HELP! Selector/and Maybe Kickdown Seals Leaking Badly.

[Dartncharger]

I saw this mentioned a week or so ago re: a leaking 904 .
Did some checking and the few places I checked want around $100-$125 to change out these seals.
I have replaced everything BUT these two.

Question then: How much of a pain is really to do this myself? What is the tool needed? Can I bs my way through it or is it covered in the Dart shop manual?

Thanks for any feedback/help.

 

[fishy68]

Drop the trans. pan and valve body and drive the selector shaft seal out with an appropriate seal driver or anything that's close in diameter (piece of pipe, socket on an extension, etc.) and drive a new one in. If you don't have a lift get the car up as high as you can safely and use jack stands for safety. While you have the valve body out you might as well replace the kickdown shaft seals as it only takes a few minutes. They are held in by a c-clip and washer. This job takes me about 2 to 2-1/2 hrs if I don't have a lift. A lift makes it much easier and knocks off a good 1/2 hour.

Oh yeah, make sure and lube the seals good with o-ring grease, white grease, or Vaseline. I've known guys to use ATF but I like grease better cause it stays put.

 

[RedFish]

Those that dont know which bolts are holding the valve body up from those that hold the vlave body together might remove all those bolts. Then the valve body comes apart and the variuos size balls get put back in the wrong places.
The new selecter shaft seal isn't easy to istall from underneath either since ther is no space between it and the floor pan. If it doesn't go back together correctly it may leak worse than before.
Those that do know charge a fee for what they know.
A few know exactly where to cut a hole in the floor pan so that seal can be installed from the top down.
Good luck

 

[70Duster440]

I bought a tool years ago (still in the package #W84026) from Performance Tool that supposedly allows you to replace the shift seal without even draining the fluid.

http://www.performancetool.com/special_drivetrainsuspension_bottom01.html

Course, they don't take into account that you still need room between the case and the floorboards to do it!

The KD lever seal should be pretty easy once you drop the VB.

 

[fishy68]

I never tried it on a selector shaft seal but on other seals that aren't easy to get to I have used a piece of threaded rod with thick fender washers as supports and pulled the seal in place by tightening down the nuts. Might be worth a try.

 

[QWK FSH]

With an experienced friend, I just did this a couple of months ago. Removed valve body and changed all these seals. We used a tool like the one in the link. Did it laying on our backs with the trany in the car. It can be done...