1952 Special Deluxe Project

[39BuickEight]

It was actually touching the ceiling. It's as if they knew one day we would restore an old Buick in there when they designed it

[Guest shadetree77]

Got a few things done today. I used my brand new transmission jack to remove the gas tank. That made it MUCH easier than bench pressing the thing! Just dropped her down and rolled her out. I also tracked down every nut and bolt we're going to have to remove during the trans. job. I wire brushed them clean and coated them with PB Blaster. Hopefully, if I coat them several more times it won't be so hard to remove them. One can hope anyway. Tomorrow the plan is to finish raising the car and to begin removing/disconnecting all of the little things in preparation for the trans. removal. Speaking of the trans., I think I've almost completely decided to call Buster the Dynaflow guy (thanks Mr. Earl!) and get her completely re-built. It's tempting to just replace whatever is leaking but I'm afraid if I do that she'll just spring another leak soon after I put it back together. I don't want to remove this trans. more than once if possible. So for now my plan is as follows:

1. Remove the rear end and transmission

2. Clean and POR-15 the entire underside of the car

3. Replace all brake lines and fuel lines

4. Re-install rear end, get her down off the blocks, and roll her back under the car port

5. Get the trans. re-built in January when my wife gets her next round of school loan $ :cool:

6. Slap the trans. back in there and drive the CRAP out of old Lucy all Spring and Summer!!!!

Sounds like a plan to me.

[Buicknutty]

Sounds like a good plan, Robert.

Keith

[Guest Rob McDonald]

ROBERT, excellent prep work! I don't think I've ever seen a purpose-built jack quite like that - very reliable looking. You might be wishing the wheels were bigger, though. I hope it rolls okay on your built-up floor surface but then, it's not like it has to hold up the whole car. Just a gazillion pound Dynaflow!

When you've finally got Lucy's tranny back in, you should offer the jack for full price, less shipping, to the next Buick buff who's about to undertake what you're doing. You could throw in a set of design drawings for your support piers, just 'cause you're a nice guy. One garage after another, that handy jack could tour the whole of North America (and Sweden too, Lief), doing its part for vehicular historic preservation.

[Guest shadetree77]

Sounds like a good idea Rob! Although, by the time you paid for shipping the huge thing you'd be better off buying your own! I think I'll keep it around the shop. I've already used it 3 times since I've had it! It's pretty handy. BUT....just to prove I am still a nice guy the plans for the platforms are below. The drawings show them in the fully assembled form. I used a combination of 3 inch wood screws and some nails here and there to put them together.

I managed to get quite a bit accomplished this weekend even though I was flying solo for most of the time. My Dad has strained something in his back and is experiencing some pretty severe pain. I jokingly accused him of purposely injuring himself to get out of doing this trans. job! First it was his arm and now his back. He assures me that I am mistaken! The way he describes it, it sounds like what I went through when I injured my back last year. I was diagnosed with sciatica and he's experiencing the same symptoms. Not much you can do for it either. Pain pills and rest or surgery. He's opting for the pills and rest as I did. I've heard too many horror stories from people that had back surgeries.

We got the car raised all the way up and set down onto the jackstands in the rear. The car isn't perfectly level but it's close. We've got plenty of room to get the trans. out. I think I measured it at 26 inches from the ground to the frame rail. A little less than I planned for but good enough. I also checked to make sure my trans. jack will reach the Dynaflow and it will with a little room to spare. I included a few pictures below of the car all the way up with my trans. jack in place. Keep in mind when you're looking at those pictures that there is NO PRESSURE on the jackstands closer to the camera (the ones sitting on two 6x6's). Those are just there for safety as are the cinder blocks under the rear tires. We put a piece of plywood under one of our jackstands to level it out some and we put a heavy piece of metal under the other to keep the stand from gouging into our platform. We used our floor jack placed onto what I'm calling our "jack block" to raise the rear end. Once the car was up my solo work began.

I got the gas tank removed with the help of my trans. jack. For anyone attempting this job, I highly recommend doing this. The manual doesn't say to but having that bulky tank out gives you ample head room under there to work. I also got the rear end disconnected and ready to pull out. Right now the rear end is resting on jack stands with my trans. jack under it for safety. It is still connected to the transmission via the torque tube. I'm going to wait until my Dad feels better to finish pulling it out. I would feel much safer if one of us was in front guiding the torque tube while the other rolls the rear end out.

