Holly Crap! They didn't give us anything to press against! Just the thin edge of the seal! This washer fits just inside...against the rubber#!*%%%!

I just used a big bar to knock the old seals out. You gotta' work that disco seal "around the dial" (top, bottom, left right)

Those numbers on the cardboard are the markings on the differential caps. Both those caps, and the outer bearing races are going back the same as they came off.

 

Glad my neighbor is a machinist and made this:

The one on the left fits the seal perfectly and the one on the right pilots the end of the tube.

 

If the guy who designed that disco seal, with no flange to press on is still alive and sucken oxygen somewhere, he would be wise to stay out of my reach! Way away. I did buy two. Gonna try using the old one to press the new. Short ***** *****! Why not a flange!

 

That's a good idea.

 

OK on the disco seal, I failed with two new ones. I ruined one, then got the second in there cockeyed, using the old one to "drive it". (bad driver!). I should have stopped, and looked at using a socket, or pipe section, to have something to drive! (that fits solid/square on the metal of the seal.) I mean something that would fit inside the metal edge, and over/outside the rubber. Trying to catch that what, .018 in thick edge just doesn't make sense. I might have done 100 seals, but I got my but kicked here. (having severed the nerves and tendon's in my left middle finger years ago, didn't help)(you use your left hand getten at that.)

So just that one seal is the beach. Unlike the right months ago, the u-joint went OK. The seal in the diff for the left is no big deal. Just awkward.

Putting the carriage back...sans the correct hammer, I very carefully tapped with a small ball-peen, back and forth to tease it in/home.

So I siliconed the cockeyed seal in the boar. It may well leak. At least, just that will be easier to deal with than the whole works!

OH! AND! Getting that inner axle section back into the Differential. Phit! No piece of cake! Here's my trick. That has a 1/2 in "nipple" on the disco end. I fit a piece of regular water pipe on it so I could lift/control the splined end at the differential. With that to "manipulate" it, and turning the spiders it went. So put that right inner in, before you put the cover on the diff. (you can see the "nipple" in post #30)

 

Much thanks to you TransAm. Without a second seal, well, that helped plenty! Feel free to post up that tool you made. (I didn't think I needed help....before!)

I'm gonna look at my old seal and see if I can find something common/handy that will fit it somehow. There is some chance what I did today won't leak, but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

I thought changing out the seals was going to be cake but I'm starting to worry now.

Did you ever figure out what seal the d30 gets? The side that isn't vacuum disconnect? Or is it the same?

 

Different seals.

 

See post #21. Those are correct. At this point, if my right, (disco side) wasn't leaking I would not get near it without a fine tool like Cruiser has there. I AM going to look at more options. (short of having a machinist next-door!)

The left ain't so bad, but pulling both axles and the differential carriage, just to get at that one seal, again, I might not if it was not leaking. My left was not leaking, but the right was, and the left joint was bad. I little complicated there I guess. The right seal in the disco can be done without dismantling the Differential. With the slight problem that it's nearly imposable. You gotta pull both axles, and the diff. carriage to do the left seal. (maybe easier than just installing that one disco seal!)

Anyway, nearly an eighth crocked, and not really "home" It's not leaking after an hr drive on washboard, potholes and turns...

 

This is now I did mine. Used a about 12inch 5/8 bolt, used a fender washer on the outside, along with a small washer in the front on the seal and a two more washers one the same as the front and one slightly bigger, where it would guide the seal in perfect. Worked the first time with no problems.

 

Sorry work has been crazy. Let me see if I can find a picture of my high tech seal installer. It's pretty hilarious.

I did everything you did too, I tried using the other seal as a driver, didnt work. Got it in there all cockeyed. Lots of swearing during this job ha.

 

Here's the bastardized tool I used.

Lets see,

It's some threaded rod, on the left side there's a nut (I believe from a CA) a bearing driver that fits perfectly outside the tube in the CAD, another nut, followed by a 36mm (I believe) Axle socket. This socket fit perfectly into the shaft, and I mean perfectly, and the seal sat right inside it. So next was the seal, followed by a mess of washers that fit inside the shaft on the other side. I turned the nut behind the socket and just pulled the seal in.

If you can't tell, I was really drunk and really desperate when I started throwing stuff on the threaded rod. It was about 3 am or so ha.

 

Hbracing..huh. That looks very similar to what I did with all-thread. The washers I had did not fit perfect in the boar, just a hair smaller and it got crooked when I tried it.

Well I'll be Trans Am. I had a 36mm socket there in my box and didn't think of that. I got cocky! I should have looked at your deal before I started!

OK. My "Taiwan" 36mm looks like it could work. It's a hair smaller but catches the metal. A hole saw was mentioned earlier...I was not in a hurry to try wood, but look here! The saw/bit it's self might do the trick.

I think having something like this socket or bit, that sticks out a bit would be helpful to see that it's seated square in there. The flat washer could start a hair croocked and be hell to see up in there.

 

Your setup looks good. And by good I mean do-able ha. I think that may work for ya. Those big sockets are great to keep everything square.

 

Just to be clear here....that's the old seal with the 36mm below, and the hole saw above, is just photoed for size reference. (I might use one, or the other, but not both). Since my crooked job is not leaking, I'm not going to fix it.

As I leave this thread I'll just say. If I were to go back at it I'd pop that disco seal out and check if the 2-1/2 inch hole saw deal will fit in the bore. Then to complicate it yet more...the Id there is larger than the seal for about a 1/2 an inch. The ideal driver might be that larger size. That would take an inside micrometer, (or a lump of clay) to get that ID. It's more than 2-1/2 and around or under 2-3/4 in. Something cylindrical that fit that larger boar would help hold the seal straight as she goes in.