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My hydramatic transmission functions pretty well, but leaks out the side cover primarily. The torus seems pretty dry when looking up through the small cover on bottom and the tail is also dry. I dropped the pan several months ago to replace all fluid and filter. I've ordered a seal kit and was thinking about just pulling the side cover and replacing the seal for the shifter shaft and gasket. Any other ideas that I should look at? I don't really want to pull it if I don't need to. Thanks.
After searching through this forum for "hydramatic" maybe I should ask the question "can the side cover shift shaft seal be replaced without tearing into the transmission"? I was hoping to replace that seal and gasket as an attempt at stopping the oil leak without accidentally screwing something up. The shop manual describes the entire removal, tear-down and assembly process but not what I would like to try first. Thanks, Frank!
"can the side cover shift shaft seal be replaced without tearing into the transmission"?
Yes , the cover can be removed without disturbing anything inside .
The shift and TV levers will have to be removed first . Make sure to mark their orientation , so that they are properly indexed on re-assembly .
The side cover gasket and the shaft seal should be available from Fatsco .
Yes , the cover can be removed without disturbing anything inside .
The shift and TV levers will have to be removed first . Make sure to mark their orientation , so that they are properly indexed on re-assembly .
The side cover gasket and the shaft seal should be available from Fatsco .
Well I was able to get a basic seal and gasket kit for my 55 Hydramatic and after draining the fluid and removing the side cover I figured out which seals to replace. The repair manual doesn’t provide very detailed pictures of what I was replacing, but does have good verbal instructions once you find them. I replaced the small inner O-ring which is a little tricky to do with the transmission in the car but definitely easier than removing the transmission. The outer shaft seal replacement is described pretty well in the manual as to its orientation with the thin spring steel washers. After closing it up and a test drive I believe that I have taken care of what was a pretty bad leak. Fingers are crossed.
March 13th, 2021, 12:32 PM
