I just assumed it was the rear seal in the tail shaft. I even changed the seal once. I continued to have the leak. After careful inspection and cleaning up that area, I discovered the leak was not coming from the seal but was in the area of the front universal joint on the drive shaft.
My first thought was, how could that be? Kevin had seen this before and so had “Mr. Willie”. The problem is, most likely, a pin-hole in the bottom (inside) of the spline area of the yoke that holds the front U-joint and slips onto the transmission output shaft.
I was instructed to clean everything real good and to put some silicone down, inside, in the bottom of the spline area of the yoke. This should stop the leak. We shall see.
Kevin and I had a very good practice session on the “Tree” last night. We practiced both on the regular “500” tree and using “Crosstalk”, with him leaving last. We put a blinder up so we could not see the other persons lights, just the pre-stage and staged lights. We even had a tall partition between us so we could not see when the other person activated his side of the tree. He did real good (and consistent) by the end of the night. I did so good it made me want to get back in the car!
We downloaded the forms from IHRA.com and filled out all the paperwork to be able to make our IHRA license passes this Friday night at State Capitol Raceway. Since we do not need a medical exam for IHRA license, we will get that first then get his NHRA license later this year after getting the medical exam.