1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Hi all,

I’m hoping you give me some good news, but I’m not optimistic. I’ve had a chronic gear oil leak behind my gear box and around the clamshell. I installed a new seal and double paper gasket. The paper gaskets were missing before and I assumed this was the problem. However, the leak continued.
I decided to pull the clamshell back off tonight and about 8 ounces of gear oil poured out. Plus I have a fine steady stream of gear oil dripping. Rear end gear oil is still full, but gear box is not. Has anybody experienced this and is it an easy fix for a novice? Hoping to not have to pull the rear axel. You help and comments are appreciated

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

This guy can help you. He is one of us.

VANPELT SALES LLC
Cincinnati, Ohio
Office: 513-724-9486
www.vanpeltsales.com
www.classictransmission.com

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Thank you. I’ll reach out to them

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Maybe leaking from the lower cluster shaft ,you may need to roll the Differential back and split the rear gearbox mount ,weld up some ears on the mount to cover the shaft ends. Then fit new gaskets or you might be able to clean the oil of and seal it the best you can with silicone with out doing megger work .Any new gaskets need a gap filler sealer as well ,any drip over is there to lube the bearing on the drive shaft .

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

left out the rear bearing "slinger" when trans was rebuilt--leting too much gear lube out. what weight gear oil? overfill will also cause this

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

I used 600 weight oil and filled to the bottom of the fill hole

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

The slinger- washer should be tight against the outer race of rear bearing.

I just use SAE 140.
Clamshell is meant to hold 4 oz. Much more and it will leak bad.
I use SAE 140 in there also . The felt, cork or whatever you use is a wiper. Not a seal.

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

8 Oz of gear oil in the clam shell is too much if you added this. I use 0-0 grease which is a bit thicker than 140 gear oil, but will still recombine to lube the U-joint.

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

I’ve used Corn Head grease through the grease fitting, but my issues is the 600 weight oil coming from the back of the transmission and settling in the clamshell. From the comments above, this sounds normal, unless it’s more than 4 ounces?

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Update. I was hoping that maybe a new gasket and torquing the castle nuts to spec would solve my problem, but the leak persists. Guess I’m pulling that rear axle and torque tube. Grrr

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Removing the rear end and the torque tube from the transmisson, while time consuming, is not a horrible job. Take your time, you'll be satisfied with a job well done.

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Don't use 600W in the transmission, 140W is about the heaviest, NAPA SL24238. The oil weight is not the cause of the leak. You may want to remove the top of the transmission and inspect for the rear oil slinger being in place. The level to fill the transmission is to the bottom of the fill plug.

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Well, I tried replacing the gaskets and seal in the clamshell and unfortunately the problem persists. In fact, it seems to be getting worse. So it looks like I’ll be pulling the reared back and looking to see if the slinger is missing or there is some other issue. Are there any specific steps to be taken to release the torque tube from the tranny? Dropping the axel looks pretty straight forward. I may ask more questions once I get to the rear of the gear box. Thanks for your help and expertise

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

a 10 " extension above the rear Box cross member can work for the 4 nuts , if it has the castle nuts still there its easy but if they are a hardware type nut you need a thin wall socket , Once the oil level goes down the drips will reduce but if its on sloping ground ,drip drip ,the baffile is not a seal so you do get some spill back. I would add two or three gaskets together on the clam ,and it should be lined with HT chassis grease to help seal it .I don't think it could ever be completely sealed .so maybe your over thinking it .Ted

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Some folks install a sealed rear bearing when assembling the transmission. That's a personal call. Mine levels off in the transmission to about the first joint on a finger when checking through the fill hole. I'll get a drop or two overnight on the floor after that but nothing to worry about.


Terry

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

I think the idea was There should be a exchange of Fluids between the Dif and gear box because of the front drive shaft bearing 4": back from the clam .But over filling the Clam might do it

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Yes,and that's why mine still has an open bearing. The system works pretty well but is not perfectly sealed.



Terry

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Ted, you may be right. I may be overthinking this. Maybe I’ll just let it leak out a bit and let it find its happy spot. Then recheck the level. I just see a lot of folks saying the fill level needs to be to the bottom of the fill hole. At one point it stopped leaking and I was not getting any gear noise, but I could not feel the fluid level when i inserted my finger in the fill hole. But, I have short fingers

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Terry sounds like you have it worked out good ,

Erbleding ,try a piece of wire as a dip stick .

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Good info guys . I use the waste end of a yellow wire tie, bent at 90 deg to ck fluids

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Here is a picture of the inside of my case looking towards the rear. Is the slinger installed backwards on mine?

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

The pic above is one posted by Lawrie a while back. Should be correct...he's very good at this stuff.

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Thanks for the picture. After seeing this, I’m wondering if my slinger is completely missing. Something doesn’t look right with mine

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

The slinger on your transmission is backward. The slinger is cupped shaped. Note the outer edge of yours is pointed to the rear bearinng and the outter edge of Lawrie's is pointed inward toward the inside of the transmission.
If you remove the U-joint and the rear bearing retainer along with the rear bearing the slinger should come out and can be reversed. Note there is a double metal shielded bearing to replace the rear bearing just remove the inner shield so trans oil can reach the bearing internals, this will stop the leaking. Make sure the snap ring on the perimeter of the rear bearing is .075" thick and not much thinner.
The helix teeth in your transmission main shaft do differ from the teeth on Lawrie's. Yours is good and a different year than Lawrie's.

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Thanks! This is a big relief. So it sounds like you’re saying the rear bearing can be removed without dropping the transmission? I was thinking the bearing was pressed onto the shaft and I wasn’t sure how I would get it off. Sounds like I can get what I need from VanPelts?

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

As noted, the slinger is in backwards. It is probably causing MORE oil to go through the bearing, not less.

You MIGHT be able to get the rear bearing out without pulling the transmission but be very careful that you don't pull the main shaft backwards with it.

I've never attempted to change this bearing while the transmission was in the car - have found it easier to just pull the engine and trans as a unit. I hate trying to work on these things when they're in the car - total pain in the rear in my mind.

I can have the engine and trans out of my 32 in about 2 hours - but I've also done it a few times! :eek::eek::eek:

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Okay, so you find it easier to pull the motor and tranny as a unit rather than pulling the rear end back and then removing the transmission?
Thanks for your guidance

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

UPDATE…
The info I received from this post was invaluable. I ended up removing the engine and tranny together, opened the gear box and found that the transmission rebuilder before I bought the car actually installed the slinger backwards. To compound things, they beat it into the back of the case with a standard screwdriver. I replace the slinger and rear bearing with a sealed bearing. No leaks. It was a big job, but I’m so happy I took the time to make the repair properly

Re: 1936 Gear oil in Clamshell
 

Thanks for the update, glad to hear it resolved your issue.