53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

[Troy P.]

Seems like Corvette Central and Mary Jo always have the pinion seals but want a premium price for them - somewhat north of $40. A seal like this should be under $20 for sure. Anyone have a supplier for this part other than buying it as a Corvette only premium part?

Both of those well known sources have to be buying them somewhere. Where?

Specs are: GM 3707355 1 7/8" ID by 3 7/16" OD

Speaking of rear end parts, if you don't know already all the bearings and rear axel seals needed for a rebuild are common to the 48-54 Chevy passenger car. So they are readily available at non-Corvette prices. Only the pinion seal differs.

Another word of caution - I've seen pinion seals and bearings advertised as 55-62 and in some cases 53-62. False advertising. The rear end changed in 56 and nothing from 56-62 fits the 53-55.

[Jim L.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

Troy,

Two or three years ago I bought a pinion seal for my '54 from CC and learned that it did not fit properly. ID and OD were OK, as I recall, but there was an interference problem.... details of which I no longer remember. Fortunately, I have well stocked parts shelves and, after a lot of digging, I found an old, unused seal which fit perfectly and which was still serviceable.

Jim


Edit: I found a picture of the CC seal. The problem with it is that it is made with a flange which prevented the pinion yoke dust cover from being reinstalled. The old seal had no flange and fully seated entirely within the diff case.

[Troy P.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

Interference with what, Jim?

I've bought two from Mary Jo and have not had an issue. I assume her's would be the same as CC. Her's are less expensive too...but still over $40.

[Joe L.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

Interference with what, Jim?

I've bought two from Mary Jo and have not had an issue. I assume her's would be the same as CC. Her's are less expensive too...but still over $40.

Troy------

Does it look like this?:





If so, it's SKF 17727. About 12 bucks from Rock Auto.

[Joe R.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

Always found that NAPA had seals, bearings that were in reason with price and availability.
And they always fit perfectly.

JR

[Troy P.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

I have found NAPA to be a source of bearings as well. But I found the rear end bearings I needed on ebay at much less cost than NAPA. Also seems to me I checked NAPA for the pinion seal with no luck. this 53-55 pinion seal is a scarce comodity for some reason.

[Troy P.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

No does not look like that at all. But interestingly a seal supplier I contacted got back to me today and gave the same SKF crossover number you did.

Go here to see three good photos of the seal_ https://www.ebay.com/itm/Corvette-Pa...lhBOiQ&vxp=mtr

[Joe L.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

No does not look like that at all. But interestingly a seal supplier I contacted got back to me today and gave the same SKF crossover number you did.

Go here to see three good photos of the seal_ https://www.ebay.com/itm/Corvette-Pa...lhBOiQ&vxp=mtr

Troy------


I've discovered the photos I included might not represent the exact SKF 17727 seal. However, the 17727 is what SKF claims is equivalent to the GM #3707355. The Federal-Mogul/National claimed equivalent is their number 6818.

Unfortunately, both the SKF 17727 and National 6818 are also cataloged as equivalent to the GM #3705725 used for other Chevrolet 1953-55 applications as well as later C1 Corvettes. I do not see how any single part number could be equivalent to both the 3707355 and 3705725. So, we may be back to "square 1" on this quest.

Also, contrary to what is expressed or implied in the linked eBay item, I have no information that GM (or Delco) ever actually manufactured seals. They obtained them from other OEM manufacturers, usually National or Chicago Rawhide (now SKF). In fact, often times the National or CR part number and/or brand name will appear somewhere on the GM-sourced seal.

[Jim L.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

No does not look like that at all. But interestingly a seal supplier I contacted got back to me today and gave the same SKF crossover number you did.

Go here to see three good photos of the seal_ https://www.ebay.com/itm/Corvette-Pa...lhBOiQ&vxp=mtr

The flange to which I referred earlier is clearly visible in the picture on epay. That flange prevents the reinstallation of the factory dust shield.

Now, realistically, as little as these ancient motor vehicles are driven, the presence or absence of that dust shield might not matter much. It mattered enough to me that I chose to not use the CC/Mary Jo seal.

Jim

[Joe L.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

The flange to which I referred earlier is clearly visible in the picture on epay. That flange prevents the reinstallation of the factory dust shield.

Now, realistically, as little as these ancient motor vehicles are driven, the presence or absence of that dust shield might not matter much. It mattered enough to me that I chose to not use the CC/Mary Jo seal.

Jim

Jim------


Could it be that the design of this seal assembly eliminates the need for a separate dust shield?

[Jim L.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

Jim------


Could it be that the design of this seal assembly eliminates the need for a separate dust shield?

Joe, the way I interpret the function of the dust shield is to keep dust away from the interface between the seal lip and the seal surface of the yoke. The idea being to prevent dust from wearing the seal lip prematurely.

Jim

[Troy P.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

Dust shield? That's a new one on me. Well I'll find out when I dig into my spare rear end I'm going to restore and sell.

[Troy P.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

A supplier that has SKF 17727 seals is going to measure the ID and OD for me tomorrow. Then we'll know if it is the 53-55 or 56-62.

BTW I note that Mary Jo's seal differs from CC's in color. One is all orange and the other is orange and blue. Could be more than one manufacturer source out there for me to discover. I'll be happy with just one though.

[Gary R.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

I don't work on c2 diff's so I don't know who Mary Jo is??

[Mike M.]

Re: 53-55 Pinion Seal and Bearing sources

mary jo rohner from calif. he dad was a very early c-1 parts supplier/reproducer. mike