Tranny dripping from front U joint

[philo_beddoe]

Noticed small puddle of trans fluid dripping from front u joint. Where is it leaking from and whats the fix? Thanks!
From the looks of the last pic, looks like its spraying when driving.

[LTZ C20]

Do you see that little dot in the middle of the slip yoke on the trans. That hole will start to leak over time. This is very common for slip yokes with that hole in the middle. 2 fix it you can either pull the slip yoke out, clean it, put RTV silicone on both sides, wait till its fully dried, then lube it and reinstall it. Option 2 would be to remove and clean it, weld the hole closed on the outside, then lube and reinstall. Option 3 would be to replace it with a slip yoke with no hole.

This is a very common thing with slips yokes with the hole. Tons of them have been repaired and last a real long time with just silicone on them and your good to go.

Also, since you have the slip yoke off, you can if you so choose, replace the output shaft seal. It just presses in the end of the tail shaft housing. They are stupid easy to remove and replace and the a new seal is cheap. If it's not needed don't bother, or do bother, either way it's like an extra 10 minutes if you do want to replace it.


Note, I can tell by your pics, the output shaft seal is not leaking, the end of the tail shaft housing is clean, no appearance of fluid seeping or leaking out and the front half of the slip yoke is clean also. Yet you have a drip of trans fluid, it's that hole in the middle. Easy fix.

[philo_beddoe]

Hey man, THANKS! Thought i was in trouble again. I just went through the dark side and back with my engine situation. I'll get on this one right away.  Appreciate the quick response.

[LTZ C20]

Your welcome.

[Irish_Alley]

theres a oring you have to replace to fix the problem. the point of the weep hole is to vent the yoke from when it slides back and forth on the shaft when your suspension flexes

[gunrac]

theres a oring you have to replace to fix the problem. the point of the weep hole is to vent the yoke from when it slides back and forth on the shaft when your suspension flexes

Now that makes better since to me.....

[Irish_Alley]

http://www.73-87.com/7387garage/drivetrain/yokeleak.htm

[philo_beddoe]

Great, i just plugged the hole with rtv, of course it can be cleaned out, i'll get a new o ring.

Is this job easy? How do you remove slip joint and get at that o-ring?

According to that article it looks tough.

[LTZ C20]

The article says you have to remove the tail shaft housing to replace the o ring. Which is not hard but more work and you will spill a little more fluid. If you already cleaned and put RTV silicone on it. Don't worry about.

[Irish_Alley]

not hard, the article has the tailshaft removed, you dont have to do that. just take the bolts of the u joint strap on the rear axle. pop the driveshaft out take some electric tape or ducktape and wrap it around the u joint so the caps dont fall off and slide the slip yoke out. you should see the o-ring, dont know the technical name fore it so you might have to just remove it and take it to the parts store to get a new one

[philo_beddoe]

Ok, that sounds better, thanks.

[philo_beddoe]

This manual ought to help me. I printed my own from the pdf file on this site. This thing is like 800 pgs. This is only volume one of two.

[LTZ C20]

I have a hard copy service manual for 1979, it's 1,033 pages.

[philo_beddoe]

I have been checking a ton of other sites on that slip joint weep hole. Nearly all either weld it closed, use JB Weld or permatex. Then they report later on that the problem is solved, no more leaks or any OTHER problems.

[LTZ C20]

The point of a pressure relief is pretty much mute, the pressure that's created isn't 120 psi. If lots off other sites with thousands of members say they seal the hole and never have an issue then why be worried about it. All the technicians at work who have been working on chevy's for at least 10-15, a few over 20-25 and 1 over 30 years have said the same thing. Weld it or seal it shut and don't worry about it. I wouldn't suggest it if I wouldn't do it to my own truck. Luckily, I don't have a weep hole in my slip yoke. You will be fine. If I am wrong I'll eat my hat.