R&R dynaflow 55 Century

[old-tank]

Saturday is the day. I have a rebuilt tranny, facilities (air conditioned with a real lift), tools and help all lined up (and some beer too). I have removed the rear axle in the past and have just pulled it back to replace the seals in the front of the torque tube and back of tranny. I have removed the engine either by itself or with the tranny, but never the tranny by itself.

Maybe I made a big mistake by looking in the service manual, but I noticed a reference to supporting the engine. It seems that it would be supported by the exhaust pipe where it goes through the frame. Would this put too much stress on the pipes/manifolds?

Any thougts on this or other pitfalls on this specific model?

Thanks in advance

Willie

[Gene Brink]

Willie,

Worth supporting although not to protect the exhaust pipe (it will take it). Best reason is to keep the angle more horizontal on the back of the engine so mating the transmission when putting it back will be easier. If you let the engine down the angle is such that the transmission will have to be tilted quite a bit when mating up and that is a bit tricky. (Also, the motor mounts may not like being twisted either).

Air conditioned, lift, help, correct tools - sounds way better than the front driveway, car raised just enough to clear the bell housing when the transmission was on the ground (23 inches if memory serves me correctly) and very little help. (That is how I had to do it over and over and over and... when I was young, dumb and could not keep my foot off of the floorboard in my '54. Still loved that car!)

Have fun!

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

BEER!!! what time in the morning do we start.and if there's enough beer it don't matter what angle the engine is at, WE'LL MAKE IT FIT, heck I've seen them engine mounts twist till they flip over. See ya Satday mornin...

I suppose Mike is gonna be bringin the beer. Make mine a case of Rollin Rock with plenty of limes and salt.

edit) Shucks, Rita jus informed me I've got 5000 brick to lay in the backyard patio Saturday, so guess I'll have to pass. Send pictures!!!

[old-tank]

Gene you should meet Lamar, and since Seguin is half way for both of you...

Lamar the beer is Shiner Bock and doesn't need lime or salt to taste good.

I will probably wait to see how the engine sags with the tranny out and then rig a support.

One other question (never is JUST one more): any problem with removing the unit with the rear cross brace still attached to the tranny? When I have pulled engine and tranny together, I left the brace attached. Probably another decision when we get in the middle of it.

This should be a 2-4 hour job, leaving time for refreshments.

Willie

[Bhigdog]

since i will be facing the same project (warm shop but no lift ) please post all the pros and cons............Bob.

[KAD36]

Ditto that - please take some pics if possible and pass on some pointers. Some of us will be close behind you pulling engines and transmissions!

I have always wondered if I pulled the engine or trans by themselves if the other assembly would "hang in there". Although I have yet to try that R&R, seems to me that it would be pretty dicey letting the engine hang from the 2 front mounts and resting on the pipes. Although, I can also appreciate having to let it hang at enough of an angle to get at the top bell housing bolts - mainly because the last person that rebuilt mine never put all the top bolts back in!

Good luck Wille!

BTW - is there any way to modify a 55 Dynaflow to get the improved off the line performance of the re-designed torque converter in a 56 Dynaflow - or is it easier to swap the full assemblies, trans coolers and tailshafts (assuming thats what you need to do to get the driveshaft to mate up)? Just curious - maybe I should start a different thread.

[Bill Stoneberg]

Willie,

Do you need some help ? I have to be back in Houston by 4 pm, but I can come over early and help.

Call me and we can discover whats inside a horn at the same time

Bill

[Roadhog]

Maybe I'm too late but you need to support that engine!!!! It was a 18 pack job fer me!!

[imported_buick5563]

Hey Y'all,

Lamar, why exactly do I have to bring the beer if I will be doing all of the heavy lifting?

Mike

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

Willie said <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I will probably wait to see how the engine sags with the tranny out and then rig a support.

</div></div>

and Mike responded

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hey Y'all,

Lamar, why exactly do I have to bring the beer if I will be doing all of the heavy lifting?

Mike </div></div>

sorry... I had it all wrong, so Willie's furnishing the refreshments and your the "support"

Hey Gene, this might be worth travelin half way cross the country, just to watch

[imported_buick5563]

a) exactly

if Willie doesn't mind me putting his picture on here I will post a picture I took one day of him while he supervised me during my project.

c) I only wish I didn't have to drive 60 miles after the Dynaflow replacement so I could enjoy more of his ice cold Shiner Bock.

d) I think I might still have to buy since there is a SERIOUS credit due him.

See ya bright and early Old Tank.

