step-by-step

R

rogtwo@aol.com

Guest
Hi Marty,

Here's how I'd go about replacing that (those) seals on the transmission.

But first, a disclaimer, while I have extensive experience writing
maintenance manuals, I've only had my Amphi for a few months. So, I'm not an
Amphi expert. However, I have done what I believe is the most complicated
part of the procedure (removing the drive shaft from the transmission).

So, here's my procedure:

Note - The numbered paragraphs are only descriptive titles. The lettered
paragraphs following the numbered paragraphs describe how to actually do the
work.

1 -- REMOVE THE DRIVE SHAFT (Note, to remove the drive shaft, you need to
disassemble part of the rear suspension)

A. Drain the oil from the transmission. Note, this step is NOT required.
But, if you don't drain the transmission oil, some may leak when you remove
the drive shaft (see below). So, if you will be replacing the transmission
oil anyway, you might as well drain it now.

B. Remove the hub cap and loosen the lug-nuts on the applicable rear wheel.

C. Jack up the car and place safety stands or blocks under the car.

Note, the more you tilt the car by jacking up the one side, the less oil you
will loose from the transmission (if you haven't drained the transmission).

D. Remove the applicable rear wheel.

E. Disconnect the brake line and plug the car end of the line with a stick or
something (make sure your plug won't break off in the line, plugging it
permanently).

NOTE -- If the parking brake cable prevents you from removing the pinch bolt
in step F below, then refer to the PARKING BRAKE CABLE section at the end of
this message.

F. Remove the pinch bolt from the front of the suspension swing arm (part
4-20-01). To remove the bolt, remove the cotter pin from the nut and remove
the nut. Try turning the bolt and see if it will unscrew out of the hole.
If it doesn't come out this way, then use a hammer and punch to drive the
bolt out. Note: I have found this bolts gets chewed up easily. You may need
a new bolt when you reassemble.

G. Slide the suspension swing arm (part 4-20-01) off of the axle shaft.
Note; You will likely need a wheel-puller to remove the swing arm from the
axle shaft, but you may be able to pry it off. If you chose to try and pry
it off, pry against the outer part of the axle housing or the bolt heads that
attach it. I recommend that you do NOT put a screwdriver blade (or anything)
into the thin crack that may exist between the swing arm and the bushings for
the axle. If you pry in this area, you may damage the brass bushings. Note:
As you remove the swing arm, the drive shaft will come out of the
transmission.

H. Disconnect the spring/shock from the swing arm. If the parking brake
cable is still attached, then set pull the swing arm/axle out some and set it
on a block so it doesn't dangle from the parking brake cable. If you
disconnected the parking brake cable, then you can remove the swing arm/axle
assembly completely.

2 -- REMOVE THE TUNNEL BOOT

A. Remove the clamps from the tunnel boot (part 4-20-41).

B. Wiggle the boot free, and remove it from the car.

3 -- REMOVE THE SEAL (PART 2-17-12) FROM THE TRANSMISSION

A. From in the car, use a screwdriver to pry the old seal out of the
transmission.

NOTE -- This works to remove most seals, but I haven't actually removed this
particular seal. If the seal is overly stubborn, you may need a special tool
to remove it.

4 -- INSTALL THE NEW SEAL

A. Remove any dirt from the seal area of the transmission.

B. Coat the outside of the new seal with transmission oil or grease.

C. This step will probably take two people -- Hold the seal in place and tap
gently around the edge of it to drive it in. Drive it in until it is just
flush with the end of the hole. You will likely need a long stick to drive
the seal in. You can put the stick through the drive shaft tunnel and sit
out at the wheel well to tap on the other end of the stick.

NOTE -- Be careful not to damage the sealing edge of the seal. Don't let the
stick (or whatever tool you are using to drive the seal) touch the sealing
edge - it could nick it.

5 -- MAKE SURE THE SLIP JOINT IN YOUR DRIVE SHAFT MOVES FREELY!!!!!

NOTE -- If the slip joint in your drive shaft (Part 4-20-24) is frozen, then
a new seal will NOT solve your problem. If the slip joint is frozen, then
the end of the shaft will be pulled out of the transmission a little when
your rear wheels hang down. This will cause even a good seal to leak.