I managed to get almost all of the rusty nuts and bolts out without breakage. The only thing that broke was the stud on the end of the parking brake cable. I worked on that thing for nearly two hours just for it to end up breaking when I was an inch from getting the nut off. I was using the lube and heating method. That resulted in getting a few turns at a time out of it with my wrench. Then when I got near the end it twisted off and all I heard in my head was the sound of a cash register, "$CHING$, $CHING$". Followed closely by a string of words and phrases I'm glad my Mom wasn't around to hear.:mad:

For the most part I followed along with my service manual to disconnect the rear end. I did have to do something the manual doesn't mention though. I ended up removing the rear springs completely. The manual says to disconnect the bottoms but not the tops. I couldn't understand how I am supposed to pull the rear end backwards to disengage from the Dynaflow with those springs under pressure. You have to jack up the rear end to get it level with the trans. so that the torque tube will pull out. Even with the bottoms disconnected, when you jack up the rear end to level everything it puts the springs under pressure again. So I just lowered the axle and yanked them completely. Need to paint them anyway. On a strange note, one spring was installed upside down. Or so it appeared as I don't really know if springs have a defined top and bottom. It was installed opposite of the way the other one was by looking at the way the tops and bottoms were made. I don't know if that even matters but I thought it worth mentioning. Also, I think my shock links are busted. I'll start another thread for that though.

So that's where I'm at. I'm just waiting for my partner in crime to feel better so we can yank the rear end and start in on the trans. I've got a few more things I can do under there while I'm waiting this week. Disconnect the shift linkage, speedo cable, drain the torque converter, etc. We're also trying to envision how we're going to support the torque tube when we roll it out. I think I can just bench press it and guide it out by hand as my Dad rolls the rear end back. But as usual, he's being overly cautious about it and doesn't want me to do that. He thinks it will be too heavy and it will fall on me. I don't think it will be that heavy on the end that goes into the trans. What do you guys think?

Edited October 9, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[avgwarhawk]

Robert, I'm not sure if there is a top and bottom to the springs. Springs I have replaced from days gone by there was a definite top and bottom(Moog). The tighter closer wrapped end of coils went to the top. Your springs, as well as mine that I just replaced, have the same coil spacing from top to bottom. I noted the actual mounting, last coil, is a bit tighter wrapped on one end. It would appear that a coil was installed upside down. But then again, the coil is not progressive. It may not matter which way these are installed. It would suggest that the rear end has been out of you Lucy before.

Edited October 9, 2012 by avgwarhawk (see edit history)

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Wow! Quite an operation, Robert.

As far as the torque tube being too heavy, you are correct. It is not. I have pulled and replaced mine twice. By myself.Once the drive shaft slips out of the tranny, the Xframe holds it for a ways. You will be able to then hold it easily. Most of the weight will be on the jack.

Ben

[Guest shadetree77]

Chris, I'm not sure if it matters either. No mention of it in the service manual. There is a definite difference in the two ends though. One end is, as you said, coiled much tighter than the other end. Both springs have this difference too. I think when I put them back in I'll put the tighter ends up. The coil with the loose end down was much easier to slip around the stud on the axle. I suppose the rear end, or at the very least one of the springs, could have been out before. Who knows? If it was ever out though, it must have been a REALLY long time ago. I'm basing that on the sheer amount of rust and crud build-up on the nuts and bolts.

Ben, that is what I thought. It doesn't seem to me like the torque tube would be that heavy and, as you said, most of the weight will be on the jack. I'll try to convince my Dad of this. I think he's just worried because the tube and rear end are so high off of the ground on our setup. He's worried about it tipping forward once it clears the x frame and smacking me in the face. He worries too much but I guess that's what parents are for. I would have already pulled the darn thing out by myself if the car wasn't so high off the ground. Having it up that high makes the whole thing a little more unpredictable.