Mike

[Guest 53Nailhead]

Sooo, Willie, how'd it go?! Hope successfully & your up & running! And not too hung over

Les

[old-tank]

Ok, we got it done. It took 3 hours....to get it out....3 hours to get it in and that is with 3 people working mostly full time, and no real glitches. That was yesterday. Today I spent 3 hours chasing leaks (ever hear of a Buick leaking?).

I already mentioned the air conditioned shop (NICE!) and the lift, a 2 post that lifts from the side leaving the whole underside accessible. The only last minute issue was the borrowed trans jack which we assumed would be a 2 stage telescoping unit, turned out to be a floor unit which we put on a sturdy metal table with castor wheels. I did the job. We cut a 2X4 and used it vertically to support the engine under the pan as a supplement to the exhaust pipe. The rear was supported by a floor jack sitting on a couple of 2X12 boards that were on 2 saw horses.

We basically followed the procedure in the shop manual, except that I did not disconnect the factory air and did not first remove the rear tranny cross member when removing. There was some binding between the cross member and the frame when dropping the unit due to the jack not staying vertical when raising and lowering. The cross member, trans cooler, trans mount and trust pad were transferred to the replacement tranny after the bell housing was secure.

The leaks. The leaks were caused by mental and physical weakness probably due to a beer deficiency. The worst one was at the low accumulator. The rebuilder left out the outter long bolts that hold the exhaust pipe hanger (someone in the past used short ones and left off the hanger). I used my old ones...What I did not remember him telling me was that the inner bolts were not tight...they are now. I only lost about 3 quarts on the test drive and after letting it sit overnight. The pan was leaking...bolts were not tight enough and the torque ball retainer mounting surface was leaking...again the bolts were not tight enough. Even then it still leaked around one bolt that was removed, degreased and coated with RTV before replacement.

I rained here all day today so I did no driving other than the 5 mile drive from my friend's shop and mine....maybe tomorrow. More to follow.

Willie

[imported_buick5563]

This project was a perfect example of why we belong to the BCA. One friend drives 120 miles round trip to help and another loans their IMMACULATE shop (complete with black and white tile floor). It would have been a truly daunting (if not impossible) task to have tackled this with only one person. It is also the second instance of doing something that I had always heard of so-called professionals not wanting to tackle, the first being the wraparound windshield installation. I will grant the fact that perhaps for billing purposes that three guys labor for almost eight hours would be on the steep side, but there was nothing difficult for three relatively experienced "mechanics". The dance that the three of us performed assisting and avoiding was truly a thing of beauty. I felt like a guy on those one week buildups who look like there are too many people, but everybody does their own thing until someone needs a hand. The teamwork was truly awesome and I learned some great new skills. Plus I really had a ball.

Mike

[old-tank]

Now for a few pointers, but no pictures (I did have my digital camera, but the batteries were dead).

You can never have too many good friends when doing a big job like this. Thanks again Mike and Randy.

Tools. Ok you know about the lift, jacks, etc...here are some others. I used a generic bumper jack to move the rear/torque tube back. The lower end minus the foot plate was put into a pocket in the X of the frame. The lift hook was attached to a chain wrapped around the front of the torque tube where the stabilizer braces attach. At this time the rear was not supported, only hanging by the springs. Another tool which got a lot of use was a set of ratcheting box-end wrenches...should have been invented 100 years ago. Now for the top tranny bell housing bolts. Piece of cake if you use a 5/8 universal socket on a loooong extension. Not any universal, this was an impact universal made by MAC tools. I also have a 9/16 made by SnapOn that was used extensively. Mike has been trying to steal this one for years.

Don't worry about over-filling since all the excess (and then some) will leak out from 19 places anyhow.

After some more driving earlier today it became apparent that the shift linkage needed some adjusting, it was jerking in reverse like it will do if the rear tranny mount and/or thrust pad are broken. I didn't expect that but no big chore.

Mike was right about it being a smooth project. No trips to the parts store or to the reference books.

The worst thing about the project involved our host Randy and his cars. A week before the project I went to Randy's shop and we did a trial lift and inspection of the car. Since he had to move 2 of his cars to access the lift he made me drive both of them about 10 miles each to warm them up. Then when I brought my car over on Friday he made me drive one of his cars home for clean dry storage. It was also this car that Randy insisted on Mike riding in back to his shop. Randy's cars: 1970 highly modified GSX and a 1971 GS455 also highly modified. It was the GSX that I took home (stinky ole racing fuel and all). Now he wants me to help him put a tach on the 71 which will mean more driving (sigh).

Willie