Replacing overdrive rear oil seal - some tips

[Smokey]

My newly rebuilt (and very costly) overdrive has seen no end of problems: two defective repro relays, a warped adaptor plate requiring removal, disassembly, and a new reinforced plate, a replacement shifter mechanism to cure a problem of popping out of third gear on the overrun, and now a year later, major oil leaks - again. On removal of the tranny cover, it was clear there were two leaks: one at the rear oil seal, and one from the (second) shift tower. The first job was the rear seal, and on removal (the nut was not the even correct slotted one) it was clear that the shaft on the flange had a groove. The flanges are not available, so I measured for a Speedi Sleeve, and Stock Number 99182 is a perfect fit. That's now installed.

 

Installing the rear oil seal was a bit of a problem, because there's very little room behind the overdrive to get at it. After ruining two seals by trying to install them with a hammer ( very dangerous- you can damage the splines on the output shaft) I figured out a simple way to do it. I made a 7/16" plywood plate with a hole for the shaft placed so that the plate rested on the floor on either side of the shaft and placed even pressure on the oil seal. Then I placed some 1" boards laterally behind the overdrive, resting against the front of the driveshaft tunnel, leaving enough space between these boards and the plywood plate to get two crowbars in between. Then I used the two crowbars, one on each side of the driveshaft, to press in the oil seal, keeping the plywood plate even as it progressed. This worked well, and I forward this as a tip to those contemplating this job. I can post pictures if there's interest.