Just finished replacing the tailshaft bushing and seal, and also the center support mount and bearing on my '83 245 (automatic).

I followed the instructions in the FAQ, and it all went well. When people say it is hard to get the old gasket off the tranny... man they are not kidding! I got some Permatex gasket remover, and that helped... but it was still the worst part of the job by far.

Interestingly, the seal that was in the tailshaft housing was metal with a rubber part and a felt part inside. The new seal is just rubber. Was the old seal the OEM?

It really helped having the back of the car on jackstands. That way I could rotate the driveshaft by hand to easily get at the bolts for the driveshaft. Also, dropping the driveshaft gave me a bit more room to get at that terrible gasket.

-Josh

Josh,
You know what they do in the real world? Hope that the gasket does not break and then simply re-use it. Horrible as it sounds, that is the way most guys do it and I have yet to see one leak. On the other hand I have seen overzealous rookies damage the housing trying to get the gasket off and then have it leak. Pound for pound that is probably the worse darn gasket to do on the entire car. It can be such a pain in the ass that it necesitated makeing the special tool the IPD offers to pull that bushing without pulling the housing, cool tool indeed. I do not recall there being any felt on the OE seals. Did you go back together with a factory seal? It is a definite plus if you can get that sucker on jack stands front and rear, among other things it gives you more room and keeps the excess fluid from sloshing out the back if you do not drain the pan first. Glad to hear it went ok.

Mark

Mark,

I would have left the old gasket, but about half of it came off with the housing.

With the new gasket, I used Permatex Aviation to glue that sucker to the housing - and no sealer on the other side. Hopefully if I need to take the housing off again, the gasket will stay with the housing!

And yes, I used a seal from Volvo. It is very different than the seal that was in there! But, no leaks... so all is well.

-J

Very nice. Feel free to share any other tips you might have. I'll be looking forward to the same task this coming weekend. Ordering parts today.

Cheers,

Sounds like you will be spending some 'quality time' under your brick :)

If that gasket looks ok when you take the housing off, then leave that sucker be. If you do have to get it off, get some of that gasket remover. Spray it on, let it sit for an hour, then take a single-edge razor blade to it. Repeat ad nauseum. Be gentle and don't trash the aluminum surface. Try to cover the exposed area of the tranny so you dont get bits of the gasket in there.

This is also a good time to do the shift linkage bushings. Mine were gone completely. Also, the seal for the speedo cable might need to be replaced. I also replaced the tranny mount, as the old one was wasted.

Have fun!

-Josh