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TR2/3/3A TR3 Differential Seal

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martx-5

martx-5

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I've got a few things to tidy up before I mount the body on the frame. One of them is to replace the seal in the front of the differential. Body's off the car, no driveshaft. It looks pretty straight forward, but are there any pitfalls to be aware of? Will there be a problem prying the seal out, and are there anything like crush washers that I should have on hand??
 
It should be straight forward. Look for grooves on the OD of the input shaft where the former seal may have made a groove. "Speedi-sleeves" are available and I would suggest you use one if this is your case.
 
I drilled two holes in the brass section of the old seal and put two short screws in place then used a slap hammer to remove the seal. My diff was still on the car but it works well regardless. Put a bit of grease on the old seal and it will catch most of the filings from drilling.
I did use a speedi sleeve even though my flange looked good and not a hint of a leak, how unusual....maybe the dif is dry.
 
I'm sure you're joking about the diff being dry because if it was dry, you might drive about 100 miles (or maybe 500) before you would start to hear a low whining from inside while you would be under power. Then after another 100 miles, it would begin to clank when you put power to it. Then you would have to pay someone about $1000.00 to replace the crown and pinion gears with new ones.
 
Yes the job is pretty straight forward. I use the slid- hammer also because the old seal can really be stuck. Be careful where you install the screws /screw for the puller because you can easily damage the differential case where the seal seats. It is a kinda machine fit because the body of the seal and the body of differential provide a metal to metal seal. If you do scratch the case or if the case leaks at this point (not at the yoke and rubber), you can use some sealer like silicon/prematex and it should work. There really is not that much pressure at the differential. However, if you do need to make this seal repair at the case make sure everything is squeaky clean. In addition, make sure that you get the right torque on the big nut with the right amount of drag on the bearing. There is a special tool you can use, but I have only seen pictures of them. I basically put the stuff (shims) back the same way they came out . One of the problems you might run into is torquing the big nut and feeling the drag. I often trust my arm to feel the drag because when you have all the guts in the case: ring, pinion, axles ect.. you have to allow for the turning of them. The torque is something like 100 pounds + at the big nut and yet you want just a couple pounds of that on the bearing, I think ten to fifteen? Tighten the nut and lift the car then feel with your highly calibrated British automotive arm the drag, ten pounds. Or you could move to Hawaii and I will come visit that seems to work also.
Sp53
 
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