Common Oil Leaks?

[tyang]

Hi John,

Although it might have been a blanket statement, Francois once said you couldn't pull a pan from a Vintage Ferrari. I can ask and check again next week when I go back to work.

Tom

[John Vardanian]

Thanks for the responses guys. I think I'm going to leave the diff in place and just replace the pinion seal since I already have it-then I'll just watch things. I'll be watching for your spring removal post Tom, I'd like to see whats involved with removing the diff. I didn't buy the axel outer seals because they didn't seem to be leaking. I'm wondering if that was a mistake and if it's worth doing while the brakes are off?

I had already planned to do the mech fuel pump O ring after having read about that on here. The only other one that is really bothering me are the drips on the bell housing screen. I think that one is going to require pulling the tranny... but it will bother me if I don't at least attempt to clean that one up since it actually drips a couple of drops per month.

Like the other John V, I too find leaks to be a pet peive and it's always in the back of my mind that I'm failing to address something that shouldn't be. John, I don't know on your sump removal question... I know I pulled the cover without issue, but I didn't look to see how bad it would be to pull the whole sump. I seem to recall a decent amount of clearance around the cover but I don't know if the irregular shape of the sump would make removal inpossible.

Hi JAV,

I am pretty sure you are going to find the tube flanges to be the culprit. See Tom Y's recent repairs on the gray PF coupe.

The half shaft flanges meet the diff housing with one thick shim in between, and no gaskets or sealant whatsoever. If you decide to dismantle the whole diff, apply Loctite 518 on both faces of the shim and the leaks should be gone for good.

john

[JAV]

How bad is it to pull the whole diff? Tom was saying something about a special tool/jig? Do you have to extract the axel shafts before seperating the flanges?

You know... if I pull the diff, then I midaswell redo the drive shaft, leaf springs, bump stops, lines and cables. Yup, I keep telling myself I'm NOT restoring this car.

[tyang]

Hi John,

If you're going to restore everything, then plan that from the start. It is possible to pull the axle tube with the half shaft still attached, but it's much easier with everything on the floor. I would almost guarantee the spring eye bushings are worn, so you might as well pull the springs. They probably look like this:

Look up inside your rear wheel well and look to see if the shackles are cocked like this:

If they are, you probably need new bushings.

The tool Francois made to pull the springs works great, and I can give you some measurements to make your own. One little piece needs to welded, but otherwise they're easily made.

With all the nice work you've been doing, a 45 year old suspension could use some attention.

Tom

[JAV]

Tom,

yes please, dimensions would be great. A picture, sketch or even something that just describes the tools purpose would even be helpful. I've removed my share of leaf springs but it's always been pretty straight forward.

BTW- my shackles don't appear cocked at all. Would they be cocked (or cocked less) while still attahed to the car? Could it be that with 29K miles, they aren't worn yet?

[John Vardanian]

Hi JAV,

There are two bushings at the end of each leaf set, like Tom's pictures indicate. If you are lucky, they are still good, if not (like mine, which were all but perished); you'll need to get new bushings. GT Car Parts has them for about $75 per, or you can make your own from stock tube PE or rubber extrusion (from good old Mc Master Carr) of varying hardness, by just reusing the inner pushes of the old bushes.

Pulling of the half shafts is a crap shoot. One side might slide out like butter the other may not, in which case you’ll need a tool that is a combination of a bearing puller and a heavy duty slide hammer.

A few inches behind the lip seal (at the wheel end), there is a metal/felt seal that acts as a baffle. These are hard to find. Make sure you don’t damage them when trying to dismantle the unit.

These are things I recall from having done mine in the spring.

ps. I know a cheap source of spring liners.

john

[tyang]

Tom,

yes please, dimensions would be great. A picture, sketch or even something that just describes the tools purpose would even be helpful. I've removed my share of leaf springs but it's always been pretty straight forward.

BTW- my shackles don't appear cocked at all. Would they be cocked (or cocked less) while still attahed to the car? Could it be that with 29K miles, they aren't worn yet?

Hi John,

If you get a pry bar in between the shackles you might notice a little deflection. With low mileage, your bushings might be O.K.

I removed leaf springs on my Mustang, and the Ferrari springs are very different. Take notes on how the upper drop shackles are oriented before you take everything apart. As the spring comes out, it will try to spring into the shape of a U. When it goes back together, you need to flatten the spring back out with the spring tool so the drop shackles will orient correctly. Ask Kerry about this.

I'll try to get some measurements this week of our tool.

If your bushings are O.K., they you can just pull the rear diff and leave the springs in place.

Tom

[330GT]

... Ask Kerry about this.

I'll try to get some measurements this week of our tool.

Tom

You can read about the spring problem on my coupe at http://www.parrotbyte.com/kbc/ferrari/P ... ension.htm

My friend, George, made a tool somewhat like Francoise's only from a piece of 2x6 oak wood instead of square steel tubing.

Francoise's

I thought I had a picture on the car, but can't find it. The main difference between Francoise's and George's is where they attach to the spring. Francoise's look like you take apart the two outer spring clamps and use them to attach the tool. George's just bolted through the Y-area where the springs wrap around at each end.

Other than that, the concept is the same, a couple of long threaded rods that can be tightened with bolts to flatten the spring.

[JAV]

Tom,

if the tool is what's shown in your 11/7/08 blog entry... I think I get it. The rectangular bar stock is used as a leverage point under the apex of the spring and the 2 jack screws at either end are used to pull the upward curled ends of the spring down (towards the apex flattening and spreading the spring and outer shackles).

If this is correct- I won't need dimensions. What I would like to understand is if the 2 jack screws have bushing welded in "T" at the top and that is attached to the existing spings furthest most U-bolt by removing that bolt and reinserting it?

Does this setup make leaf spring service "easy" or just less of a pain?

OOPS - I was typing as you were posting

[tyang]

Tom,

if the tool is what's shown in your 11/7/08 blog entry... I think I get it. The rectangular bar stock is used as a leverage point under the apex of the spring and the 2 jack screws at either end are used to pull the upward curled ends of the spring down (towards the apex flattening and spreading the spring and outer shackles).

If this is correct- I won't need dimensions. What I would like to understand is if the 2 jack screws have bushing welded in "T" at the top and that is attached to the existing spings furthest most U-bolt by removing that bolt and reinserting it?

Does this setup make leaf spring service "easy" or just less of a pain?

OOPS - I was typing as you were posting

Hi John,

This set up works exactly as you described, and makes the job of flattening the spring way easier. The rusty cotter pins and seized bolts I've encountered on some cars can make the job a PITA! I got off easy with this PF Coupe I'm working on. If you plan on taking the springs apart, they will spring apart even more, so consider this if you keep taking things apart!

Tom

[John Vardanian]

For some reason they get more U-shaped after the rebuild. I recall removing mine without much effort, but judging from the shape of the springs now I'll need to use that special tool. Thanks for posting the picture, Tom.

john