I am restoring a 1962 327/340 Corvette. It has a T-10 4spd and a 4:11 rear end posi unit. The car has just under 100k miles. Here is what I know about the car. I have owned it for about 15 years and have researched ownership history back to the original owner. It was original except for maintenance items replaced and hasn't seen extreme use. The posi unit was working fine, no chatter, slipage or unusual noises. Here's my question(s).
Should I leave the mechanics of the unit alone and just cosmetically restore the housing by painting? The service manual says these units don't require any changing of the fluid for the life of the car and there is no drain plug. I believe the original fluid contains a whale oil additive and it is no longer available. I have been told that nothing works as well as this original fluid to lube these units, so if it ain't broke don't fix it. What do you pros think?
Also, there is a pinhole leak in the top of the housing. I didn't notice until the unit was out of the vehicle and paint was stripped. The only reason I could tell there was a leak was a small stain on the bare metal of the housing after it sat upside down a few days. I never noticed any leakage while it was in use. What might be the best way to fix this tiny leak without using heat?
I was thinking JB Weld which I was going to use as a filler to fill some minor pitting in the housing before painting. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for your help.
[ May 20, 2003: Message edited by: Axelrod ]</p>
Should I leave the mechanics of the unit alone and just cosmetically restore the housing by painting? The service manual says these units don't require any changing of the fluid for the life of the car and there is no drain plug. I believe the original fluid contains a whale oil additive and it is no longer available. I have been told that nothing works as well as this original fluid to lube these units, so if it ain't broke don't fix it. What do you pros think?
Also, there is a pinhole leak in the top of the housing. I didn't notice until the unit was out of the vehicle and paint was stripped. The only reason I could tell there was a leak was a small stain on the bare metal of the housing after it sat upside down a few days. I never noticed any leakage while it was in use. What might be the best way to fix this tiny leak without using heat?
I was thinking JB Weld which I was going to use as a filler to fill some minor pitting in the housing before painting. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for your help.
[ May 20, 2003: Message edited by: Axelrod ]</p>