Well , I finally did it. Took me about 12 hrs. And now I have a leak. So help me figure out what went wrong.
Looks like the seal/bushing were replaced before, because I saw some nicks here and there on the housing.
Here are my recollections that could have caused the screwup.
a) Does the seal go all the way in, or should be flush with the top metal surface? I had it flush with the metal surface. I could have pushed it in deeper all the way until it stops.
b) I pressed the bushing in, but the socket I used was a little small, so upon pressing, it skewed and screwed up the edge of the bushing. I filed it to smoothen it out. I also used sandpaper to smoothen the inside surface of the bushing a little. Maybe I should not have done this. I ended up continuing with a bigger socket and the bushing went in fine.
c) When I removed the flange bolt to get the housing out, the flange slid out easily over the splines. It was NOT the same when I put everything back together. I had it hammer it in with a piece of wood after the falange went in a little. Could it be the new bushing, and is this normal, or should it slide in effortlessly ?
d) I cleaned the gasket surface very well, used fine sandpaper, no traces of gasket left. Maybe I screwed it up putting the gasket back on when I was tighting the ext housing. I doubt it thugh.
e) I get the leak only when I am driving ... a streak of oil is left behind tracing the car's path.


So I am going to order the parts again, and do this damn job again and I need inputs from you guys.

Thaanks a bunch
zakir

The flange should slip into place and not have to be driven in. Sounds like it was distorted during installation.

The rear seal should be put in so that it rides on the flange in a new position. Just a little more or less than before.

Try to determine where the leak is occuring. Is it coming from around the rear seal or around the gasket area of the rear housing?

Randy

I could not conclude where the leak is coming from. If it is coming from the rear seal, then the output shaft should be wet ? It did not appear so. There was fluid all around the extension housing. I think it is the gasket.

I called the parts guy at Borton volvo , he told me that with the new bushing, the flange will be tight and will loosen up with time. Old bushings cause it to be real loose.

I will get the parts tomorrow and I am re-doing the bushing, seal and gasket again. Should I put some form of gasket sealant ? If so what brand do I get, I have never used any gasket sealant before. I persume it does not matter how I put the gasket ( meaning does it go on a paarticular side or can be flipped either ways)

Also when placing the gasket, it kept slipping off, so while holding it , I put on the ext housing. Then I put in all the 4 lower bolts, then did the 2 top bolts. Maybe I should put all the bolts in at once.

And by the way, since I had drained the tranny fluid, I poured back in 5 quarts. The dip stick should a little too much fluid, but the dip stick tube is dry so there was no over flow there. Just though I would mention this.

As for the nut in the center of the flange, will tightening it push the companion flange all the way in? Since it was a bit tight, I hammered it in lightly with a piece of wood. So maybe I just need to tighten the nut the next time round.

Comments?

thanks

I did mine by removing the output flange and taking it to a transmission shop. They took it out and pressed in the new one in minutes. Put the flange unit with a new gasket, no leaks.

Fluid can run from one place to another and make it appear to be coming from various places. I would clean everything off completely and then start the car and observe the area to determine where the fluid is coming from. If the car is leaving a trail of fluid behind it it should not be a long wait to see where the fluid is coming from. If it is coming from the gasket there is no need to replace the rear seal again. If it is coming from the rear seal then why remove the housing?

I do not use gasket cement. I believe the gasket goes on one way only because it is not symetrical (I am working from memory here).

I would start all the bolts before tightening any of them. I would make sure the gasket was in the correct position when I did tighten them.

Five quarts sounds like more than is drained out when removing the drain plug and rear housing. Make sure the transmission is not overfilled. Double check this. Five quarts sounds like too much based on my experience.

Tightening the nut would push the flange into place, but the flange should be able to be pushed into place by hand before installing the nut. Personally I take the rear housings on my cars to the machine shop and have them pressed into place as they have all the correct sized tools to do this without distorting them.

Randy