Help! 1979 Ski Tique: Velvet Drive Transmission

Was attempting to get my 1979 Ski Tque with a Ford Commander 302 & Velvet Drive transmission on the water this weekend. We managed to revive the engine, but after running for less than a minute, it started pouring trans fluid out from the bottom of transmission where the bell housing meets the block. This was already a replacement transmission (used), the original transmission had the same fate. I'm now stuck with 2 blown transmissions.

I located a breakdown for this transmission in the manuals on the forums here. I don't have the exact model number of my trans handy, I'll grab it next weekend, but it looks like there is an Oil Seal (Part #2) on all the diagrams that seems to be a common point. It's also looks to be the last seal before the bell housing (I think?). Logic tells me that must be the seal that has gone bad. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should check out, or where I could get these parts?

I'd say call Skidim, get two front seals and you'd probably have two good trans.

I called a local performance trans shop I've used (Atomic Transmission in Villa Park, IL). He seemed comfortable talking about the trans and told me the oil seal in the front was most likely the culprit. For $100, he is going to disassemble the trans and give it a once over to check the condition, and if nothing is broken (hard part wise) it should be about $300 to check, clean, and replace the seals and other simple parts. He also said that the coolers plug up sometimes, and that could cause the pressure to make a seal pop. I can remove the cooler & hook it up to a garden hose, he said it should flow smoothly with no pressure out the other side. If there's any restriction or buildup coming out, they can possibly boil it or clean it to clear the obstruction. Hopefully it's just an old seal leaking and some dumb luck away from running again.

DrCC, what is SkiDim? Also, does anyone know what I should expect to pay for a rebuild If I send this thing out? I am definitely mechanically capable, but to be honest, transmissions have always scared me. What are the basic parts I should look at replacing if I decide to tackle it myself?

TRBenj wrote: You're correct on the seal, but it should not have any pressure behind it. Rebuild time.

I totally agree! Eric used to really comment a lot about the issue. When the pump is worn beyond tolerance, it will by pass oil and pressurize the area behind the seal. A new seal will not solve the root of the problem.

350G wrote: I called a local performance trans shop I've used (Atomic Transmission in Villa Park, IL).

Good luck with this. Sounds like an automotive trans shop. They aren't even close in design to a marine. The cooler plugging up and blowing the seal is BS!! If he is not versed in marine tran's as well as all the internal tolerances, this is a major mistake. BTW, I've been past the place and would even question taking a car in there!!

Well Atomic has done some trans work for me before, they are more of a muscle car type of place, so they haven't exactly worked on their building appearance, I could understand your hesitation lol. However, the guy knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned the Velvet Drive. He was referring to the position of parts & things to check on my specific trans, so I'm guessing it's in his comfort zone. I will go ahead and contact some of the places you guys recommended.

I don't want to end up putting a thousand dollar trans into the boat as I have 2 Ski Tiques, and I'm hoping to sell both of them this year to move into a newer nautique. So if I dump a grand into the trans, that's money I won't get back. I love these old boats, but I need something a little bigger with open bow seating. 5 passengers isn't cutting it anymore.

I have a 76 ski tique with the exact same problem, what did you end up doing to fix yours?