old-tank

The top center winshield molding CANNOT be removed without removing the windshield!<BR>Willie

Ken<BR>The inner race is the one pressed on the axel shaft.<BR>One other thing to check...be sure you are not getting transmission fluid past the torque tube seal into the tube and into the rear end...this will overfill the rear end dilute the lubrcant and even good seals will not hold. On all my 55's I drill a small hole in the bottom of the torque just in front of the rear flange to check and/or drain fluid from the tube.<BR>My understanding on the necessity of the inner seal is to keep the rear lubrcant out of the grease which may dilute or be incompatible. Also the fill level on the differential is lower than the axel bearings.<BR>Willie

Ken<BR>The reason for the inner and outter seals is because the bearings and the space between the seals is packed with grease. If you are getting axel lubricant leaks then both seals are shot. Replacement is pretty straightforward ...just pay attention to the shop manual. I had to rig a puller to remove the bearing from the housing. If you need to replace the inner race there lots of ways to cut chisel or grind it off but replacement is easy...just heat the new one with a propane torch and drop in place!!<BR>Email me with your phone number and I will call you with details.<BR>Willie

I use 20W-50 in all of my daily drivers and in my 55's with the 322.

Hello again Bill<BR>Called the local muffler shop and they have your pattern!!<BR>willie

Bill<BR>Stay away from Kepich if you can! the system I bought for my 55 was horrible: Y-pipe would not match up to the manifolds and the tail pipe had kinks gouges and pinched down where it goes over the axle. Then I had to pay to send it back (still didn't fit) and then pay to send it back again. They refunded the price of the product but not the orininal shipping charges!!...a $75 lesson....<BR>There is a shop in Seguin that has patterns for many old cars...I'll check on yours...all you will need to buy is a muffler from hopefully someone other than Kepich!!<BR>Why aluminized?...it's cheaper and quieter than stainless and will last a lot longer than regular steel.<BR>Willie

If you use a 12 volt battery to power the dwell meter you will be running the car on 12 volts!! Even 12 volt cars that have a resistor in the circuit will have 6-10 volts at the distributor. I looked in some of my shop manuals and they ALL say to check spring tension...I've never done that...just install the points and condensor; set and check on three or four lobes and forget it for 15,000 miles. If you want to double check with a dwell meter 8-cylinder cars should be 26 to 34 degrees ( remember that the closer the points the higher the dwell )<BR>Willie

WANTED; C-pillar window molding 76 Lesabre 4dr ht non vinyl top, Respond by email or this forum.<BR>Thanks Willie<BR><B>window</B><p>[ 05-10-2001: Message edited by: old-tank ]

Is it actually hot or does the guage just read high? If it is belching coolant all over the road it is HOT. On my 55 322 the guage was showing hot with a new clean motor and new cooling system so I put a mechanical guage on the other head and at 200 deg the stock guage was high enough to make me nervous and at 220 deg the stock guage was pegged and definitely giving me white knuckles! With pressure and antifreeze you can go higher than 212 deg before boiling over. Most new cars have 195 deg thermostats.<BR>Just some observations...Willie

55 Buick is 12 volt. I have one that did the same thing..never did figure it out...rewired and the indicators work with the turn signals AND the brake lights...good conversation starter with a new passenger.<BR>Willie

Hi Don<P><BR>Congrats on the cruising. The out of center drive shaft can cause the<BR>vibration you described and will eat up the bushing in the torque ball which<BR>may already be worn...could be bad universal joint ...bad bushing on the<BR>output shaft inside the tranny...congealed oil INSIDE the drive shaft. A<BR>good drive shaft shop should be able to straighten the shaft with the torque<BR>tube removed...big pain to remove the pinion and shaft. Could be normal<BR>vibration transmitted thru hard engine? tranny mounts...exhaust components<BR>contacting frame,,,big pain where the exhaust pipe and tail pipe go thru<BR>holes in frame...bad harmonic balancer and out of balance torque converter<BR>will vibrate in neutral and driving.<BR>Sounds like your brake builder is making excuses...take it back!!<BR>On the wipers just get a rebuilt wiper motor from Buick Spec...chances of<BR>finding a good motor are slim.<BR>On the gas tank...a little loose stuff can be removed with soap and water flush: tank out plug on bottom removed and sending unit out...if real nasty get a radiator shop to boil out with acid. Don't even consider a coating...I've had some real good clogs all thru the fuel system! Buick Spec. can get you a rebuilt tank for a price.<BR>Later...Willie<BR>