[avgwarhawk]

Robert,

Progressive coil springs look like this:

Note the tighter more compact coils on the right. These are the comfort/unloaded portion of the spring. The coils on the left are not as compact. These are the coils that would handle the weight of passengers and luggage, etc. I noted on my new and old coils that the coils are not progressive. These could go in either way when installing. The only difference is what retaining cup size is correct for the last point of coil that is attached to the axle or body. When I did replace mine I mounted the coils the same on both sides. Once I was finished I noted the left side of the rear was about 2 inches higher than the right. This will wreck some havoc on the alignment. And it did with mine I went back in and spun the left rear coil 180 degrees. That was the ticket. She sits level now. Alignment corrected.

I don't want to throw another bill at you considering what you are putting into the transmission, as well as, tools to do the job, replacing the coils proved to be big difference with car handling. The rear end is not dragging when my kids are in the backseat. Overall handling of road bumps and such is greatly improved. Of items I have replaced or repaired the coils proved to be most notable improvement.

Edited October 10, 2012 by avgwarhawk (see edit history)

[49_buick_super]

I see one of your trusted shop assistants in photo 1 and 3.

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks for the clarification Chris. I always like adding to my knowledge base for future reference. Thanks for the tip on the alignment/spring position too. I'll be sure to check it closely when I get the old girl back together. While I do appreciate the suggestion of buying new springs, I think that might have to wait. Right now I'm pretty much working on an "as needed" basis as far as buying stuff goes. That is to say, if it isn't completely busted it's going back on the car! I can always drop the rear end later on and pop some new ones in there. Now that I know what I'm doing, disconnecting the rear end in the future will be a snap.

Yep, that would be my Mom's little buddy in the background there. Not much of a shop assistant though. He hinders progress more than helping! He left me a shredded, stinky mouse carcass under the car a few days ago. Not to mention leaving his droppings in strategic spots where unsuspecting shadetree mechanics can lay down in them!!:mad::mad:

[buick5563]

You have certainly earned your handle, Shadetree.

Good luck Robert.

[Guest shadetree77]

Don't I know it brother!

[Guest shadetree77]

More progress today. A lot more than I had hoped for actually. I went up to my Dad's this morning to work on the car a little bit. It was drizzling rain so I went inside to talk to my Dad for a bit while I waited for it to stop. When it did, I started out the door and my Dad hopped up and started putting his shoes on. His back is still causing him considerable amounts of pain. I asked him what he thought he was doing and he replied, "Going outside to help you". I cautioned him that he shouldn't do that and I think my exact words were, "I think you're going to regret that". Well, things were going great for a while. We got the rear end out with NO trouble at all. The torque tube slid right out of the transmission like it wanted to be out! I was able to easily guide the torque tube out by hand. Ben was right, it's not that heavy. We rolled it out from under there and took a few pictures. Kind of like a "before" picture type thing. Next time you see it, it will be cleaned and painted with brand new brake lines installed. We crawled under the car (well, my Dad used our creeper) and started disconnecting things. He began to hurt a little bit more and so he got out to take a break. While he was out I asked if he could bring me a tool from the shop. On his way back out, he tripped over the Buick's battery sitting in the floor and almost fell. The trip wreaked havoc on his back injury and he was down for the count. He had to go lay down. I felt bad for him but I tried to tell him not to come out there.

After this, I continued to disconnect things. I got everything loose and got my trans. jack in place. I'm planning on using my floor jack on my "jack block" to support the engine. The service manual says to build a support bar from a 2x4 and some threaded hooks. I think I like the idea of using the floor jack and a 2x4 better. It was at this point that I hit a wall of tiredness. I hadn't slept since the day before (3rd shift) and so I cleaned up, checked on my Dad, and went directly to bed. To be continued today. Crossing my fingers hoping that the trans will be out come Monday.

Before I go, I wanted to share a little something with you guys that I made. Back when my Dad and I started this Buick venture my Dad was trying to come up with a name for our shop. He came up with the name "Two Rob's Garage". He's Rob Sr. and I'm Rob Jr. so there are two Rob's. I was messing around at work last night and came up with this logo. It wasn't easy to make using only the Windows Paint program! I don't have any of those fancy Photoshop dealios. Here's a picture of what I came up with. I'm thinking about having the logo embroidered onto a work shirt along with our names as a Christmas gift for my Dad.

[jackofalltrades70]

Robert,

Looking good. Tell your dad not to be so hard headed! Glad you are making progress. Matt

[oldwood]

I hope to be doing this to my '50 soon. Those pesky Dyna-Slow tranny leaks, ugh!!!

