Shift Rod Seal Replacement (Good method for driving new seals in straight?)

A

aarpcard

True Classic
This may be a stupid queston . . .

I searched through the forums and found quite a bit of content regarding the replacement of the shift rod seal on the 5spd transmission. This may be more of a general question though.

I'm in the process of replacing the majority of the seals and gaskets on the engine and transmission regardless of whether or not they are leaking (as well as doing the timing belt and installing a mild cam). I have a few minor oil leaks and I figured I might as well do all of the seals and gaskets in one go since I don't have high confidence in the long term reliability of 33+ year old rubber parts. I'm not going to do the head gasket and will wait on doing the rear main seal and input shaft seal until I need to drop the transmission.

The axle seals were tough. Took several tries to get them started straight - Ultimately got them in.

The shift rod seal is fighting me though. I've done this job before on my other X when I still had it. Got the old seal out and the new one seated in maybe 15 minutes tops. Maybe I just got lucky.

I spent about 3 hours yesterday trying to get the new seal to seat straight. I'm using a deep well socket placed over the shift rod to drive it in. I started with a 19mm, and then tried a 21mm which seemed to have slightly better results. I can't seem to get it to go in straight passed the first few mm. I've tried using a large flathead on the lower lip of the seal to correct the angle when it starts to go awry, however I can't get the top of the seal since the transmission case protrudes outwards. All of this might be hard to visualize without pictures. . . which I don't have atm.

Anyhow, does anyone have any good tips on driving this seal in? I'm baffled considering I've already done this once before using the same methods and it was a piece of cake (but it was a different car). Thanks in advance.
 
Just some random thoughts:

1. Substitute something else for the deepwell socket in order to get the exact diameter needed to match the driver to the seal. Maybe an SAE socket that falls around the 20-21m size range, maybe the perfect heavier wall plastic plumbing pipe at Lowes Depot, maybe something in one of those loaner driver sets from AdvancedPepZone, etc.
2. Check the trans case for something that would cause the seal to want to go sideways, maybe an errant nub in the casting
3. Use a sealer or lube to help the seal go in
4. Is the arc of you hammer blows not falling square on the driver, thus applying uneven force? Maybe you need to raise the car higher, switch hands, turn the other way, or my favorite, get a bigger hammer :)
 
I can't think of anything more than what Dan suggested. #2, the possibility of something being in the recessed cup (a bit of rubber, old grease, etc) seems possible. And #3 is always a good idea anyway. Not to imply anything, but are you sure the seal is at an angle vs the shaft dropping down at a slope? From under the car it might appear to be different than it really is.

Regarding this seal in general. I've wondered why it was made with that long odd-shaped metal sleeve. The shaft is smooth and straight all along that section. I don't see any reason why a regular lip seal could not have been used directly into the recessed cup on the case, without the long sleeve. There are readily available seals to fit the corresponding sizes (shaft diameter, case recess diameter, width/depth of the cup). Much simpler and less expensive. For that matter, when I replaced the seal on one of my trans I just changed the lip seal within the metal sleeve - reusing the old sleeve. Only about $1.50 for the seal.
 
Steve Hoelscher said:
The lip is there to retain the accordion boot.
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Good point, thanks. Mine is missing that boot so I did not think of that. I will be replacing the boot when the unit goes back in the car. So now I'm glad I reused the old sleeve and just installed a new lip seal into it.
 
Cratecruncher said:
Try leaving the seal in the freezer for an hour and work fast.
Click to expand...

That's a good idea. Ended up giving up on this seal. Pulled it off and found the rubber was damaged from all the attempts. Ordered 2 more from MWB as insurance. Put the old seal back in place and it went in easy, but I guess that is to be expected.
 
You know the first one will go right in and you will have a spare right? :)
 
This is after the fact, but by chance was there any of the rubber coating (from when the seal was made inside the metal sleeve) on the outside of the sleeve? The one that I replaced the lip seal into the old sleeve had quite a lot of rubber film all over the sleeve (but mostly on the inside). Naturally if any of that was outside it would interfere with the installation. More likely however, is the metal sleeve was distorted during manufacturing...these look to be rather cheaply made.
 
Freezing is a good idea. I have also used emery cloth to dress the edge of the cladding to help it get started in the bore. Then wiped it with grease to lubricate it. If it resists being driven home with the socket and mallet, once I get it stared I use a large flat blade screwdriver against the shoulder to evenly and gently drive it into place.
 
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