Velvet Drive Front Seal info needed (Out of a 1984 Trojan)

[zghorner]

Just pulled this Velvet Drive off of a 454 mercruiser and really need some info. It is freshly rebuilt but the front shaft seal popped out slightly towards the top and it was dumping oil badly.

It was rebuilt several years ago by a trans shop but the owner (my father in law) had issues with them clocking it wrong...so yanked it off again for them to correct...then this seal blew shortly after reinstalling from needing reclock...he said screw this thing and it has been sitting for ~5+years.

Im pretty sure it is a 72C but would love some confirmation from someone that knows.
Main Thing is I was wondering if anyone had advice on installing the new seal? I ordered a Velvet Drive brand OEM seal "VD-1000044014" (the one that failed was a generic seal/unknown brand with little crossover info on part#). What type of sealant to use if any etc...

appreciate any advice,
thanks

[skipperpete]

Hi Zghorner and welcome to the forum. Yes it’s a 72C , 2.9:1 reduction in forward and 3.2:1 reduction in reverse.... I guess that 454 swings a big prop. That front seal is a bit of a pain to install, usually very tight, use a proper installation tool, not a hammer and punch. Now would be a good time to check the drive plate, the splines on the gearbox input shaft are showing signs of wear, so possibly the plate is too.

[zghorner]

Originally Posted by skipperpete

Hi Zghorner and welcome to the forum. Yes it’s a 72C , 2.9:1 reduction in forward and 3.2:1 reduction in reverse.... I guess that 454 swings a big prop. That front seal is a bit of a pain to install, usually very tight, use a proper installation tool, not a hammer and punch. Now would be a good time to check the drive plate, the splines on the gearbox input shaft are showing signs of wear, so possibly the plate is too.

thank you.

the transmission is freshly rebuilt and only has a few hours on it so im not worried about the internals so much.

do you know what type of sealant is recommended for the front shaft seal and is seat depth just flush with case?

[skipperpete]

Optional with the sealant but whatever you use, just the slightest amount.
When you press in the seal, really pay attention to the area where the spline ends and the seal track begins, there’s no lead or taper to help the seal over the edge so it can pop the garter spring out of the lipseal. I’d be just a tiny bit wary of any mechanic who put the oil pump back in with the wrong rotation and after fixing that, had the front seal pop out.

[zghorner]

Originally Posted by skipperpete

Optional with the sealant but whatever you use, just the slightest amount.
When you press in the seal, really pay attention to the area where the spline ends and the seal track begins, there’s no lead or taper to help the seal over the edge so it can pop the garter spring out of the lipseal. I’d be just a tiny bit wary of any mechanic who put the oil pump back in with the wrong rotation and after fixing that, had the front seal pop out.

yes, i agree. Talked to FIL after researching and it looks like there is a possibility the oil pump is bad allowing pressure to escape and pop that seal outwards (about 1/4 of the seal was pushed outwards allowing a ton of fluid to leak through). Tomorrow morning it is going to a different tranny shop that has done good work for him in the past to see if they are able to at least do some type of pressure/vacuum test to see.