'54 Ford Rear End seal questions

Hey guys,
I don't post much at all anymore, but I search my *** off to find answers to my many questions. This is a few that I can't seem to locate in the history.

I am trying to get the '54 ready to take its longest trip (since I have owned it) down to the final Hunnert Car Pile-up. One of the only major issues is the very leaky rear end. The leaks are at the front (pinion seal) and the cover gasket.

So here are the questions:
1. Can I replace the pinion seal on this rear end without ****ing up anything else? I mean are there some other seals that I won't be able to locate or run a chance of ruining by going in after the pinion seal?

2. Can I take the carrier out of the rear end (only way to replace the gasket that I can tell) without having to become a rear end expert and having a "major" project on my hands?

Thanks in advance for any and all help.
Mike

 

Should be like any other rearend...you can replace the gasket just fine, you can replace the seal just fine, but you'll need to figure out how to get the pinion nut torqued properly, while not increasing the pinion bearing preload. So it would help if you became a bit of an expert. The factory shop manual would probably be a big help.

 

Thanks Jim. I have the manual. It shows what appear to be two other seals in front of the pinion seal. I have checked all the parts houses that I know of online to see if anyone carries these and no one does. I just want to make sure I am not going to screw myself over when I take it out.

Any advice on the bearing preload issue?

 

Can you scan the picture from the manual? There is usually just one seal, but there might be some other parts like an oil slinger, or a shim?

 

Jim~ I re-looked at the Ford manual instead of my Motors manual. You are right. There isn't really anything between the seal according to the Ford manual. They also suggest using a cold chisel to mark the nut and all ***ociated parts to line them up without messing up the bearing pre-load. I guess I should have pulled out the shop manual instead of the Motors manual. I could have saved everyone some time.

Thanks for helping!

 

While this is NOT a real answer to your question ...

I believe I would find a 5 lug Maverick rear end and swap it for the old, stock, original rear end. The 5 lug Maverick is a 8 inch Ford and fits great. It has easier to find parts and better gear ratios for today's highway driving. The wheel bolt pattern is the same as your 54 so you do not even have to change rims/wheels.