Torq Tube Troubles

[Neatname]

I have a 49 chevy coupe. It still has the torq tube style drive shaft. I lowered it and now it leaks all it's gear oil out all the time. Is lowering the cause of my leak? Can this be fixed w/o un-lowering the car? Any ideas?

[oldchevyseller]

well first thing is 2 places you can lose gear lube from check your tranny level because if you lowered the car you changed the angle of where the bushing and seal ride might have been enough to cause the leak ,it would leak down the tube and fill the rear end over full either come out vent or being lower or even with the tranny now it leaks out the ball gaskets, i would check to see if that is the trouble where is it leaking?,anyhow there is a fix called a okie bushing a bushing with a seal on it you need to drop the tube and remove the 2 bushings right inside about 5 inches apart then the okie gets drove in the tube and the shaft goes through the seal and bushing ,stops the tranny from leaking into the rear and filling up the tube and this may be what is going on with yours, let me know what the levels are in the rear and tranny, i would go to stovebolt.com ,the chevy site and do a seacrh in the forums on okie seal or lowering ,i know it has benn covered there

[brjr51]

I take it you mean it's leaking from the torque tube ball joint. Probably just old, dried up seals. When ya lowered it, the old seals are riding on a different spot on the ball joint and collar and lost their seal. To replace you have to break the the u-joint apart. The seal kits are available at parts store for about $10.00. They include the cork ball gasket seal, a fiber like ring for the ball joint retainer nut, and some paper gaskets or what they call shims for the collar mount to tranny.