larryo

I guessing there are not of lot of readers that have an interest in this, however, for the record.....The tail light housings for the 1956 Buick Super ( and I believe the Roadmaster as well) are the same part .....5947011.

I'm trying to determine if the left and right tail light housings for the 56 Buick Super 56C are the same Part Number. I believe they are both P/N 5947011 but have been unable to find any verification. Thank you, Larry

MrEarl......thank you for your reply. For some reason was unable to view the thread you provided. I'll look through the HB literature. Sorry, we can't show this content because you do not have permission to see it.

I'm in the early stages of reassembling a 1956 Buick Super Convertible. Does anyone know where I can obtain a Buick Factory Assembly Manual that covers the 56. I'm looking for Assembly drawings/ Exploded views for the entire car. The factory assembly manuals seem to be available for most other vehicles....can't seem to find one for the 56 Buick. I did see on line that there are Buick Master Body Parts Books and Mechanical Parts Books available for that year. I don't know whether these publications provide the detailed drawings or not. Thank you for any help Larry

Thank you for the input on the spring washer.....I had sort of come to the same conclusion on the washer orientation (not sure it matters). I too was amazed at the amount of scoring I found. Not sure what the culprit is ......no apparent dirt or grit found in the area and there is really relatively little motion involved with the ball. I didn't get my surfaces looking as good as yours but hopeful that they're good enough and that the tapered seal will do the job. Neil....I've been rethinking the use of the spring washer....lots of schools of thought on that. Whether the increased spring pressure contributes to premature wear of the seal or whether the washer helps maintains proper pressure over an extended length of time. I'm thinking maybe a little of both. Fitting up the shims today and hope to get it buttoned up. Thanks, Larry

I'm just now beginning the reassembly of my torque ball. I did in fact take your advice and repair the pitting on the torque ball curved surface using JB weld. It cleaned up really well. On the spring washer.....what is the correct position of the washer in the outer retainer. Does the bevel (raised edge) go towards the taper seal? Thank you, Larry

Neil... I'll glove up....thanks. Hope to get it back together tomorrow. Looking forward to the Manhattan.

Thanks....On the grease ...I'm assuming that the black moly grease should be applied to the inside surface of the ball and to the inside retainer as well. Is there another recommended grease......there is not a lot included with the kit.

As a follow up to my last post..............I subsequently took another look at those areas where the pitting is located and did a fit up with the new tapered rubber seal. It appears that the rubber seal seating surface is above and clear of the pitted areas. I think with just a little cleaning/polishing that it should provide a good seal as is. Thoughts? Life is good. Larry

Additional Photo - Outer Retainer

Additional Photos

That makes good sense.....I'll install without the spring The spring as it turns out is the least of my concerns.....there is some serious pitting one torque ball surface and some minor pitting/corrosion on the inside surface of the outer retainer. I think the outer retainer can be cleaned up, however, the torque ball is a different story. I'm not sure but I believe any efforts to try to machine the ball surface would result in a poor/unsealable ball-to-retainer fit. I also have some scratches/shallow grooves on the inside surface of the ball. They don't seem to effect or restrict the ball-to-inner retainer motion so I think they are probably not a problem.

Thank you both much for responding .....the transmission exploded view and Neil, your post, is a wealth of information. I have the torque tube pulled back and all of the torque ball assembly on the bench....heading to shop to get everything cleaned up and see how it looks. I did notice a small area of pitting on the ball (AE) surface but hopeful that the pitted area may be outside of the tapered seal seating surface. I'll know more shortly after the clean up. On the spring washer (AD), I was leaning towards not using it with the new style rubber seal as well, but on the other hand I can't see that it would be an issue either way. For some reason in the exploded view diagram, it shows the spring washer stack-up on the "ball" side of the tapered seal....not sure what that's about. Larry

I have a 40 Buick series 70 torque ball that is in need of a seal replacement. This is my first go at this.....I know there are a number of other posts related to this topic and have reviewed them. Surprisingly I have been unable to find any sort of assembly drawing (exploded view) that identifies the parts that make up the ball assembly and show the details of how it's put together. The shop manual does not provide any useful drawings of the assembly. I have a seal repair kit, torque ball lip seal and the tube flange gasket. The rear end/torque tube is free and ready to slide back. It seems pretty clear where the replacement shims and t ball taper seal are installed, however, there is a flange ring (dwg 20210212_135605) that appears to have shim gasket between it and the transmission. Can someone tell me if that flange needs to be removed as part of the repair. It does not appear to be readily removable. Also, when I slide the taper seal back away from the ball, I noticed there was a thin split backing ring (dwg 20210212_135605) behind the seal (aft of the seal). I'm not sure if that thin ring was once a part of the seal and has become separated from it or if it should be installed behind my new seal. My new seal did not have any sort of metallic ring with it. I would really appreciate it if someone could address the above issues and any guidance that you may have.....would like to get this right the first time. - Does anyone have an exploded view/assembly drawing of the torque ball assembly. - best method for cleaning/polishing the torque ball - proper assembly Thank you, Larry

Great info....thank you for taking the time. I have the "Transmission Case Seal" on the way.