lancemb Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 I am rebuilding the rear end in my 75R, and replacing most perishable components. The original U-joint does not come with a grease fitting or a hole to access it. The replacement has a grease fitting. Is it worth making an access hole in the torque tube to service it? Has anyone ever done this? There is already an access hole to service the grease fitting on the rear shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) I replaced mine on my 60. I had thought to put an access hole to the newly replaced u-joint with grease fitting but did not bother. My reasoning is the amount of miles I put on the Buick. Maybe 2000 miles/year. If the original lasted 35K miles(she sat a lot/grease got hard as rock. Finally failed) my new one should do the same amount of miles if not more. Edited March 31, 2020 by avgwarhawk (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancemb Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 4 minutes ago, avgwarhawk said: I replaced mine on my 60. I had thought to put an access hole to the newly replaced u-joint with grease fitting but did not bother. My reasoning is the amount of miles I put on the Buick. Maybe 2000 miles/year. If the original lasted 35K miles(she sat a lot) my new one should do the same if not more. That's kind of what I was thinking. I have a few days to decide... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 2 minutes ago, lancemb said: That's kind of what I was thinking. I have a few days to decide... I also thought I could measure the outside of the tube from the access hole for the rear shaft and drill a hole by the new u-joint if necessary. I doubt it will be necessary. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 (edited) I used a new joint with a grease fitting and worked it in pretty good. I am not worried. When I called Buick service and explained my problem I asked what I could do to ensure a long life. The older gentleman at the other end said "Excuse me, I will check." After quite a long wait he returned. He said "On behalf of Buick Motor Division we are offer our condolences that you have fallen on hard times and not had the wherewithal to purchase a newer Buick in recent years. At this time we cannot assist you, however we appreciate your choice of Buick in the past. Please feel free to stop into any of our dealerships and see the fine vehicles we are building since your last visit." Edited April 3, 2020 by 60FlatTop (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Should have bought a Porsche? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 Yours looks better than my u-joint. The needle bearings in mine were a fine graphite like dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 The local driveshaft guru where I live swears by the upper-line of Neapco u-joints. They are non-greasable, and according to him last far longer than the greasable equivalents. Not sure if there's one to fit your Buick, but it might be worth looking into if you are concerned about not being able to grease it. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 14 hours ago, Bloo said: The local driveshaft guru where I live swears by the upper-line of Neapco u-joints. They are non-greasable, and according to him last far longer than the greasable equivalents. Not sure if there's one to fit your Buick, but it might be worth looking into if you are concerned about not being able to grease it. That is all that I use for any car. Seems that there is always one arm that will not take grease or maybe there is a grease incompatibility. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 On 4/3/2020 at 9:39 PM, avgwarhawk said: Yours looks better than my u-joint. The needle bearings in mine were a fine graphite like dust. My symptom was a very small "squeak, squeak, squeak" at low speeds like in a parking lot. I couldn't pinpoint it with the car raised and the wheels rotating in gear. But it was 2011 and I had given myself a big bonus that year, so I did exploratory surgery, that little dry cup ended up in about $4,000 of collateral work by my nephew and I. And my wife still got her new living room. Around that time there was a member of the Forum who had a broken u-joint and a twisted tailshaft. His problem was separating the torque tube and transmission. Bernie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, 60FlatTop said: My symptom was a very small "squeak, squeak, squeak" at low speeds like in a parking lot. I couldn't pinpoint it with the car raised and the wheels rotating in gear. But it was 2011 and I had given myself a big bonus that year, so I did exploratory surgery, that little dry cup ended up in about $4,000 of collateral work by my nephew and I. And my wife still got her new living room. Around that time there was a member of the Forum who had a broken u-joint and a twisted tailshaft. His problem was separating the torque tube and transmission. Bernie It was your post about the squeak you posted a while back that had drawn my attention to my squeak. Mine started the squeak in reverse only. Then a vibrating rumble up to 40 mph. Then all the time. Honestly, the needle bearings in one cup were completely gone to dust. Edited April 6, 2020 by avgwarhawk (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 With the amount of miles that will likely be put on this car, I would grease it and put it together. My 60 also had a squeak at neighborhood speeds (25mph)...U-joint wasn't dust, but it was dry as a bone and ready for replacement. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 (edited) This is one cup from the original u-joint. Just under 35k miles. Graphite dust is all that was left of the needle bearings: Edited April 7, 2020 by avgwarhawk (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 Remember when you used to be able to walk up to the counter and say "Give me a 1" internal clip u-joint"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 You still can, but they look at you funny. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now