to remove that seal and the bearing sleeve at the same time. It's a two diameter pusher plug that fits into the ID of the seal, and the larger diameter just clears an internal shoulder that the seal locates against. The pusher plug has a hole thru it's center for a long length of 5/8" all thread rod. The all thread rod is long enough to exit the rear of the torque tube, and by hammering on the end of the rod, the seal and bearing sleeve are driven out the front of the torque tube. I've posted pictures of this tool on a thread here that had requested information on how to remove and replace the seals in torque tubes and axle housings. Pictures were also posted in a thread on tools that Barner's have made for working on these early Ford's.

 

[CA Victoria]

Good info JM, been stewin’ It over, will post my idea tomorrow if it works out��

 

[Mart]

Is it worth mentioning that the seal should be orientated to favour keeping the lube in the UJ housing rather than the oil in the axle.

Mart.

 

[JM 35 Sedan]

Is it worth mentioning that the seal should be orientated to favour keeping the lube in the UJ housing rather than the oil in the axle.

Mart.

Yes, that's a good point Mart, and on some of the seals I've used in recent times, it's difficult to determine which way the lip is actually facing.

 

[CA Victoria]

duplicate post removed

 

[CA Victoria]

Removed the seal with a slide hammer. I used the seal driver typically used to install the seal in an axle housing.

 

[JM 35 Sedan]

Removed the seal with a slide hammer. I used the seal driver typically used to install the seal in an axle housing.

There you go, good job!!

 

[FlatheadEric]

I have a 37 with solid bearing sleeve and have been trying to remove the seal and sleeve. Made a toggle that slips through the sleeve and seal and hooks up behind the seal. A bolt through the toggle and plate across the face of the torque tube, heat around the outside of the torque tube and wind the bolt up as tight as I could go. Nothing budged apart from squashing the seal up against the back of the bearing sleeve.
Is slide hammer action the way to move these?

 

[Mart]

I have a 37 with solid bearing sleeve and have been trying to remove the seal and sleeve. Made a toggle that slips through the sleeve and seal and hooks up behind the seal. A bolt through the toggle and plate across the face of the torque tube, heat around the outside of the torque tube and wind the bolt up as tight as I could go. Nothing budged apart from squashing the seal up against the back of the bearing sleeve.
Is slide hammer action the way to move these?

No. To remove the bearing sleeve you make a tool and twist it out.

There have been threads on it and I showed doing it on one of my videos.

This is a video I saw that helped me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXLmcLBMa2A

This is mine: https://youtu.be/pt0rwdTgkZU

Mart.

 

[19Fordy]

Here's a bearing sleeve remover tool you can make from PVC and a brass bolt.

 

[FlatheadEric]

My 37 has the 68 type bearing and sleeve rather than the split B type as per the attached photo. There is no hole in the sleeve to engage a tool.

 

[HDowse]

That’s the same problem I ran into, the solid, non-split race in my 37 pickup torque tube. Heat, slide hammer, all to no avail. Since I had my pre-Mitchell torque tube from my 40 sedan sitting in a corner with the split race, I built the twist-em out tool, removed that worn race, fit the new seal and race with a piece of PVC pipe in about 15 minutes. The 37 torque tube is now sitting in the corner…. Sorry not to have the magic method for removing the solid race but if you find out, let us all know. Also the solid race takes a smaller diameter bearing than is readily available for the split race that has a thinner wall.

 

[Mart]

I didn't know about the solid race (and smaller bearing) If you can get it out, does a thinwall split race go in it's place? I guess I am asking is the dimple still there for the split race to register into?

 

[Lawrie]

If you don’t want to save the race,run a small weld around in the inside,and it will fall out.
Lawrie

 

[HDowse]

Mart, I don’t think there’s a dimple for the split race in the torque tube with the solid race but I'll try Lawrie's suggestion sometime and if the race does come out it'll be interesting to see if there’s a dimple there. Except for needing to change out the seal, I could have left that solid race there. At least it tell us why Ford went to the split race…ease of removal and installation.

 

[FlatheadEric]

I want to save the sleeve to re-use as I don't have any later split sleeve/larger bearing combo on hand. The seal had completely failed as there was only the seal housing left when I first had a look down the throat of the tube.
I am going to have another go at it this weekend as I am now at the stage of a crushed seal housing up against the rear of the sleeve.
I will let you know if I have success.

 

[FlatheadEric]

Well, I got the '37 solid race and seal out without damaging the race, and was able to replace with a new seal and original race.
I made a disc out of 12mm plate, 43mm in diameter. Drilled and tapped a 5/8"UNF thread through it's centre. This fitted snuggly in behind the seal and just cleared the shoulder that the seal normally pushes up against.
Cut a slot in the top side of the torque tube just bigger than the disc and dropped it in, wriggled it into place behind the seal. Screwed a 5/8"UNF high tensile threaded rod in from the front of the torque tube, fed the rod through a thick plate across the front of the torque tube and started doing up a nut on the rod.
Tighter, tighter, then bang the race let go and both the seal and race started pulling out of the torque tube.
The new seal and original race were pulled back in by putting a 2 meter threaded rod right through the torque tube using the disc and thick plate in reverse. Required lots of tension on the rod then tap tap tap on the disc, repeat numerous times until the seal and race were home.
Made a patch out of thick panel steel to cover the slot cut in the top of the torque tube.

Mart - No dimple in the torque tube for the later type split race. I guess it hadn't been considered at this stage. Obvious now why Henry changed to the later design.