[page2171]

Cool logos! Sounds like you are making good progress. Treasure the time you get to work with your dad. I wish I had more time to work together with my dad on projects.

[Buicknutty]

Nice setup, Robert. I wish your Dad a speedy recovery. I have been through a couple of serious back injuries myself, and it has, for me, been a long a slow road to have a strong back again. Surgery, in my humble opinion would be very much a last choice, when all other options don't work.

Cool logos, I like the last one the best.

Keith

[JohnD1956]

Agreeing w/ Keith on the last Logo. Can't believe you did that on Windows Paint. Nicely done.

Also nice work getting the rear axle out. Careful bringing that trans down. Are you planning to do the repair yourself? Or are you sending the trans out?<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

[Guest Rob McDonald]

ROB jr., my dad was a klutz around cars but he did keep trying... I like the solid background logos, mostly because they best display the special wrench that's needed to work on a danged Buick.

Thanks for assuring us that removing the rear end assembly is not so scary after all. Many of us have at some time pulled engines and transmissions and, while that's no picnic, it is familiar. This torque tube thingy lurking under the car remains a mystery - until you get it out into the light of day, like you and 57BuickJim have done (http://forums.aaca.org/f163/how-do-frame-restoration-294509.html, post #217). Heck, now we can see that it's just another car part that needs cleaning and servicing and that will slip back in, just as purposefully as it came out.

Periodically, someone - usually a newbie - posts a question about getting rid of the torque tube and converting their Buick to a "normal" open drive shaft. The assumption is that the tube weighs too much and is prone to leaks. Well, a pair of 5 ft long leaf springs are pretty heavy, too, and that's what's "normally" used to keep the rear end perpendicular to the car. As for leaks, granted that's a big chore to fix but you don't often hear about Buick U-joints failing, like most other cars.

Torque tubes are not as common as they used to be but they're still a viable design choice for car makers. Mercedes Benz SL coupes and roadsters have used torque tubes from the days of the original Gull Wing, right up to the current model. We're in good company.

2012 MB SLS amg, inside and out

[Guest Jack Stacey]

Sweet ride. 52's are really cool. I loved watching the video with that Buick gun sight pointing down the shoulder line.

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I think I like the black logo the best. But black is my favorite color so I'm a little biased.

Matt, telling my Dad not to be hard headed is like telling the sky not to be so blue.

Dorsey, I say go for it! It can be done without a lift. I had my doubts at first but the proof is pictured below.

Brian, I always do. Even when we get mad at each other, at the end of the day we both thoroughly enjoy the time we spend together.

Keith, I agree about the surgery. My grandfather elected for the surgery and the surgeon slipped and cut his spine, further complicating his injuries. I messed up my back a few years ago and then re-injured it last year. I could barely walk for months. You don't know pain until you have a serious back injury! Only options are surgery or time. I'll pick the time option any day of the week!

John, right now the plan is to call the local Dynaflow guy that Lamar (Mr. Earl) told me about and get him to do it around the end of January. He's only a few hours away too so I can haul it down there myself and save on shipping. Have you looked at the Dynaflow re-building section of the service manual!? Scary stuff my friend! I think I'll leave it to an expert.

Rob, no problem. The torque tube isn't scary at all. It was light enough to guide out by hand and popped right out of the transmission with barely any applied pressure. As others have said again and again on here, the trick to it is getting the rear end as level as possible with the transmission. This takes the pressure off of it and it will slip right out.

Jack, first let me say, "Welcome To The Forum!". Hope you enjoy your time here. If it's information and help you're looking for you've come to the right place! This is the most helpful and friendly automotive forum I've come across on the net. That's a fact. Good luck finding your first one. Just be careful to do plenty of research and a thorough inspection of any prospective buy you come across. Ask lots of questions. The folks on here can answer just about anything you can ask if you don't find enough answers from a seller. Try to get one that's in reasonable shape (rust wise) and mostly original. Don't settle either. Make sure you find one you love! This hobby is one that is based largely on passion and patience and you need to have a lot of both to keep yourself going sometimes. It is frustrating and expensive but at the end of the day it's worth it if you really love what you're doing. It can be done on a limited budget too. I should know! Let me know if I can help you in any way!

