Leak in rear of T56...?
01-12-2008, 04:20 PM
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Leak in rear of T56...? OK i took my firehawk to the exhaust shop today to extend my true dual turn downs and pipe them out the back. well its like everytime you get under a car theres a new leak or something....this time it was a leak in the rear of my T56 which i beleive is the seal (which would explain why i get that sweet smoky smell at lights). i also found a leak in my rearend 
... but thats another thread i guess.
so the question is: how hard is this seal to change, and how do you do it?
Is there a how-to on this ?
... but thats another thread i guess. so the question is: how hard is this seal to change, and how do you do it?
Is there a how-to on this ?
01-13-2008, 01:37 AM
#2
It's pretty straightforward.
Trust me on this one though, go with the GM replacement part. It doesn't matter that it's triple the price of the AutoZone part, it's simply better hands down.
Jack the car up with jackstands, having both front and back up will give you some leverage to work with. Put a small bias of having the rear a bit higher. This will minimize the fluid loss.
Remove driveshaft. There are 4 small bolts near the rear of the driveshaft on the u-joint. I forgot the size 11mm?. It'll take a combination of rotating the driveshaft/locking the parking brake to get to all of them. One all 4 bolts and caps are removed, you can use a small prybar to push the driveshaft forward towards the engine. You can then lower the driveshaft then pull on it to remove the slip yoke from the transmission.
At this point you can use pliers or even that small prybar to pry the old seal out. Just try not to damage the transmission by gouging the metal where the seal is. Once out, take the new seal, take some transmission fluid from the slip yoke hole or some new fluid and just lightly prep the new seal.
The benefit of the GM seal is that it will be really easy to get in there compared to those el-cheapo pieces. It's also made of a softer rubber and I think has at minimum 3 sealing lips to it.
Simply tap it in with a hammer evenly around the whole seal until it's flush. On mine it showed a small gap, but that's because it has a thick lip to the outer portion which really helps it seal well. Reinstall the driveshaft carefully, making sure not to gouge the new seal, torque up the bolts on the driveshaft and lower car. In all should take longer to jack up the car than to install the seal.
Trust me on this one though, go with the GM replacement part. It doesn't matter that it's triple the price of the AutoZone part, it's simply better hands down.
Jack the car up with jackstands, having both front and back up will give you some leverage to work with. Put a small bias of having the rear a bit higher. This will minimize the fluid loss.
Remove driveshaft. There are 4 small bolts near the rear of the driveshaft on the u-joint. I forgot the size 11mm?. It'll take a combination of rotating the driveshaft/locking the parking brake to get to all of them. One all 4 bolts and caps are removed, you can use a small prybar to push the driveshaft forward towards the engine. You can then lower the driveshaft then pull on it to remove the slip yoke from the transmission.
At this point you can use pliers or even that small prybar to pry the old seal out. Just try not to damage the transmission by gouging the metal where the seal is. Once out, take the new seal, take some transmission fluid from the slip yoke hole or some new fluid and just lightly prep the new seal.
The benefit of the GM seal is that it will be really easy to get in there compared to those el-cheapo pieces. It's also made of a softer rubber and I think has at minimum 3 sealing lips to it.
Simply tap it in with a hammer evenly around the whole seal until it's flush. On mine it showed a small gap, but that's because it has a thick lip to the outer portion which really helps it seal well. Reinstall the driveshaft carefully, making sure not to gouge the new seal, torque up the bolts on the driveshaft and lower car. In all should take longer to jack up the car than to install the seal.