Everytime PETER THE GREAT decides to add more color, fluff, confetti, icons, smilies, gremlins,etc the forum loads at a snails' pace (one minute plus) with my 28.8 modem and takes at least 30 seconds with DSL at the office. Text on other forums (which is all we NEED) loads instantly!!<P>Willie

Addendum to oldtimer's message: If an old car doesn't leak oil it doesn't have any oil in it!<P>Willie

Lots of good ideas here. I had a 54 Ply with the same brake setup that had lockup and grabby brakes after I replaced the shoes with the new non asbestos friction lining material...found some NORS shoes with asbestos linings and solved the problem!<P>Willie

I noticed from one of your other posts that your grandfather's 55 is a Special which would have the 264 cu in engine with 188 hp. I drove a 55 Special (from 1962 to 1974 for 365,000 miles) and now have 55 Centuries with the 322 engie and 235 hp...that extra 47 hp makes a difference in off the line acceleration! The owners manual states for maximum acceleration to start in Low and shift to Drive at 45mph which I did routinely with my 55 Special...it would pull strong up to 65mph in Low before shifting if I really needed to impress or race someone. I probably will not try that with my restored Centurys very often!<P>Willie

I have as opinion also...Consumer Reports gets its information from owner submitted qustionaires. Two points: 1) an owner of a $40 to 60K (+) car will expect near perfection and report even trivial problems whereas an owner of a $9K car will put up with alot and not report; 2)people who read and believe in all that Consumer Reports says will be more likely to return the questionaire.<BR>You CAN get some good information from CU but you have to get past their liberal tree hugging and love those Japanese cars bias. A propper car to them (environmentaly correct) is always small ugly and practical. I might buy the stereo that they recommend but never any of the cars they like!<P>Willie

Try: <A HREF="http://www.mcveys.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.mcveys.com/</A> <BR>they have repro lids...perfect but expensive<BR>willie

Think safety, but remember that people who use tools bleed alot!!<P>Willie

Good reply Frank!! I would encourage everyone who works on their car to copy and print for future reference.<BR>Willie

Weather strip cement is yellow or black and is applied to both surfaces then pressed together when tacky. This gives a firm bond to one surface...donnot apply cement ot sealer to the other surface (dry only)...this reduces the tendency of the cork to squeeze out when torqued.<BR>Actually i'd rather use rubber or composition gasket material if possible because cork will eventually shrink and leak.<BR>Willie

cork gaskets will work for me only if I glue the cork gasket to the pan with weatherstrip cement and install dry (no other sealer)

Don<BR>WHAAAAAATT????!!! The pistons are hitting the head? If it weren't for bad luck you'd have no luck at all!@!<BR>That is probably the source of the noise. Either you have the wrong pistons, wrong heads or the heads and/or the block has been milled excessively or you have lots of loosness in the rod bearings. Thicker gaskets?...you already used the thickest ones...double gasket?...possible but not a good idea. Change pistons?...only if shorter.....still thinking...<BR>Willie

Hi Don<BR>So now you tell us that the cam is reground!!! (just kidding) That could possibly be contributing to your problems. My understanding is that lifters in these old nail heads can tolerate up to 0.080 wear in the valve mechanism...so if you have a cam ground 0.040; thicker head gaskets at 0.o30; few more thousands for short valve stems wear in the rockers and shafts...<BR>If you have any oil at all to the rockers you will have adequate oil to the lifters galleries...check the oiling diagram in your service manual...this is all low pressure oil.<P>Willie

some states like Texas used the motor number as the VIN on the title...so if the number you find on the door pillar doesn't match...<P>Willie

Bill<BR>Stainless brake lines are probably overkill on a car that is going to lead a relatively sheltered life...but they look so good and will always look good!<BR>Silicon fluid will make the hydraulic switch inoperative.<BR>Be sure the lines are bent flared and assembled correctely...the set I bought for my 55 had one flare nut on backwards (I figured: no big deal..cut off the flare turn the nut around a re-do the flare...WRONG!..stainless steel is near impossible to double-flare with hand tools that easily flare regular steel.copper,etc.)<BR>Willie