Alrighty then, on to the update! THE DYNAFLOW HAS LANDED!! That's right friends, that big ol' chunk of iron is out and resting comfortably on the ground in the shop. I put in an 11 hour day yesterday to "git er' done". My Dad started out helping me even though I, once again, cautioned him against it. He made it about half way through the day before he had to stop. The hardest part of it was reaching those friggin' bell housing bolts! There aren't many of them but getting them out took hours. Bringing the Dynaflow down was kind of scary too. I did it by myself as my Dad was inside at this point. To make things worse, my brand new tranny jack decided to start leaking right before I pulled the trans. I left it under pressure a few times and after about 45 mins. to an hour it would bleed off about an inch. Must have been a seal leaking inside it somewhere. When I noticed this was happening I went and grabbed an old scissor jack and some cinder blocks and put it under the end of the trans. for safety purposes in case the jack failed.

When it came time to let the trans. down I removed the scissor jack, took out the last bolt, and gave the Dynaflow a little jiggle while pulling back and she popped loose. The jack was a tiny bit wobbly when it was up that high but it was never enough to be concerned about. I lowered the jack and rolled it right out of there. No problems at all. I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures right after I got it out (check out the inspectors green paint mark on the torque converter/pump assembly). It kind of felt good to have gotten it out mostly by myself. Not that I'm not grateful for my Dad's help, but I've never undertaken anything this large in scale with a vehicle before and it felt good to have accomplished this task. Now, if I can just accomplish the task of getting it all put back in and working correctly!! By the way, I did return the trans. jack to Harbor Freight today and this time I purchased the 1 year warranty. I hear tell that some time in the past a body didn't have to "purchase" a warranty. From what I understand, manufacturers back then took pride in their work and offered you a guarantee as a warranty. I was born a little too late to experience that kind of workmanship and pride I guess. I always tell people I was born in the wrong era. Anyway, the last picture is my aforementioned "shop assistant" giving me a much needed back massage while I was under the car. Maybe he is worth having around. Have a good rest of the weekend Buick guys and gals!

[old-tank]

Good job, Robert! Looking at those pictures makes me tired and sore all over again. For those bellhousing bolts I use a 5/8 universal (all in one) socket made for impact tools (but use hand tools) along with some looooong extensions. With enough practice the job can be done in a few hours...nobody should get that much practice.

Willie

[jackofalltrades70]

Rob,

Congrats on a job well done. It will be easier on you going back together as you'll have everything all nice and pretty! Matt

[Guest Rob McDonald]

CONGRATULATIONS on putting on big ol' check mark on this tough job!

"the trick to it is getting the rear end as level as possible with the transmission" We keep reading that and, bit by bit, it's sinking in. So, dropping the rear is not the answer - you have to clear a horizontal path to let the rear end slide out. Springs, brake lines, gas tank, they all have to be pulled before the big guy comes out. Am I finally getting it?

[Buicknutty]

Good work, Robert!

Keith

[1957buickjim]

Robert! Nice job there my man..it is a trick to get those crazy items out of the car, that is for sure! Keeping the rearend and torque tube level is the way to do it, that is for sure. Not sure if you used 2 jacks to get it out, but that is what I did. One under the banjo, and another at the front of the torque tube. Just like you said, slipped right out. I thus far haven't had to take the trans out, had someone else do that a few years ago.

Cleaning the torque tube and related components are relatively simple. However, remember to clamp off the vent on the rear axle, if there is one, when you go to rotate it 90 degrees up to paint the underside. If you don't, you will have whale oil coming out all over pretty quickly, and possibly ruining the paint on the axle.

Keep up the good work. It is nice to see the pictures of your progress. Now is the time to get that underside all "gussied" up with everything out. That makes things so much easier, that is for sure! Feel free to ask me any questions if you have any, since I just did this same thing a couple of months ago.

[JohnD1956]

Good for you Robert. Glad that baby is down and out. Now, not to **** you off or anything, but did you happen to mark the torque converter to engine flywheel relationship? You may want to try and establish that now if you didn't.

[avgwarhawk]

Nice job Robert. Some know how and imagination can work wonders! I'm glad to see the torque tube come out easily for you. Some threads I have read seem to show removing the tube can be a utter nightmare.

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks guys!

