Transmission output seal part list

[grotflo]

I have the stock 4-speed Getrag 232 in my ‘73. The output seal is leaking, so I took the driveshaft off to investigate. Turns out the 30mm nut was really loose, even though the lock ring was still in place. I can grab the output flange and move it fore/aft about 1mm. Not good. I figure while I’m in there I should replace the seal. I want to make sure I order the right parts. Is there anything else I should do while I have it apart?

 

23121204209 - seal

 

23211490120 - lock ring

 

And I’ll need to use a puller to get the output flange and old seal out, right?

[Buckeye]

Not necessarily. It depends.....

Part listed below will be on as needed basis upon examination to eliminate additional oil leaks.

 23141352153 - Switch, reversing light and idle gear

07119963130 - Gasket ring

23128677736 - Shaft seal

23121222355 - Gasket

[grotflo]

Thanks. I’ll double check to make sure those areas aren’t leaking too. Is the seal I mentioned (23121204209) the correct one? 

[halboyles]

2 hours ago, grotflo said:

And I’ll need to use a puller to get the output flange and old seal out, right?

 

As Buckeye says, it depends.  The last one I pulled off had a loose nut just like yours and I was able to pull the output flange off with my hands.  It that isn't the case just borrow or buy one of the types of puller below.

 

You can pry the old seal out with a screwdriver,  but very carefully so as not to score the metal where the seal seats.

[grotflo]

Good info, thanks. I rented a puller just in case. I think I read that the nut is supposed to be torqued to about 100 ft/lbs, so it definitely shouldn’t be moving when I pull on it. The flip side is that it should be easy to get the flange off. 

[Buckeye]

I cannot confirm shaft seal in your OP is correct or not. I know there are two sizes and depends on what year, etc. I can refer you to following link

 

 

[Zorac]

the lock rings are usually reusable unless its been a used a few times already.  its a cheap part though.

 

if you already have the driveshaft off and its easy to pull the flange, give it a measure to check the size, there are actually two seals with different IDs.  I think, but not totally sure on this, but it also correspondences to the output splines for the flange (course vs fine).  check for spines for damage while you have it off as well especially since its loose.

[grotflo]

Well, turns out my output flange is toast. The splines are so worn down that it has about 5 degrees of play even with the nut tightened. So...

 

I’ve already posted a WTB ad, but if anyone has a 4 bolt flange with course splines for sale, let me know. It’s my daily driver so the less downtime, the better. 

 

Edited June 19, 2018 by grotflo

[Kuntacharlie]

Take a good look at the splines on the output shaft.  They could also be damaged, I am sorry to say. It happened to me. 

 

This is a common problem on the pre 74 four speed transmissions. Sometime in 74 Getrag switched to much finer splined output shaft and output flange.

[grotflo]

Yeah, I examined the output shaft, and it's hard to tell how much it's worn.  The splines on the flange seem to have taken the brunt of the wear, but until I pop on a replacement, I won't be able to know.  Fingers crossed on that...

 

If the output shaft is damaged, would it be better to swap the entire tranny, or replace just the shaft?  Is that job even feasible?

[Kuntacharlie]

If the output shaft splines are not visibly worn then you may be OK.    Mine were obviously badly worn.  Only way I know to fix the problem would be to dismantle the transmission and replace to output shaft.  That is what I did.  A used transmission would be much cheaper.

[andyleonard]

I did a comment on this once. If you can find a new/good used flange, you can Loctite it onto a slightly worn shaft and run forever. It was done in the day regularly.

[grotflo]

Thanks for the tip!  Would blue Loctite hold up, or does it require red?  Seems it would make it pretty much impossible to remove the flange in the future without a torch.  Guess if I use red, I'll hope and pray the new output shaft seal doesn't leak anytime soon.

[andyleonard]

We used red. Don't borrow trouble.

[halboyles]

I believe it was Toby who recommended that I use the following Loctite product on a driveshaft spline repair.  It's been over a year and the shaft is still going strong.  It also doesn't glue things together like blue or red.

 

Of course, if it doesn't work you'll have no one to blame but yourself for listening to the big T!