avgwarhawk

At the pinion end there is angle in the tube where the u-joint is housed. The angle I believe allows the axle to be horizontal to the ground while in motion. It may also help translate or handle the torque better with the additional u-joint. Only conjecture.

More scraping of road grime. The pumpkin is a copper tone to my eye. Interesting parts were painted like they were.

I have the drums on. The drums are cradled on my casters I used to move the cars around in the garage. I did it this way because I have to push the rear back under the 60 to make room for my 54 when I finish working on the 60 and park the 54 in the garage for the night.

It is forums such as this that help make decisions in some instances. Bernies post of the squeak at his u-joint that eventually failed I kept in my memory bank. This summer, backing out of the garage there was a rotational squeak , but only in reverse. In my mind, the u-joint could be going bad as noted from Bernies experience with a squeaking u-joint. I kept tabs on it. Mine recently however, started as a low growl only from 0-40 mph. I'm thinking low front pump pressure per the manual trouble shooting. Sometimes the noise was not present from 0-40. It was a bit elusive but the u-joint was forefront of my mind as the culprit. Then growling started from 0-50 and beyond. Then she started squeaking in forward drive. Then it started clicking. All of this in just driving 15 miles! I nursed her home. Pulled the rear. The forums and people posting their failures of parts and successes in repairs are invaluable.

Looks funky.

Is it me or is that hood line taller? Seems the nose where the emblem is mounted is very tall.

General clean up while waiting on parts. My rear is not as shiney as Bernie's.

I would suggest it!

Find the Buick:

57 is a looker for sure. Super nice!

I thought it was you Bernie living the nightmare of the torque tube troubles. Mine did not quite get to the state yours was upon opening up the can of worn parts. However, she was well on her way. I did get 3/8-16 bolts to cut the heads and use as guide pins upon installation. Funny part, with my 54, pushing the tube to connect with the torque ball was a snap. No guide pins at all. Harley Earl must have been smiling upon me that day. I see you painted yours before re-installing, etc. I just plan on removing the years of road grim and revealing the factory marks, etc. The hard lines have been replaced, as well as, the rubber brake hose feeding the rear brakes. I'm all set there. I did advise my wife she may be pushing an axle under the Buick sometime this week. I'll be under it guiding the nose of the torque tube to torque ball. I love a team player!

The noise must have been horrendous! I knew something was up with my driveline and it took about 50 miles of driving to diagnos the issue. The day I could pinpoint the issue it was howling at every speed. Then started clicking. I nursed it home. About 2 miles.

There is a access hole to grease the sliding shaft end at the pinion. There are no access holes to grease the u-joint directly.

Arrived last night and still falling through Sunday. 10 inches in my neighborhood.

As a side note, the front u-joint is constantly lubricated by the transmission. Perhaps helps with longevity? Also, I think it was Bernie who stated his 60 started with a squeak that developed into a failing u-joint. Mine was squeaking in reverse only. It also appears the rear u-joint failing is a common problem.