Willie, I know what you mean. I think I'll be feeling that 11 hours for at least a week. Thanks for the tips on the bellhousing bolts. I used a combination of socket wrenches and ratcheting wrenches. Hopefully, I won't ever become an expert in removing Dynaflows. Once is enough I think. Well, unless I buy another Buick down the road which is likely if I come across a reasonably priced sedanet some day.

Jim, thanks for the tips. I don't know if there's a vent on the rear end or not but I'm planning on taking the rear cover off to clean it out and re-fill it with fresh fluid anyway. I bought a gasket a while back actually. I know for a fact the Dynaflow was leaking into the rear. I pumped out all the fluid in it once before and replaced it with fresh and what came out was a mixture of smelly whale oil (no doubt vintage 1952) and a large amount of trans. fluid. The rear had to have been full almost to the top of the pumpkin with the mixture. By the way, when I took the torque tube/rear end assembly out the car was way too high to use two jacks. I had the rear on my big trans. jack and I guided the tube out by hand. It's actually not that heavy. I wanted to use a floor jack just like I saw you do but it just wouldn't reach so I had to manhandle it.

John, as a matter of fact I did remember to mark those. I never would have known if not for my service manual. That's one of the steps in there. Although, I was kind of thinking that when I take it to get re-built those paint marks might be cleaned off of there. Think I should scribe it or something?

Chris, yup, it came out with no problems whatsoever. Darn near fell right out. After some of the problems I've come across dealing with this old Buick I was shocked and amazed at how easily the torque tube, AND the transmission for that matter, came loose!

So the next item on the list is to clean and paint the underside and the rear end/torque tube assembly. I have to order my rust paint today so I'll have a little time to recover while I'm waiting on it to arrive. I'm using a paint called Chassis Saver from the Magnet Paints company. It works exactly the same as POR-15 but it's cheaper and it's supposed to be more durable. I've used a few different products from Magnet Paints and I highly recommend them. I've used their rust encapsulating paints and their bed liner (called Monstaliner) and both were quality products.

Before I go I want to add something here that I forgot to mention above. It's mostly for future reference if anyone is reading this thread to get tips and tricks on how to remove their Dynaflow on a similar Buick. If you read the Dynaflow Removal section in your service manual one of the first things it tells you to do is to open the hood and remove the "dowel bolt" that is located directly behind the starter. It tells you to use a "suitable offset brass drift". You need it to be offset in order to have it curve around behind the starter to reach the dowel bolt. Well, I looked everywhere for one of those things and came up with nothing! The only offset drift I could find was made to go into an air hammer and they were long, thin things. I believe some places referred to them as "witches fingers" and they were VERY expensive for a set. My Dad came up with a solution though. He grabbed a long, thin socket extension that had seen better days and clamped it in our vice. He heated the end of it with a torch and went to work bending it by hand and with a hammer. After some trial and error he got the right angle on the tip of it and, VOILA!!, we hammered that dowel bolt right out of there! A shadetree solution to be sure, but it saved us a lot of money and time AND it worked perfectly. Here's a few pictures of it next to a straight extension so you can see the angle necessary to remove the dowel bolt.

[1953mack]

. . . . . I don't know if there's a vent on the rear end or not but I'm planning on taking the rear cover off to clean it out and re-fill it with fresh fluid anyway. I bought a gasket a while back actually. I know for a fact the Dynaflow was leaking into the rear . . . . .

After zillions of basically the same rear axle/enclosed driveshaft/torque tube assembly being built, it's interesting to note that Buick finally thought this would be a good idea . . . . . "to eliminate the possibility of oil leaks occurring at the rear axle housing, effective about the 1st of June, 1954, all jobs will have a breather installed in the rear axle housing."

The pic below is also taken from a 1954 BUICK PRODUCT SERVICE BULLETINS abridged edition. There is also a suggested install and hole size spec to drill, should you decide to install this breather vent on prior year axle housings. I would think that an easier fix, with similar results, would be to substitute a 90-degree threaded relief vent in place of one of the upper bolts that holds the rear cover to the axle housing.

Fluid pressure within the rear axle assembly has to find a way for relief, and without this vent, the pressure could be directed toward a number of places: the early gasket-less connection between the torque tube and the third member (pumpkin); a bad gasket between the third member and the rear axle housing; or further horizontally, through worn axle seals, showing up at the brake backing plate areas. Transmission fluid leaking into the torque tube and finding its way to the rear axle assembly is a separate issue.

