I am looking at a Buick with a dynaflow and torque tube...but I am a bit fearful. Not looking for a performance, but I would like to cruise at highway speeds. My concern is that should something go wrong with the dynaflow/torque tube set-up isn't exactly easy to fix or swap out. Is the dynaflow good for cruising? Are my fears overblown?
You are correct that that setup is not 'repair friendly'. However, thousands upon thousands of Buicks with that system drove millions of miles (collectively) all over the Country without catastrophic failures. If the vehicle in question is in generally good mechanical condition, drive it and enjoy it, especially as an urban/suburban Cruiser. Ray
Gee it's easy to answer a question when you give so much specific detail. A Dynaflow Buick with torque tube could be anything from a 1949 248 straight eight with 120HP, to a 1959 401V8 with 324HP. Highway speed could be anything from 60 in the country to 80 on a meat axey 8 lane hiway. Yes, you can get a Buick with torque tube and Dynaflow that will cruise at highway speeds. Mostly they are reliable but if one needs service, it is not easy or cheap.
Cruise about as fast as you want, man. There are some details:leaky seal at back of trans lets ATF into the torque tube. Not a problem in itself, but when it fills a leaky pinion seal lets ATF into the rear. Then it all might leak out thru the wheel bearing seals. I don't know about late fifties, earlier has a packed wheel bearing in between two seals. All that stuff is repairable, parts available. Pinion seal is buried in there pretty deep.
The same set-up lives under thousands of early Chevys, Ramblers, etc. Keep up the lube to them, depress right hand pedal, & cruise. If you ever want to go to an open drive, then you have a bit of work ahead. (Change trans, rear axle, etc)
The Dynaflow is kinda weird. It takes a while to get used to. I had a '56 with that setup and a 322 4bbl; it was very reliable for cruising, but not much punch for acceleration. Mine had the variable pitch stator in the torque converter... it was a way of giving high stall when the throttle was opened to let the engine rev up. It was a pretty ingenious way of making it all work with only one forward gear. The car was big and heavy, and it drove a bit like a jet ski. You would give ample throttle, and the engine would speed up... then you wait for the car to catch up. Once you were in motion all was good. I never had a problem with mine. I thought about changing to a modern "shifting" transmission, but that would be a big project as the entire rear would need to be re-engineered.
Heck no! The rod in my avatar had a '53 322 Buick, '53 Dynaflow, and torque tube back to a 32 Banjo. It was dependable and bulletproof. Gas mileage is not the best but that is to be expected as it is a true turbine transmission. Low range kicks *** - you must manually shift into high, at least in '53.
Any advice on how to check if the rear end has been filled with ATF? I'd imagine it would be tough to spot the rear seal leak without the bar being warmed up and driven. Any other suggestions at to what warning signs to look for or how to check them? Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Remove the plug on the rear end cover, if fluid runs out the rear seal on the trans and pinion seal is shot. That probably means replacing all the seals from the rear of the trans on back and maybe the rear wheel bearings and rear brakes. Not cheap and alot of work. But hey, its a Buick-its worth it!
Here is some more Buick info: it's good to know what's getting in the tube, gear lube or ATF. If you buy the car, drill and tap a small hole in bottom of tube right before it meets the rear housing. Gear lube thru the pinion seal into the tube, well no big deal- it'll find it's own level. Atf in there, well it'll get high enough to bleed into the differential, probably even if that pinion seal isn't too bad otherwise. Me,..........well I got both fluids in there, so I'm gonna have to do something like it or not. I just got this idea from the geezers over at the Buick forum. Kinda thing I'd like to believe I'd think of it myself. But I hadn't yet.
In 1960 I worked for a guy who decided to learn automatic transmissions. We got a '57 Buick with a dead Dynaflow. He decided he could repair it. I pulled that miserable S.O.B. 3 times before he got it to work. I was never so pissed in my whole life!
lotta good folks in the buick forum. cruising is ok. I put on around 4000 miles a year on my 52. I cruise 65-75 mph. wish it was open driveline and cheaper/ easier to find parts for.
We have a 51 Roadmaster (restored stock) when purchased, I saw Dynaflow was leaking in back, torque ball deal. After reading and asking around, heard some real BS and horror stories on $$$ Dynaflow repair, so I bought a factory manual, great info, pretty clear on how to roll rear end back to repair/replace torque ball. Bought a repair kit/seals from a Buick parts house and fixed it, not that bad of a project and magic, no leak. We drive this car at 55-65 to shows, goes down road nice, even with the bias ply wide whites. It's not a rocket, but it's surely smooth. All/most cars, I believe had enclosed drive lines into 40's-50's, so no worries on that subject.
When I mentioned the Buick forum, I shoulda said that I'm a geezer myself. Just not as smart as many of them.
The variable pitch Dynaflow in my '58 Roadmaster pulled a knife on me the first time I rolled under there. I think the car belonged to a Mexican once. LOL We did everything but run the dynaflow in my '58 Roadmaster without fluid and could not hurt it. We even run an cammed up 364 in front of it. The Buick went to the wrecking yard when we were done with it and got parted out. The engine went in a friends model 40 Ford, the seats ( roll and tuck) went in a '58 Impala and the transmission ended up in another Buick. I know for a fact that the transmission was still working 3 years after it changed cars. Of course that was 40+ years ago.
Buick used torque tube because it made it easier to use coil springs in the rear. This is the secret to the legendary Buick marshmallow ride. Other cars that used torque tube include Chevrolet, Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, the large Nashs like the Amb***ador, and many luxury cars of the 20s and also large luxurious European cars like Rolls Royce Daimler and Minerva.
Back about '53 I was in a Cub Scout troop. A bunch of us were being transported somewhere by one of the guys' mother in her Buick Convertible, about a '51 or '52. Someone thought it would be cool to see how fast the Buick would go, and after some coaxing, the mom put the pedal to the metal. I was in the middle of the front seat and it was my job to watch the speedo and announce when it hit 100. Well, it did and I yelled out the news, much to the delight of all the Cubs. Don't know if any of the parents ever got word of that escapade, but I know if that happened today, it would be lawsuit city! I know it was capable of 100 though.
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