Removing Trans from Torque Tube

Pull the nuts or bolts from the 4 corners and the tube slides back. There's a simple connection there, just slides onto the output shaft. If I recall, there's a CV joint on the front end of the driveshaft and the joint has pretty much the same connection as an open driveshaft - slides over the splines on the tranny output shaft -  you'll see that joint when you get it apart. Good time to check it to be sure it's smooth - I can't recall having to ever replace too many, perhaps a couple.

Bill and pacerman got you started! Everything on the rear axle needs to be disconnected -- park brake cable, shocks, panhard rod (disconnect from body, tie to axle), and rear brake line. I always put jack stands under the body right in front of the rear tires. Put a floor jack under the axle to jack it up, and take the rear tires off so the axle will go low enough you can slide it back. Oh, you want to go from directly in back with the floor jack so it will roll straight back with the axle on it. DO NOT try to "jack" or pull the rear axle back! You'll just bend or break the panhard rod, shocks, and brake lines. That trick worked on old Chevies, but they used leaf springs that limited movement.

That slip joint on the trans has been on there a while! You may have to get under the car and push on the axle with both feet to get it loose the first time, so make sure the jack stands are good and sturdy and block behind the front wheels.

You may want to pull the trans from under the car, especially if it's a manual. Those engines were installed from the bottom at the factory and clearance to pull them from the top is tight! If it's an auto I'd pull with the trans on, manual I'd drop the trans but leave the bell on. If you pull from the top with the trans remove the radiator AND the water pump. That will buy you some room. I haven't pulled one from a big car in a long time, but I'm pretty sure it's still tight between the engine and upper radiator support. Easy to remove both the radiator and water pump, and will save a lot of trouble.

Bill, only the 63-66 V-8 models use the CV joint. Earlier V-8s and all sixes use a single u-joint. The V-8 models have a two piece driveshaft with a tubular front half and solid rear half, the sixes all used a solid shaft (similar to an axle shaft). The tube is the main axle locator on all the TT cars -- the tube, panhard rod, and shocks hold the axle in. Shocks keep it from going down so far the springs fall out or the brake lines get strained. The earlier models use only one bolt on each side and a spring to hold a rounded pivot joint together instead of the flat flange used on 62-66 models. Other than that everything is the same.

DO NOT pull the shaft out unless you really need too -- only reason is if tube is damaged or the center bearing needs replacing. That bearing lasts a long time, as do the u-joints. I've pulled several with over 100K to find u-joints as tight as the day they were put in by the factory -- no dust and dirt inside the tube! The driveshaft will pull out from the front, but the slip coupling on the axle is probably stuck too, so if the shaft needs to come out unbolt from the axle and pull it off. The center bearing sticks to the tube, so you may have to drive the shaft out using a block of wood, at least to break the bearing loose. The bearing can be damaged when removing, something you don't want to do unless replacing it!

Edited by farna - Jan/04/2009 at 7:18am

I'm assuming you have the four bolt square flange, not the two bolt round "socket" attaching the tube to the car.  In that case, the rubber piece is just a thick rubber cushion that goes between the end of the tube and the transmission. You can make another by using a dense foam rubber. It should be about an inch thick. One of those mats sold at Wal-Mart to set exercise equipment and such on should be dense enough. You will need to replace the rear seal when you get the tube pulled back also. The tube should be dry, but a leaking rear seal will let oil in, and the oil usually breaks down the rubber pad.

The tube flange isn't welded to the tube, it is a loose fit. The tube itself is "flared" after it goes through the flange. The pad is glued to the flange and flare, so the flange won't rotate. When the rear wheels push forward they push the flared end of the tube forward against the pad, which is between the flare and transmission adapter.

One thing I would invest in is a 1962 TSM.

purple72Gremlin wrote: One thing I would invest in is a 1962 TSM.

Edited by ramblinfsj - Jan/06/2009 at 4:35pm