Just my $.02 worth.

Al Malachowski

BA #8965

"500 Miles West of Flint"

Edited October 18, 2012 by 1953mack
added comments (see edit history)

[Guest Peter Bird]

Great information here, guys.

Robert- just to let you know- I have pulled the pin on my 52 Hardtop project. I got a bit sick of waiting for the chassis guy to come good (6 months now and counting) I sold it to a guy who is gonna restore it, so she will go to a nice home, and that aint so bad. On the upside, I was lucky enough to purchase a 55 Century coupe in good condition (it seems). Will know soon enough when it lands here off the ship at Sydney.

Keep up the great work with your project. As always, I will be tuning in! - Peter

[Guest shadetree77]

Al, that's some interesting info. on that relief vent. Makes sense to me. There's no telling how much pressure built up in that rear end with all of that transmission fluid in it. By the way, I looked over mine closely today and there is NOT a vent meaning it's pre-1954 as it should be.

Peter, sad to see your '52 go but you gotta' do what you gotta' do right? I'm glad you stuck with the Buicks though and I'm looking forward to seeing your '55. Are you going to keep using the same blog site for your '55 or create a new one?

Not much progress the last few days. My Dad and I spent half the day today driving around town trying to find, A: a hardwood 2x4 and B: a threaded hook long enough to build the engine support bar described in the service manual. We pretty much struck out on both items. If you'll remember, instead of building a support bar I simply put a floor jack under there with a 2x4 between it and the oil pan. Well, that was not a good idea for two reasons. One, I plan on moving the car back under the car port some time between now and the end of January to await the transmission rebuild. I can't move it if the engine is balanced on a floor jack. Two, what if the floor jack suddenly fails? The engine would tilt backward and cause catastrophic damage. I should have listened to the service manual!

So now I'm scrambling around trying to make something work. I've got a few leads on people that might have a hardwood 2x4. Who knew how hard it would be to find a piece of hardwood?? None of the big box stores carry any hardwood 2x4's. I can't find a hook that even comes close to the dimensions shown in the manual. I think I'm going to buy a couple of square u-bolts (ones used for leaf springs and such) from napa and dremel them to size. Only problem is those bolts are $23.00 a piece and I'd need two!! Another route we were thinking about going involves using tie-down ratchet straps. I've got a few that are rated for 2000 pounds. I was thinking about hooking either end of the strap to the frame rails and ratcheting them tight. When referring to building the engine support bar the service manual says to "source these supplies locally". I sure would like to know where the Buick engineers thought you could go to buy a custom-made threaded hook.....:confused:.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Would a piece pf all thread, bent into a hook not do? And instead of a 2x4, how about a piece of 1 1/2 or 2 inch channel iron from a scrap pile?

Ben

[Guest shadetree77]

Ben, that might work. My Dad mentioned something similar before. We're not sure how strong the all thread would be after bending it though. For now we are testing our strap idea. We put one on there and ratcheted it tight enough to take the pressure off of the floor jack. We left the jack extremely close to the engine so that if the straps give or relax any at all the engine will rest on the floor jack again. Two days have gone by now with absolutely no give from the straps so maybe they'll hold up. I'm leaving the floor jack under there just in case.

More progress this weekend. Got the torque tube/axle assembly cleaned up. I scraped and chiseled about 4-5 lbs. of crud off of it.

Al, it's funny that you mentioned pressure build up in the axle. I definitely experienced the effects of said pressure! Saturday I took the plug out of the axle cover to drain some of the oil. When I removed the plug I did hear some hissing as pressure released. I drained as much as I could and put the plug back in. Sunday I decided to remove the cover completely and clean out all of the old oil. I got a socket and began to take out the bottom bolt. I never expected there to be any more pressure as I had just released it the day before. Well there was PLENTY of pressure my friend. The rear end issued what I can only describe as a loud, wet, farting noise and COVERED me in smelly oil!! Completely soaked my leg, my arm, and my face! I don't understand how it could have built up that much pressure. I did roll it around quite a bit during the cleaning process. I wouldn't think it could have built up that much pressure rolling it such a short distance but it did. How does it keep from blowing out the seals while it's driving down the road?

