Tail shaft housing removal ?

[Russco]

I want to replace the bushing and seal on my 51 convertible. Can you pull the housing off with the trans still in the car? Seems like someone told me once there is a way to pull the bushing without the housing coming off? I forgot to mention 3 speed non OD

[Russco]

Anybody? I've heard old timers say they used to just push the old one in until it fell out on the main shaft and then install a new one. Then when or if you have the trans apart later just slide it off the shaft then.

[Mac VP]

The rear seal sits against a shoulder, so you can't just push it in. The simple answer is to pry it out.....fancy seal puller tool or your own makeshift tools. You'll destroy the seal in the process, but that's ok. The correct seal has an outer felt lip and an inner rubber lip. Just tap the new seal in carefully to keep it moving in evenly til it hits the shoulder.

The rear bushing is what the shops used to just push in wher they floated on the mainshaft. I did a trans once that had 3 old bushings floating inside. Naturally we removed these.

[Russco]

Thanks Mac yes the seal isn't a problem I'm hoping to be able to replace the bushing without dropping the trans, either by pushing the old one forward or if it's possible to remove the tail shaft housing with the trans still in the car (convertible)

[rotorwrench]

Pulling the tail shaft isn't too bad a process on the standard 3-speeds and a little more difficult on the overdrive units when the transmissions are removed from the vehicle. The problem is all that frame structure behind the transmission. The housings have to clear the shaft so it has to go back so far that there would likely be something in the way. I can't say that it can't be done since I've never tried it before but even if possible, it won't be easy. Just removing the transmission floor cover is a real job and I am shure it would have to come off if your car has overdrive.

[Mike51Merc]

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I dropped the tailshaft on my OD with no problems. Support the main section, disconnect the driveshaft, speedo cable, remove all the bolts and wiggle it off. The only trick was figuring out how to remove the tailshaft from the housing after dropping it (by spreading the "C" clip through the little window on top).

[rotorwrench]

The Mercs have a little more room if you pull the rear cross member out. Putting it back in with the rubber band on the sprag unit can be a challenge. Sometimes it goes right on and sometimes not. The tail shaft stays with the transmission on the standard 3-speeds so it has to go back farther. The Ford cars are a little more compact so a lot depends on whether it is OD or standard shift and how much room back hehind to the frame main cross member. The convertibles mostly had the X frame crossmember so they had to have a special solenoid set up on the overdrive transmissions. The closed car frames were mostly box types so they may have had a lot more leeway for this type of work.