NOTE -- If you work on the slip joint, you need to reassemble it with the
U-joints in the correct orientation. The U-joint journals at either end of
the slip joint should be PARALLEL. If you have one, refer to the picture in
the parts manual.

A. Refer to the steps in 6 below to determine if your slip joint is working.

6 -- INSTALL THE DRIVE SHAFT/SWING ARM

A. Clean the end of the axle shaft, the brass washer (Part 4-20-21), and the
swing arm. Apply clean grease where these parts go together.

B. Clean the inner end of the drive shaft. If the seal area has corrosion,
you can clean it by using 400 grit sand paper. Sand the area such that the
sanding marks go around the shaft, not parallel to it.

C. Apply a little oil to the shaft, especially where the seal will run. Also
oil the sealing area of the seal.

D. DON'T FORGET THIS ONE - Put the tunnel boot in its location.

E. Insert the drive shaft down the tunnel and direct its end into the
transmission. The orientation of the shaft to the transmission is NOT
important. Any way it goes in is OK.

F. Loosely connect the swing arm to the spring/shock.

G. Align the swing arm to the axle shaft and use a rubber hammer and your
foot to push it on.

NOTE: IF the slip joint in the drive shaft is free and working properly, then
the spring in the slip joint will have to be compressed some in order to get
the swing arm all the way on the axle. If the drive shaft is NOT FULLY into
the transmission BEFORE the swing arm is fully on, then you have a problem
with your slip joint.

H. While holding the swing arm on with your foot (if necessary), start the
pinch bolt into its hole. Don't forget the angle bracket that holds the
brake line.

I. Use a hammer to tap the pinch bolt all the way in. Install and tighten
the pinch bolt nut and install a new cotter pin. Also tighten the bolt for
the spring/shock.

J. If you removed the parking brake cable, then reinstall it and the brakes.

K. Connect the brake line and bleed the brake cylinder. Make sure all the
brake drums are on when bleeding the brakes.

L. Install the tunnel boot and its clamps.

M. Install the wheel.

N. Lower the car to the ground.

O. Check and fill the transmission oil.

P. GO SWIMMING!


PARKING BRAKE CABLE

OK, you may be able to leave the parking brake cable connected, but it my be
in the way of removing the pinch bolt. Also, if you need to work on the slip
joint in the drive shaft, then you will want to remove the parking break
cable so you can get the parts away from the car.

The problem is that it might not be possible to remove the parking brake
cable without removing the brake shoes, and it is very difficult to get the
springs back on the brake shoes unless the hub (part 4-20-26) is removed.
And, it takes a good wheel puller to remove the hub.

So, if you need to remove the parking break cable, try this:

A. Remove the three screws that attach the brake drum to the hub.

B. Remove the brake drum. To do this, make sure the parking brake is
released, then try tapping on the drum with a hammer, and prying lightly
between the drum and the backing plate. DON'T hit the drum hard or pry hard,
or you can brake the drum or bend the backing plate.

C. Remove the screw (part 11-41-16, or 11-41a-16) that attaches the guide for
the parking brake cable to the back side of the backing plate.

D. Try to wiggle the end of the parking brake cable off of the arm on the
brake shoe. If you can get it off, GREAT. If not, then remove the brakes --
keep track of where everything goes!

I hope this helps.

Roger St. John
White '63
Seattle






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
 
R

rogtwo@aol.com

Guest
Re: RE: step-by-step

> A stick can
> leave small pieces of wood and dirt that is sure to introduce foreign
> particles into the system. This can and will cause problems.

Sure it's best to keep the system clean, but I find it hard to believe a tiny
sliver of wood would do any harm. The only problem I can think of is it
could get under the edge of one of the break cylinder seal and cause it to
leak a bit. But, I think it is very unlikely that the sliver would get under
the seal. What other harm could it do?

> The best
> way is to just place the line so the open end is above the master
> yclinder and this should alleviate any dripping.

John, you must have a clean car and shop. :) In my case, if I leave the end
uncovered, I will get more dirt in it than if I stick a plug in (personally I
keep really short pencils around for just this purpose).

