Couldn't help with the pun on the title.... Anyway, I took the advice of some great Hamb vetrans and I am driving the tires off of my 50 Buick. I've been having a blast but one thing has become very obvious, the rear-end gears are trashed. This thing is howling like a noisy timing gear drive. I pulled the cover and removed a couple handlefuls of fine metal shavings and gave everything a good cleaning. The backlash was about 0.060"!!!!! The teeth on the ring gear are realy worn. I have tightened the backlash, hoping it will stay together until winter. Does anyone know of a place to get replacement gears for an old Buick? I could swap in a more common diff but I would like to keep the engine and trans. Can anyone piont me in the right direction? Is it possible to eliminate the torque tube and convert to a standard drive shaft? Any help is appreciated... Rich
Take a look around the forum, swapping the rear can be done but requires major re-engineering and isn't for the faint of heart. Since the torque tube and axle housing are one piece, the forces and stresses change when going to an open driveline, and these issues must be addressed when desigining an open driveline system for the car.
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