Anyway, after I cleaned myself up from that little fiasco I scooped out the remaining oil and wiped out the inside of the casing with a lint free cloth. I was planning on cleaning it out by spraying some kerosene in there and wiping it down but I don't see any reason to. It's very clean in there. If you guys think I should though just let me know. I also cleaned up the gasket surface for the cover. I stuffed a large cloth in around the gears so that none of the old gasket material or crud could get inside while I was cleaning. I have the cover soaking in degreaser right now. I also removed the brake lines and tapped that bent emergency brake cable bracket back into place with a small hammer.

My rust paint should be arriving some time this week. I have a little more wire brushing to do on the rear end before I paint it. I have to re-install the cover too. Should I use any type of gasket adhesive on that cover? The gasket I have is made of a paper-like material, NOT cork. Here are some pictures of the gears seeing the light of day for the first time in 60 years.

[Guest chevy_dude97]

First off its looking really good!

Well there was PLENTY of pressure my friend.

I wouldn't think it could have built up that much pressure rolling it such a short distance but it did.

It's very clean in there. If you guys think I should though just let me know.

Thermal Expansion is the reason for the pressure and trans fluid is one heck of a cleaner no doubt.

The bolt with a through vent mentioned above is a pretty good idea.

Man all the time you got before that thing goes back in it should look show room under there!

[Buicknutty]

If the surface is clean and flat, the gasket should seal alright. Also, if it looks clean, I think it'll be fine, though it won't hurt to flush it out again with kerosene as long it drys up before putting the cover back on. I would consider changing the oil once again after the car has been driven 100-200 miles, as I it is tough to get every speck of grit out. On my '41, the bolt on at the very bottom of the cover will allow it oil to drain out, without taking the cover off. Can't remember if they all like that or not!

Keith

[Guest shadetree77]

Thanks for the advice Keith. I'll change that fluid out, whenever I get her back on the road that is!

I've been trudging along the last few days trying to get the torque tube/axle clean enough to paint. It's taking a lot longer than I expected! It's not easy getting every little speck of crud and grease out of the nooks and crannies. Especially when you don't have a pressure washer. I have a high pressure fitting for my water hose but it's slow going. I think Santa needs to bring me a pressure washer this year. It's very tempting to just take the easy way out and slap the paint on there but I can't bring myself to do a half-a$$ed job on it. I want this to last. I think I've finally gotten all of the crud off of it. I'm hoping to get it wire brushed and do the final wash today. Then painting will have to wait until Sunday. We're going to another Moonshine Festival (the original one this time) in Dawsonville, GA on Saturday. Supposed to be over 700 cars there! I can't pass it up!

After I finished with the scrubbing today I (with the help of advice from forum members) located and removed the propeller shaft spline seal on the torque tube. I also messed around with the old Dynaflow a bit. I was mostly just curious so I took off the torque ball and took some pictures of what I found. It was EXCEPTIONALLY clean inside. I noticed that the words "Arma Steel" were cast into the universal joint. I was curious as to what Arma Steel was so a quick search brought up the page linked below. Pretty interesting read and something I didn't know. I like learning little things like this as I work on my Buick. Kind of makes me feel like an archaeologist sometimes.

Q What is Armasteel? Is it still available? If not, what is a replacement material? - Free Online Library

Edited October 26, 2012 by shadetree77 (see edit history)

[1953mack]

. . . . . I (with the help of advice from forum members) located and removed the propeller shaft spline seal on the torque tube. I also messed around with the old Dynaflow a bit. I was mostly just curious so I took off the torque ball and took some pictures of what I found. . . . . QUOTE]

So far so good. Three questions to ask you if I may.

#1. Now that you have all the removed parts laying on the table in front of you to analyze, what's your opinion, after < 60,000 miles on the clock, on what failed to allow the transmission fluid to wind up in the rear axle housing?

#2. What's your plan on putting all the pieces back together and trying to eliminate a reoccurrence?

#3. Your critique on Buick's overall design of the 1952 prop shaft spline seal and rear axle assembly?

I'll reserve my ideas until I hear your response. Thanks again for the time.

Al Malachowski

BCA #8965

"500 Miles West of Flint"

[avgwarhawk]

The groove showing in picture 6 does not look right to me.