4 Speed Main Drive Seal and Sprocket

[JW113]

Forwards or backwards, I sure am not going to tear it all apart again until I have to. And the good news is, since doing this it has not leaked a drop of transmission fluid.

I hate to be critical of James Gaskets, as I have found their products to usually work very well. But on the other side, their web site totally sucks, and trying to get any technical information from them is not easy. For example, this mainshaft seal. If it were to go in with the spring lip out, that would be very useful to put on a little installation note on the package. Don't you think?

-JW

[72fl]

Totally agree JW if it works it works leave it be as it is a major PIA to do in the first place.

[JW113]

So I don't want to beat this to death, but...

Mule if you say that seal is in backwards, I believe you. Hope it continues to hole the oil in, if/when it starts to leak, I'll go back in and do something to fix it.

Here is my problem then with this James seal. NO installation instructions. And if you consider the Jim's 4-speed main drive gear seal tool p/n 95660-42, by design it is meant for the metal face of the seal to be installed to the outside of the trans case so you can drill the three holes for the self-tapping screws, to pull the seal out. Which is how I've got the seal installed, and how I've been pulling them out. So if you ask me, it's pretty irresponsible of James Gaskets to make a seal that is to be installed completely backwards of how the transmission was designed for this seal. And ESPECIALLY to not tell anybody that their seal goes in backwards!

So now I have a little quest to contact James Gaskets and lodge my concern.
 

But one last comment: Looking at the Jim's seal installer, it says it pushes the seal in "to the correct 0.050" below the housing for a no-leak fit". I have not been doing that, as seen in my pic at the top of this thread. I'm pusing them flush. So if that seal was .050 below the surface, that secondary outer lip would not be hanging over the end of the spacer.


-JW

[JW113]

 [attach=0]

From they guys that design and make seals:

Spring side (oil seal) to the oil.
Secondary (dust seal) to the air.
Dust seal is to keep dirt/dust away from the oil seal so it doesn't wear a groove in the shaft.

Install them any way you want, but this is what the guys that make them advise.

-JW

[friday]

that's the way Ive always done them

[Mule]

 that seal design you show isn't how the James double seal is constructed, the James seal is a two sided metal seal, it's two seals in one housing. But what ever works man!

[JW113]

I'm referring to James p/n JGI-35230-39-DL. It is metal facing on one side, open on the other.

-JW

[JW113]

Uh, let's back up here.

I stand corrected. The seal that I just replaced was sitting out on my bench. Yes, it has metal on the back side as Mule said. It does not completely enclose the seal like the metal on the front side, it's open. And the back side is the one with the spring. Looks to me this is added to give the seal body more strength. Dunno, still waiting for James Gaskets to reply to my question. Until then, still no leaks from the way I installed it.


[attach=0]

-JW