Dejure
Full Access Member
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2025
- Posts
- 73
- Reaction score
- 83
- Location
- Eastern Washington
- First Name
- Kelly
- Truck Year
- 1978
- Truck Model
- C15
- Engine Size
- 350
About five decades back, I used to work for the Naval Torpedo Station at Keyport, Washington. My daily driver was my 69 C10 step side. It was, for all times relative, running a 250 six and a LeMan's 4 speed. A friendly U-Joint made it play well with my drive line.
A few years in and the transmission had issues, caused by, I suspect, a failed pilot bearing. I was hard pressed to find the right bearing for the front end of that transmission. Fortunately, there were a lot of old timers who were car buffs on another level. One was an old man of around sixty (I snicker because I'm, now, fourteen years older than he was).
After explaining my problem to that old fart, he pointed out that the Mark 48 torpedo's we built equipment for and worked on used the exact bearing I needed to get my transmission working smooth again.
I walked over to the supply place we got our parts from and ordered one, after a bit of fandazaling.
I went home with the bearing, pulled the tranny (a half hour project, since I'd become adept at such play), pulled the front plate and swapped bearings. The old one was toast, the new one fit, and I installed the package.
Never had another problem. Must have been that $300.00 dollar bearing, which would have cost $20.00, down town.
A few years in and the transmission had issues, caused by, I suspect, a failed pilot bearing. I was hard pressed to find the right bearing for the front end of that transmission. Fortunately, there were a lot of old timers who were car buffs on another level. One was an old man of around sixty (I snicker because I'm, now, fourteen years older than he was).
After explaining my problem to that old fart, he pointed out that the Mark 48 torpedo's we built equipment for and worked on used the exact bearing I needed to get my transmission working smooth again.
I walked over to the supply place we got our parts from and ordered one, after a bit of fandazaling.
I went home with the bearing, pulled the tranny (a half hour project, since I'd become adept at such play), pulled the front plate and swapped bearings. The old one was toast, the new one fit, and I installed the package.
Never had another problem. Must have been that $300.00 dollar bearing, which would have cost $20.00, down town.
