I have good news and bad news. Good news is the car is running great, purrs like a kitten, starts up very easy and is quiet as a mouse. The charging system is working again after polarizing the system and the brakes are working perfectly. Now for the bad news, I need a mid-shaft carrier bearing as mine is shot. I believe this may have been the noise we heard when we pulled the car over to the shop. This was discovered when pulling the car out of the shop as it is quiet now and every noise could be heard. They promptly pulled it back in and found the problem. Anyone know where to find one of these beasts? Normal outlets have all been checked and none are to be found. I also checked Cars, Inc. and Rock Auto, none there. I can't believe my luck, here I thought I would get to drive it home this afternoon and instead it won't move again until this part is located. Help! I will also be posting this in the parts wanted section.
I have a '61 LeSabre 4dr. sedan. The car is rotted to death but only has 64K miles. I could pull the shaft & check the center support. I'm sure if you take it apart a bearing would be available. If the rubber is N/G then it will need to be re-vulcanized. Tom T.
Wow, thanks a bunch, that would be great as I cannot find one anywhere. I haven't seen mine, but they said the rubber is shot with no repair possible. Let me know what you find out and thanks again!
Like I said, yours can be re-vulcanized. The shaft would have to come out & the support sent to Steele's Rubber products. It would be better than something that's used & 50 yrs. old. You would probably have to wait 2-3 weeks for a turn-a-round time. It you still would like I could pull the shaft & check. I won't split up a good shaft for just a center support, it would be less expensive than having the shaft shipped, but if that's what you want to do I will. Tom T.
So do they fit a new bearing as well, or just use the old one? I went to their site, but it's not real clear on what you need to do. It looks like to me that they sell a new one or you can have your old one fixed, which doesn't make sense. I tried to call but they aren't in today. Does anyone know if they do sell new ones or do you have to send your old one in to be fixed?
Good news, I found the center support bracket and bearing I need and the parts have been ordered. Found both at oldbuickparts.com. http://bit.ly/jNZGAq http://bit.ly/iOM9mn I was searching in the wrong place before as I was in the NOS parts. Went to the Buick store section and quickly found what I need.:beer
Ordered one of these: http://bit.ly/mOZ3n9 today. Made sure of the measurements and then placed my order. The original radiator in mine is leaking and so almost everyone said this is the best way to go. Hopefully it will arrive about the time I get my car back home next week. The carrier bearing assembly just got shipped yesterday, so it should be here by the first of the week I hope.
As far as I know it is pretty much a direct replacement, but the dimensions could be off an inch or so either way. I haven't really looked at the mounting for the old one yet as my car is still at the mechanics. I will let you know for sure once I get it. EDIT: No, my car does not have AC.
Okay I have my car back home now, got to drive it back over, first time, very cool! It's about a 20 mile trip and I filled the old radiator up with water before we started home, by the time I got here it was steamin' pretty good, but not bad enough to hurt anything. I didn't really get on it coming home, but I did get up to 60 MPH :Brow: on the highway and it seems to run pretty good. It will need to have the shocks replaced for sure, but I think the springs are fine. Other than that is seemed pretty tight. According to FedEx, my new radiator should be here on Friday, so I need to find a thermostat, and new radiator hoses. I also need a new piece of heater hose to make a bypass until I get the heater core re-installed. Still need to fix a spot on firewall before I can do that. Also still need to find a air filter as no one seems to have those locally, but I hate to order it from CARS due to the time it takes to get here. Need to find one locally. May try PEP boys as I haven't tried them yet.
Want a slightly used K&N filter for the factory housing? I put maybe 100-200 miles on the car with that setup, still looks brand new. PM me if interested.
Radiator is at the local FedEx distribution center so it should be here tomorrow. Unfortunately, I broke a bolt off trying to get the thermostat housing off and now I have to try and get it out. There is maybe a 1/4" sticking out and I think I can get a pair of vice grips on it. Too bad I can't find mine and will have to buy another pair tomorrow when I pick up the rest of the stuff I need to do this job. I have the old radiator out, had to cut the transmission lines as they would not break lose without twisting the lines. Gonna use a couple of compression fittings to put them back together. Other than that everything went great! ou:
Use heat on the water manifold where the broken bolt is to try & loosen some of the corrosion/rust to break it loose or else you may be drilling & tapping. After you think you have heated it enough before applying the vise grips hit the top of the bolt with a hammer a couple good whacks. This will also loosen the rust/corrosion & use some WD40/PBlaster & let it sit to soak in. Breaking bolts, drilling, tapping most times is NOT fun!!!!
Thanks for the advice Tom, guess I'll need a torch too then. Guess I got lucky with the other bolt as it felt the same way when I took it out, but luckily it didn't break. O'Reilly's has the thermostat and gasket in stock, as well as new radiator hoses. Flex, but they will do just fine. I saw a water manifold on Ebay for $75 if it comes to that. I've never had any luck with bolt extraction using an easy out.
I don't like flex hoses for two reasons; The resultant friction of the corrugations reduces flow The flex hose puts stress on the radiator connection.
160˚ I don't really plan to drive the car much in the winter so cooler is better. I agree on the flex hose, but I can only find the lower formed hose, all I can find for the top are flex.
Must be some difference between '61 and '62 as they only list the correct non-flex for my lower hose, just like everyone else including Rock Auto and Cars.
