replacing speedometer pinion seal and o-ring

[basarowich]

I have a small leak on my 68 Charger speed gear, so I ordered the seal and ring kit from year one.  In my FS manual it shows that I need a special tool to change the pinion gear seal.  Has anyone done this...do i really need a special tool to seat the seal?  I think I like researching how to do a repair as much as I enjoy putzing around in the garage sometimes.

[resq302]

All I had to do on mine was pop out the cast alluminum housing for the speedometer gear and then get a dental pick and pull out the seal for the speedometer.

[basarowich]

thx for the reply!  I was just going to let the fluid pour out of the housing after i yanked the pinion...seems harmless enough.  How did you set the new seal in the housing?

[John_Kunkel]

There is a small wire ring that holds the seal in place, use an appropriate sized 1/4" drive socket to push the seal and ring in place.

[basarowich]

thanks for the answers!

Well...between a trip to costco and two little ones bedtimes i forgot which way the pinion seal was in the housing.  I installed it with the groove facing outward toward the speedometer cable and pushed the ring in on top of that. It seemed to fit the pinion gear that way as the pinion seal was tapered slightly.  Does anyone know if this is correct?

[basarowich]

I attempted to attach a picture of my cars and the best part of my life

[John_Kunkel]

The lip on the seal always points toward the fluid you want to seal in, if the "groove" is facing outward you installed it bass ackwards.

[basarowich]

Thanks again for the reply. This site honestly rocks!

[greenpigs]

  I went trolling and this was the closest i could find to what I am curious about. I have a 40 tooth gear to put in my trans and wonder if I need any special tool to just put a new gear in? Plus do you just tap the slot to get the cover loose on the gear? Also could someone post`a pic of where the speedometer cable is routed through the clamp that bolts to the frame?

[maxwellwedge]

Same as any gear - just remember to rotate the pinion housing to the right number on the pinion before you clamp it down. The speedo cable attaches to a clip that is a push on deal to the frame rail lip. The same clip is used to hold on the k-frame air shields on a wing car. I'll look for a pic until someone beats me to it.         Got it!

[greenpigs]

  maxwellwedge

[resq302]

Same as any gear - just remember to rotate the pinion housing to the right number on the pinion before you clamp it down. The speedo cable attaches to a clip that is a push on deal to the frame rail lip. The same clip is used to hold on the k-frame air shields on a wing car. I'll look for a pic until someone beats me to it.         Got it!

From a disc brake car as well

[greenpigs]

Got the bolt and clip off and tried using an old speedometer cable to "wiggle" the housing out and broke the cable.

Is it that tight of a fit or do you need to give it a few smacks with a rubber hammer first?   

[GreenMachine]

   I usually just break the nut on the cable loose then remove the bolt and clamp and use the nut on the cable end as a handle and gently rock back and forth till it comes out. I've never had one that was difficult when doing it that way. It's just the o-ring that's holding it in.

[grdprx]

Had a question regarding the pinion seal.  I sprung a leak, cuz I ran the car without the speedo cable hooked up...   

Does the clip go in the rim of the seal?  I couldn't figure it out, and I tried to squeeze it in there, and it popped out; and flew away.  Now I got to find a replacement.  Anyway, just looking for clarification, thanks!

[John_Kunkel]

Look closely at the pic below and you'll see the wire ring on top of the seal. To install the ring push it in sideways with the gap facing out then turn it and push it into the adapter with a 1/4" drive socket of slightly smaller diameter than the bore of the adapter.

[grdprx]

A picture is worth a 1000 words, once again!  Thank you very much John!