Technical 39 Ford Transmission locks up when mounting front retainer

Hi fellow Hambers,

i have a problem with my 39 trans:
when i mount the front retainer with the oil seal in my transmission, it locks up.
I think with the 78-7050 i have the right retainer. Without seal everything is fine.
The seal is according to the seller 78-7052 and should be correct , although i think it looks a bit tight in its place.

Anyone have an idea?

thank you
Jan

 

Mac Van Pelt is your man. Ask him and he'll get you straightened out.

 

Mac is the man, however if the input is hitting the seal, hard enough to lock up the tranny, som ting wong! My initial thought is the input is not seated properly in the front bearing. Regardless Mac will know.

 

Have you checked the needles where the main shaft enters the input shaft? maybe one is sideways

 

My first thought too ........

Ray

 

^^^^^^^^^^ Also my first thought, great minds think alike.

 

Front and rear roller bearings reversed?

 

78-7050 with the seal, is correct for the 39 trans. 78-7052 is the correct ford seal for this retainer. Is the front bearing inner snap rings in place properly, the front bearing outer snap ring should sit flat against the case without the retainer in place. As a side note: Do make sure the outer snap ring is the correct thickness to fill the recess in the retainer or the bearing can move in & out effecting shifting.
37-40 Ford Transmission front bearing retainer seal 78-7052: Victor 46410, Nat 5872S, CR 13569, Dichtomatik TCM 132032SA-BX
2.00” OD x 1.372 shaft x 0.318 thick

 

thanks for all that responses!
checked the bearings, they are ok..
the front snap ring also seems to be right in place. but thanks 48-760 for all that great additional info!
i´ll check the needles although i gotta say that the input/output-shaft can be rotated easily many times without seal. When i press the seal onto the retainer and mount it to the tranny that thing is stuck. so i guess somethings wrong here..
now i bought my third seal ´cause they get destroyed when dismountig :/.
i will measure it on the input-shaft and to see if it really fits with the retainer.

 

Are you using bolts so long that they are up against the gear?

 

I'm assuming that you've figured out how to press the seal in all the way so that it seats correctly in the pocket. Question: when it is all assembled, does the snap ring on the OD of the front ball bearing sit flush up against the gearbox case?

If so, please tell us what gears you've replaced if any. Be specific on what you replaced.

If not, something is preventing the main drive gear and bearing from seating all the way in place (wrong roller bearing, synchro ring not aligned with the synchro inserts, incorrect snap ring at the front of the synchro hub, etc).

I have an idea on this but need more info to confirm.

 

Mac, Thank you for the information on your website

 

I had the same problem.Took the tranny apart at least a million times(actually only half a millian) and it turned out to be the synchro rings.I swapped them out and everything was fine.I don't remember where i got them but they were out of spec.. I think i put in some good used ones or some NOS ford and the problem was solved.Hope this helps,Bob

 

Dennis Lacy shows the same problem that Jailhouse prolly had in his pickup's transmission rebuild. He had to machine the brass rings a bit to make them fit OK.

 

ok so it was the badly pressed in seal. for the third one i turned myself an installationtool and it worked out great - tranny rotates easily as it should!




thanks all!

 

I don't want to be a stick in the spokes, but...I can't see well enough in the pics so are you sure the seal is in in the right direction; lip edge facing towards bearing..

 

well. good question. i was told the round side of the seal housing goes first inside the retainer so...that correct??!?

 

Looks backwards to me also.

 

m. Yep

 

ok.. so i´ll be using my tool a second time