tourque tube leak

[aussie merc]

time to do some maintenance have a nuisance leak at the torque tube bell it just creates a mess [leaks cornheader grease] not huge but messy have looked on net there are two styles available the traditional with a cork seal and a later take what appears to be a neoprene Oring Any opinion or experiences

[aussie merc]

PS does any one Know what speedo drive gear suits 3.54 rear gears with 600.16s [tyres]

[JSeery]

There is a speedometer gear chart in the Green Book. Looks like an 18 teeth gear to me.

[Talkwrench]

The likelihood is it will leak from the very fine gaskets between the clam and inner housing the torque tube is up against more than the cork gasket . How much grease are you pumping in there?!

[woodiewagon46]

I have seen three styles, cork, felt and the rubber (neoprene). If you use the car over time they do "leak". I wouldn't worry about it.

[19Fordy]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I used the neoprene O ring and found it to be better than the cork. Cork is not as flexible and tends to flatten out quicker over time.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-flathe...QAAMXQTghRXOy6

[JM 35 Sedan]

I've tried many different approaches to keep that universal area, where the belled end of the torque tube meets the back of the transmission, from leaking oil/grease, and I've never been totally successful. I've got it down to an occasional drip, and that seems to be the best I'll ever get that leak stopped, and realizing the nature of the beast, I'm satisfied that it's probably the best I'm ever going to be able to do.

I have 3.54:1 rear gears and 6:00x16 tires on my '35 fordor sedan, Avatar, and the Speedometer/Odometer reads dead nuts accurate when compared to my GPS reading, while using a #18 turtle gear.

[Talkwrench]

"I've tried many different approaches to keep that universal area, where the belled end of the torque tube meets the back of the transmission, from leaking oil/grease, and I've never been totally successful. I've got it down to an occasional drip, and that seems to be the best I'll ever get that leak stopped, and realizing the nature of the beast, I'm satisfied that it's the probably the best I'm ever going to do."

Its the very nature of it isn't it Mike, when you look at the design and the fine gaskets well pfft! how is it really going to stop oil coming out. We just except they do leak a little....

[aussie merc]

thanks for the feedback looks like its an 18 tooth gear generally i pump in grease until i get a small amount of grease purging pass the bell seal clean the bell down and repeat at approx every 6 months it takes about 1\2 a tube each time doesn't seem to be leaking into gearbox as level doesn't change or discolor Dont expect that it would be 100 percent seal just by the nature of its build so how much leakage is to much or is this just its nature car would probably average about 60 miles a week

[19Fordy]

I have no specific knowledge but my gut feeling is that you shouldn't have to add that much corn head grease evry 6 months when driving so little.
Is there a chance that grease is going into the torque tube? Would be interesting to know how often other folks add grease.

[David J]

Factory fill calls for 4 oz .
You are overfilling it badly .
If your tranny is not taking any in your tourque tube is probably full of grease .

You say the back of the bell is leaking . Not the clam gaskets ?
Again that is just overfilling .

The felt,cork or space shuttle o-ring are just wipers - not seals .

I just use straight SAE140 in there and it works fine .

[aussie merc]

again thanks for the feed back if it only takes 4oz then i guess its not that bad and what is leaking out over time is probably overfill so i'll clean it down and see what happens as there is no sign of corn grease at the speedo gear Thanks again

[FrankWest]

when a torque tube is attached to the transmission end and the differential end, what gaskets are used? Is there a line drawing of the setup.
Does the torque tube fill with transmission oil or oil from the differential?

[Talkwrench]

Originally Posted by FrankWest

when a torque tube is attached to the transmission end and the differential end, what gaskets are used? Is there a line drawing of the setup.
Does the torque tube fill with transmission oil or oil from the differential?

There are 2 gaskets at the gearbox end and one between the diff and torque tube , these are very fine gaskets, its usually where they leak.. No the torque tube doesn't fill with oil. It can sometimes from the diff end as the bearing is open and if the car is low at the front, mine doesn't tho'. up front there is a seal behind the roller bearing that supports the drive shaft.

[19Fordy]

There is a paper gasket between the end of the torque tube flange and where it bolts to the banjo. I made one out of file folder paper and put a light coating of gasket sealer on each side. There is also a return passage (see pencil) allowing the excess gear oil that lubes the rear banjo gear to flow back into the rear end if the suspension and banjo is left in it's stock position and height.
If the rear rear end is raised or front end lowered oil from the banjo will run down toward the front of the drive shaft and dissolve the rubber encasing the center bearing causing the bearing to fail. Last photo shows an aftermarket seal that you can install to prevent rear end gear oil from draining forward.

Others with more lubrication knowledge of banjo may provide more info.

DO NOT clean out the threaded holes in the banjo with a tap and do not use a die on the bolt threads. They are special tolerance threads to prevent leaks. Also, to make it even better, reinstall all the banjo bolts in the same holes they came out of. Next to last photo shows stock safety wire lashing. Last photo shows updated.

[34coupe]

were can a person get the aftermarket seal, Thanks Dave

[Talkwrench]

Well that was timely 19fordy.. I was wondering on what to use as a gasket [paper].. File folder paper.. No leaks?

[FrankWest]

Maybe Mike Driskel has better seals.
Shouldn't one be a felt seal? or am I thinking of something else?

[FrankWest]

Originally Posted by Talkwrench

There are 2 gaskets at the gearbox end and one between the diff and torque tube , these are very fine gaskets, its usually where they leak.. No the torque tube doesn't fill with oil. It can sometimes from the diff end as the bearing is open and if the car is low at the front, mine doesn't tho'. up front there is a seal behind the roller bearing that supports the drive shaft.

great line drawing, but do you know where I can get a larger size to see the details.

[19Fordy]

Originally Posted by Talkwrench

Well that was timely 19fordy.. I was wondering on what to use as a gasket [paper].. File folder paper.. No leaks?

Yes, you can use rear torque tube flange as a template. I made gaskets out of manilla file folder and applied a light coating of non-hardening Permatex on each side. That was 2 years ago and it has not leaked. The OEM gaskets are thinner than the manilla folder. they are literally "paper thin". I also installed the red torque tube seal shown in the photos because my car is low in the front. I also numbered each of the bolts so they went back into the same threaded holes they were removed from. I tightened them until they were tight. I don't know of any specific torque.

The red torque tube seal kit is made by Bruce's Rod Shop in TX. I bet if you called Danny at Bruce's he would be willing to trace out a couple of gaskets and mail them to you for a few bucks.Then all you have to do is cut them out. Here's the contact info:
__________________
BRUCE'S ROD SHOP
SPRING,TEXAS
281 376-5932
www.brucesrodshop.com