In any case, if you think dirt might have gotten in the brake line, then
before you reconnect the brake line you can push the brake peddle down to
flush the line out. Don't forget to have something to catch the brake fluid
coming out of the line.

Roger



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
 
A

a_colo_native

Guest
Roger all looks OK except one friendly word of advise.

>> E. Disconnect the brake line and plug the car end of the line with
a stick or something (make sure your plug won't break off in the
line, plugging it permanently).

When working with brakes and opening any lines, you should be as
clean as possible in this regard. It is best not to stick anything
inside the lines other than a rubber plug or similar. A stick can
leave small pieces of wood and dirt that is sure to introduce foreign
particles into the system. This can and will cause problems. The best
way is to just place the line so the open end is above the master
cyclinder and this should alleviate any dripping. If you still have a
drip, use a scrap piece of rubber to wrap around the open end and
secure it with a piece of wire or zip tie and hang it as high as
possible.

John
 
R

rogtwo@aol.com

Guest
Re: Re: step-by-step

> ... to avoid losing the "pre-load" from the large belleville
> washers on the inner end.

Humm, I may need to adjust something. I don't think either of my axles had a
preload on it. Or, maybe they did and that's why the threads on my new pinch
bolts got a little damaged. I'll have to look into this.

Roger


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
 
A

a_colo_native

Guest
>>Sure it's best to keep the system clean, but I find it hard to
believe a tiny sliver of wood would do any harm. The only problem I
can think of is it could get under the edge of one of the break
cylinder seal and cause it to leak a bit. But, I think it is very
unlikely that the sliver would get under the seal. What other harm
could it do?

The sliver could potentially get lodged in the cylinder (the wood
will swell) damaging the seal. That would create a leak, eventually
rendering that cylinder inoperable and coating your shoes in brake
fluid. A piece of dirt could get lodged between the seal and cylinder
eventually scoring your cylinder also redering your brake inoperable
and possibly irrepairable. Remember that when using the brakes, you
are creating about 800 - 1000 PSI or so of pressure in there.

> The best
> way is to just place the line so the open end is above the master
> yclinder and this should alleviate any dripping.

>>John, you must have a clean car and shop. :)

Sometime it "presentable". :) I have clean work procedures when the
job requires it. In a former life,I turned wrenches on Cadillacs, and
that taught me well.

>>In my case, if I leave the end uncovered, I will get more dirt in
it than if I stick a plug in (personally I keep really short pencils
around for just this purpose).

A pencil will probaly be OK, just the "stick" doesn't sound too good.

>>In any case, if you think dirt might have gotten in the brake line,
then before you reconnect the brake line you can push the brake
peddle down to flush the line out. Don't forget to have something to
catch the brake fluid coming out of the line.

This is good practice in any case even if you don't suspect any
contamination. PUSH SLOWLY!

John
 
L

Larry & Nancy Solheim

Guest
Re: Re: step-by-step

Brake line questions aside, John & Roger- I've always
removed the rear axle assembly by pulling the swing
arm pivot and all, NOT removing the pinch bolt, to
avoid losing the "pre-load" from the large belleville
washers on the inner end.

--Larry


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A

Al Heath

Guest
I'll second the caution to NOT undo the pinch bolt. I always take out the
bolts on the flange and slide out the axle unit as one piece. Less work
to reassemble....
 
B

B Crombie

Guest
Re: Re: step-by-step

Al,
During the tear down of my Amphicar, I wasn't aware of a "load" on the axle
assembly so I simply removed the pinch bolt and all but the flange. It
sounds like it is necessary to put the load back. I'm guessing the load by
definition is putting a downward force on the axle assembly which assists
the shock in achieving a smooth ride? Right or wrong, how does one get the
load back? I couldn't find any reference in the maintenance manual that
describes this procedure. Care to expand on this for myself and maybe Roger
out west?

Thanks a ton!

Brian Crombie

----- Original Message -----
From: "Al Heath" <aheath@us.ibm.com>



> I'll second the caution to NOT undo the pinch bolt. I always take out the
> bolts on the flange and slide out the axle unit as one piece. Less work
> to reassemble....
 
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